Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | July 18, 2005
As General Manager Rick Sund explained, the Seattle SuperSonics weren't introducing new Head Coach
Bob Weiss to the Seattle media at Monday's press conference, they were merely announcing his new role. Weiss' selection as head coach completes a trio of key roles for the Sonics organization that began when the franchise did in 1967 and Weiss was an inaugural Sonics player and continued for the last 11 years as an assistant in Seattle under three different head coaches.
Because of his tenure with the Sonics and in Seattle, the caliber of the Northwest Division champion team he inherits and his relationships with Sonics players and staff, Weiss is very excited for the opportunity.
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"I'm more excited about this job than I was my first head-coaching opportunities."
Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images
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"First of all, I want to thank (Chairman) Howard (Schultz), (President and CEO) Wally (Walker) and Rick for giving me this opportunity," said Weiss. "I'm more excited about this job than I was my first head-coaching opportunities. We've been in Seattle 11 years now, we've got a deep bond with the city. We are so happy for this opportunity."
Weiss has been a head coach three times before, spending two years with San Antonio, three in Atlanta and one with the L.A. Clippers, but none of those teams was comparable in ability to the one he takes over in Seattle.
"The first couple of jobs I had were complete rebuilding jobs - in fact, they weren't done deteriorating yet," said Weiss. "This is the first opportunity I've had to work with talents like 
Ray (Allen) and 
Rashard (Lewis) and all the nucleus - young players like 
Luke (Ridnour) and 
Nick (Collison)."
Adding to that is the group of strong individuals off the court the Sonics have assembled.
"I know how dedicated they are to winning, how much they pull for each other," Weiss said. "This is a great group of people. I've told management that at least five times on our flights, I've had stewardesses come up to me and say, 'You have the best team to fly for in the NBA.' That's the type of individual they are. It carries over to working with them. They pull for each other. I've never seen so many guys that can play on the bench pulling for each other and not worried about minutes."
With the Sonics looking to maintain the kind of success they had a year ago, promoting Weiss was a natural choice after Coach Nate McMillan left the Sonics for Portland. Helping out his candidacy were strong endorsements from a number of Sonics players, led by All-Star Allen.
"It was important, but it also corroborated what everyone was feeling internally," said Walker. "As soon as we got the news from Nate, we of course started thinking about candidates. Rick and I sat down and Bob's name came right to mind in terms of here's a qualified guy who can build on what's already been established here for all the right reasons.
"The fact that the players weighed in after the fact to say they'd be delighted if Bob was a candidate, that helped."
Weiss said he was surprised and pleased by the support he received from his players.
"I'm happy that they like me as an individual," he said, "but I'm more happy that they had the confidence in me, after working with me on the basketball court, to put the confidence on me that I can carry them forward."
Players are excited to play for Weiss because of the strong relationships they had with him as an assistant coach, and while the move to head coach will necessarily change those relationships "in a minor way," in Weiss' words, he sees his management style as the biggest difference as compared to McMillan.
"Nate is an intense guy, as am I, but I have the ability to step back and take a deep breath and Nate is just full boar," said Weiss. "He carries you with him every second. I'm a little easier going than Nate, and that's probably the biggest difference."
On the court, Weiss said the Sonics style is, "probably going to be a continuation of what we wanted to do," but he did mention a few changes. Weiss wants to get the Sonics playing at a somewhat faster pace than they did last season, when, despite a reputation as a run-and-gun squad, they were actually one of the league's slower teams. He also plans to focus on the defensive end of the court, mentioning simplifying the team's defense to some extent while placing more emphasis on team defense.
Weiss' leadership style will also change the role for veteran Sonics players in the locker room.
"If there's anything going on wrong on a team, sometimes the head coach or the coaches are the last to know because the players hide things," he explained. "We've got to get players involved. We've got great leaders here in Ray and Rashard."
While the 11 years Weiss spent as an assistant between head coaching jobs is hardly unprecedented - both Hubie Brown and Paul Silas, for example, went 16 years between head jobs - he had begun to think his chance to be a head coach in the NBA had come and gone, a prospect which did not necessarily bother him.
"I think I became comfortable being an assistant, kind of drifted out of the mainstream for a while," Weiss said. "I was content with what I was doing."
When McMillan left, however, it took Weiss "about three minutes" to decide he wanted the Sonics job. That feeling hasn't changed since, with Weiss saying he's already noticed changes in his habits.
"As an assistant, I kind of can do that job with one hand behind my back," he said. "Now, since Nate left, I don't think I've set an alarm clock once. I wake up between five and six thinking about basketball, and it's the last thing I think about at night. It's so much more all-consuming.
"I know I've said this before, but being an assistant is like being a spectator in reality. You can contribute a little bit, but that's all. When you're the head coach, it's like being in the game. You're back competing."
Weiss is beginning the job of filling out his staff. In addition to holdover Jack Sikma, current video coordinator Walt Rock is likely to be one of Weiss' assistants.
"He did a lot of it last year," said Weiss. "He was our video coordinator, but he was on the floor and in a lot of meetings."
Weiss was unwilling to be specific on who will fill what will likely be two other spots on his coaching staff.
"I'm still mulling that over in my mind, exactly what I'm looking for," he said. "I've got a pretty good idea, but I don't want to put myself in a box right now."
