Sonics Aide On Move

Rick Sund, the Charlotte Hornets’ first choice to become vice president of basketball operations, withdrew his name from consideration Sunday, according to published reports.

Sund, formerly the player personnel director with the Dallas Mavericks, is a Seattle SuperSonics consultant. He will apparently accept instead a job with the Detroit Pistons, NBA sources told The Charlotte Observer.

Sund is not free to join another team until July 1 when his Seattle contract expires, though he has interviewed in Charlotte and Detroit.

John Wetzel, who worked with new Warriors coach Rick Adelman while the two were at Portland, was reunited with his former boss when he was hired as a Golden State assistant.

“John Wetzel is one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the NBA and we are pleased to welcome him to the Warriors,” Adelman said.

Wetzel, 50, has spent the past seven seasons as an NBA assistant, including six years under Adelman in Portland from 1989 to 1994. Last season, he was an assistant with the New Jersey Nets.