Sonics name new executive

The Sonics will name Utah Jazz head scout Troy Weaver as their assistant general manager, two NBA sources told the Seattle P-I on Wednesday.

Weaver replaces Scott Perry, who spent one season in Seattle before returning to the Detroit Pistons as vice president of basketball operations. The Sonics had no comment on the assistant general manager search.

Weaver spent four years with the Jazz as a scout and has extensive experience working with blue-chip prospects. He spent four years as an assistant to Jim Boeheim and was responsible for recruiting Carmelo Anthony.

Weaver was also an assistant coach at Pittsburgh and the University of New Mexico. And he has a special link with Sonics star Kevin Durant. Weaver co-founded the D.C. Assault AAU team that was a powerful club that produced Kansas State standout Michael Beasley, a close friend of Durant's.

The Jazz has had fruitful drafts the past four years, including point guard Deron Williams, valuable forward Paul Millsap and starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer. The Jazz also tabbed former Rice standout Morris Almond and improving guard C.J. Miles.

Perry left for the Pistons near the end of the regular season and was considered a key confidant for general manager Sam Presti, who hired him soon after taking the GM job in June 2007. Weaver is considered one of the league's top young executives and his hiring is considered a coup for the Sonics.

"He is a tremendous evaluator of talent and an outstanding person," Boeheim said when Weaver left Syracuse for the Jazz. "He is one of the best assistant coaches I have worked with over the past 20 years and I hate to see him go."

The Sonics are in the midst of preparing for the June 26 draft and have three of the first 32 picks and six overall.

The NBA draft lottery is May 20 and the Sonics have a combined 39 percent chance of landing one of the top two picks, widely expected to be Beasley and Memphis point guard Derrick Rose.