Originally published June 23, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified June 23, 2007 at 2:01 AM

Sonics fire radio announcer Locke

During a week of upheaval inside the Sonics' front office, radio play-by-play announcer David Locke became the latest employee to be fired...

By Percy Allen

Seattle Times staff reporter

Talk about the team in the Sonics forum

During a week of upheaval inside the Sonics' front office, radio play-by-play announcer David Locke became the latest employee to be fired. The team removed his posts from its Web sites on Friday, terminated his two-year contract and notified employees of the decision in an e-mail.

The Sonics are expected to announce the decision today, although it is not clear if the team will replace Locke with another announcer or return to a simulcast with the television broadcast.

Locke, 36, took over last year when the Sonics became the last NBA team to separate its broadcasts and moved to KTTH-AM (770). He had worked at KJR (950 AM) for the previous eight years and was a play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Storm for seven seasons.

The future of Francis Williams, who served as a commentator on radio broadcasts last season, is uncertain.

Earlier in the week, the Sonics released its two top scouts, Dave Pendergraft and Steve Rosenberry, and hired assistant general manager Scott Perry from Detroit.

Work it out

After interviewing Ohio State center Greg Oden on Friday, the Sonics conducted workouts for Lodrick Stewart, former Rainier Beach star and USC guard; UCLA guard Arron Afflalo, Air Force forward Dan Nwaelele, a graduate of Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, and North Carolina forward Reyshawn Terry. The team had center Stanko Barac of Bosnia in for an audition Thursday.

Notes

• Vice chairman Lenny Wilkens, who had served as a FSN color analyst, last season will not return. An industry source said former Sonics analyst Marques Johnson is negotiating a return.

• According to the Sacramento Bee, Sonics general manager Sam Presti interviewed Sacramento assistant Scott Brooks this week for the Seattle coaching job.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

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