Sonics clean house

SEATTLE – Clay Bennett’s first season as majority owner of the Seattle SuperSonics was consumed with pushing a losing proposition for a new arena in the Seattle area.

The Oklahoma City businessman left his on-court product alone, even as the losses mounted and the team struggled through one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

That approach finally changed Tuesday afternoon.

As expected, Bennett overhauled the Sonics’ basketball operations, firing coach Bob Hill and removing Rick Sund as general manager following a 31-51 season that was Seattle’s worst since finishing the 1985-86 season with an identical mark. Only three times in the Sonics’ 40-year history have they finished with a worse record.

Sund, with one-year remaining on his contract, will remain with the franchise as a consultant. Hill’s contract was set to expire in June. Both were brought in by the previous ownership group.

“Bob Hill and Rick Sund are fine individuals of excellent personal character and are basketball men through and through. They were both extremely helpful to us during this challenging year of transition. We are sincerely appreciative to them for their service and we wish them only the very best,” Bennett said in a statement.

Bennett and vice chairman Lenny Wilkens get the opportunity to shape the Sonics’ basketball operations as they want. Wilkens, the Hall of Fame coach, is likely to be rumored for both positions, but has reiterated a lack of interest in returning to coaching.

The duo’s biggest challenge may be finding a staff willing to endure a lame-duck season in Seattle, before the franchise potentially moves.

Last week, Bennett announced the team likely would not play in Seattle after the 2007-08 season following the Washington state Legislature’s decision not to consider plans for a new $500 million arena in suburban Renton. Bennett asked for $278 million in King County tax revenues to help pay for the new arena.

If Bennett doesn’t get an agreement for a new arena in the Seattle area by Oct. 31, his $350 million purchase agreement allows him to move the team – most likely to Oklahoma City. Bennett’s ownership group bought the Sonics and the WNBA Seattle Storm last July.

“While there is uncertainty as to the future physical location of our franchise, our commitment to creating a culture of competitive excellence for this organization is unwavering,” Bennett said. “We absolutely aspire to win championships.”

Bennett and Wilkens were not made available for further comment. Hill and Sund didn’t return phone messages seeking comment.

Hill’s efforts to impress Bennett failed largely because of debilitating injuries. Robert Swift, expected to be Seattle’s starting center, was lost for the season during an October exhibition game. Leading scorer Ray Allen was bothered by bone spurs in his ankles for much of the season and missed the final 16 games after opting for surgery. Rashard Lewis, who can become a free agent, was sidelined 22 games with a hand injury.

Hill, who previously coached in New York, Indiana and San Antonio, took over for Bob Weiss in the middle of last season and went 22-30 in his first pro head coaching job since 1996. Seattle closed last season 14-11 after Sund made moves to acquire Earl Watson and Chris Wilcox, earning Hill a contract extension and bolstering hopes for this season.

But there was little carry-over and the Sonics finished with the fifth-worst record in the NBA, losing 22 games by six points or less. Seattle also had a franchise record 15-game road losing streak.

Hill campaigned to coach a healthy Sonics team in 2007-08 but failed.

“If they replace me, they’ll have had five coaches in seven years,” Hill said before the season finale against Dallas. “Players get tired of coaches changing all the time.”