Sund stays on; Porter fired

Rick Sund said his signing was probably the least important one for the Seattle SuperSonics.

But now that Seattle’s general manager has a new contract in place, he’s hoping coach Nate McMillan and Seattle’s key free agents follow his lead.

After helping build a team that surprised the NBA last season by winning the Northwest Division title, Sund signed a three-year contract extension with the SuperSonics on Wednesday. Financial terms were not released.

“I’m probably the least important of the overall spokes on the wheel,” Sund said.

Sund has been Seattle’s general manager for the last four years. He previously worked in Detroit and Dallas, and started his NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1974. His contract was set to expire on June 30.

“Rick has done excellent work as our general manager over the past four years, and we’re very pleased he’ll be continuing in his role,” said team president Wally Walker. “Rick does a superb job of managing our day-to-day basketball operations, a little-recognized, but critical component of his job.”

Sund will focus on Seattle’s nine free agents, including all-star guard Ray Allen, and next week’s NBA Draft.

McMillan, one of the hottest names in coaching, will become a free agent on July 1 when his contract expires. McMillan has spent the last five seasons as Seattle’s head coach, and spent his entire 12-year playing career with the organization.

Bucks fire head coach

The Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Terry Porter on Wednesday, two months after finishing their worst season in almost a decade.

The Bucks have the first pick in Tuesday’s NBA Draft, and general manager Larry Harris said the team needs to take a new direction.

“Certainly for the direction of this franchise heading forward, we certainly need to make a move,” Harris said.

Plagued with injuries and a revolving roster, the Bucks went 30-52 last season and failed to make the playoffs in Porter’s second year with the team.

The decision came more than a month after the team announced Porter would return for his third season. The Bucks said they would honor the terms of the last year of his contract.

Harris said the team will focus on the draft while starting immediately to look for a new coach. He also said he decided Tuesday night after weeks of contemplation to fire Porter, and the decision had nothing to do with the draft.

“We didn’t have philosophical differences. He didn’t want different guys than I did,” Harris said.

Instead, Harris said having a coach in the last year of his contract made it difficult to assemble a coaching staff. The team has two assistant spots open.

A Milwaukee native, Porter played for Portland, Minnesota, Miami and San Antonio during a 17-year career that included two trips to the NBA Finals.

Bogut, Paul headline 60-player early entry list

National player of the year Andrew Bogut of Utah and fellow All-American Chris Paul of Wake Forest were the most prominent names on early entry list for Tuesday’s NBA Draft. The deadline to remove names from consideration was Tuesday. On Wednesday, the NBA released the list of 49 college players and 11 international players who will be eligible for the draft.

The Milwaukee Bucks have the first pick in the draft.

National champion North Carolina has four underclassmen in the draft. Juniors Sean May, Rashad McCants and Raymond Felton were joined by freshman Marvin Williams.

Among the others who stayed in the draft were Ike Diogu of Arizona State, Francisco Garcia of Louisville, Deron Williams of Illinois and Charlie Villaneuva of Connecticut.