Sonics Notebook | Weiss reflects on brief tenure as Sonics coach

DALLAS — A year ago today, the Bob Weiss era abruptly ended. The Sonics were 30 games into the 2005-06 campaign. Expectations were high after winning 52 games the previous season and pushing San Antonio to six games in the second round of the playoffs.

Although not the most accomplished candidate, Weiss, a longtime Sonics assistant and a member of the 1967 expansion team, was the only person interviewed after coach Nate McMillan left to coach the Portland Trail Blazers. Weiss received overwhelming support from the players and front office.

Just two months into the job, however, the Sonics were reeling. The defending Northwest Division champions were four games under .500 at 13-17.

Weiss was the scapegoat, although his dismissal did little to turn around the Sonics, who have since posted a 35-50 record.

"I really wasn't having any fun," he said Sunday in his first extended interview since being released on Jan. 3, 2006. "It was a tough situation, but I thought it was a little early."

While declining to go into specific detail, Weiss said that the decision to fire him came from the ownership group that sold the team six months later.

"Howard [Schultz] was a little rambunctious," he said.

Weiss, 64, remains closely associated with the Sonics. He's still on the team payroll — his two-year deal expires after the season — and he's also an NBA and college basketball analyst for FSN.

"It's not unheard of," Weiss said. "I've been with the organization for so long that it's like home and it's a part of me."

Weiss acknowledged the similarities between last season and this season, although he declined to speculate on current coach Bob Hill's future.

"I don't want to go there," he said.

Just before Weiss' departure, the Sonics considered assigning Robert Swift to the NBA Developmental League.

On Sunday, however, Weiss said he had wanted to start Swift ahead of former Sonic Vitaly Potapenko.

"I was at the point where the day before I got fired, I had decided we just weren't big enough inside [and] that it was time to go with the young guys," Weiss said. "I was going to start Robert. Bob started [Johan] Petro, but I would have gone with Robert. Otherwise, I don't know what else I could have done."

Staying put

Injuries have forced Hill to rely on 11 different lineups this season. However, he's striving for consistency and doesn't plan to make additional changes anytime soon.

"I'm going to try my best to stay with this until we get Rashard [Lewis] back," he said.

Still, it remains unlikely Danny Fortson can start every game at center because of a sore right knee. Fortson's availability for tonight's game in Houston is questionable.

"As long as his knee doesn't swell after the game, I'll try to use him just versus [Dikembe] Mutombo tomorrow," Hill said. "He doesn't play that many minutes. He said he thought he'd be OK, but we still have to wait and see."