All joking aside, new Sonics GM is the real deal

In the second minute of his first impression, Sam Presti attempted a joke. This was ambitious. The 30-year-old wunderkind was looking good, nervous but good, during his introduction as the Sonics' new general manager. Now he craved charm points.

"With that, I will open it up," he said while concluding his opening remarks, "and we can start talking about my birthday."

His delivery was more mechanical than a Mouhamed Sene post move. The two men sitting next to him, Clay Bennett and Lenny Wilkens, laughed softly. A few media members tittered a tad. That was about it.

Nice try. Too stiff.

Well, he can't be too polished too soon.

Kidding aside, it was a riveting first day for Presti. He appeared to be everything the Sonics need: a mastermind with perspective, creative but realistic, highbrow but low-key.

He managed to inspire confidence without saying anything of substance. That's Chapter 1 of the GM Handbook, right? It must be. The best ones know the trick so well.

Asked about his vision for the Sonics, Presti said: "We want resilient players. We want competitors. We want professionals."

Guess that means no more Danny Fortson.

Asked about his greatest feat to date — convincing San Antonio to draft a skinny Frenchman with no jumper named Tony Parker — Presti said: "Organizations make decisions. Individuals don't."

Guess that means bench players won't be undermining the Sonics' coach, assuming they hire one, next season.

Asked if there's more to him than his basketball-geek persona, Presti said: "How do I say this without coming across as cheesy? I'm just myself."

Just Sam, huh?

Very well.

He's more than enough to rebuild this basketball team.

Bennett, the Sonics chairman, didn't just hire some GM. He hired the absolute best man to step into this situation and thrive. He just ensured his franchise will be a contender within four years, possibly sooner.

I've detailed Bennett's mistakes often in this space. Now I must give him credit: The rookie owner's first major hiring proves he understands the NBA better than suspected. Bennett was on the cutting edge with this decision. He has the hottest, rising young executive in the business.

Presti will run the Sonics with great efficiency. That's all he knows. He learned under the Spurs, who are attempting to win their fourth title in the past decade.

But Presti is impressive on his own, too. He won't build the Northwest Spurs here. He will take a different set of players and coaches and create a successful team with its own identity.

"Obviously, the San Antonio model is something that I anticipated having to talk about," Presti said. "That's San Antonio. That's a special situation with some special, special talents. We all know that. That's not what we're trying to recreate here. My focus is on Seattle. My focus is on where we're going."

For a 30-year-old, first-time GM, Presti comes across as incredibly mature. He can discuss team-building in a tangible and intangible manner. He is big on the philosophies of winning — building a culture, finding team-first personalities, infusing a roster with character — but he understands the NBA's bottom line is that players win games.

Presti's job will become that much easier in 20 days when the Sonics are expected to draft 18-year-old Kevin Durant No. 2 overall. Durant will give the Sonics a rookie to go with their rookie owner and rookie GM. The youth shall inherit the franchise.

Maybe the vets will be carrying the young guys' luggage next season.

"When Clay and I talked, one thing that wasn't a priority to us was how old the candidate was," Wilkens said of the GM search. "It was what his capabilities were, what his vision was. So we considered that.

"I've never felt that age should play a part in making a decision, especially when you're looking at talent."

Wilkens, the 69-year-old Sonics legend, was sacrificed to give Presti full authority. Bennett has changed Wilkens' job responsibility once again. Wilkens moves from team president back to vice chairman. Only Billy Donovan could understand the brevity of Wilkens' tenure.

The Sonics can't do anything without some controversy these days. But at least they've given their top basketball-operations job to a triple-threat GM. Presti understands the salary cap. He's an accomplished scout. And, at 30, he should be able to work well with the players.

As long as he perfects his punch lines.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. For more columns and the Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports