The Sonics practiced light today, with players coming in do some shooting and lifting for about an hour, and injured players getting some treatment.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo talked to reporters afterward and had some interesting things to say about where the team stands right now.

On the performance and production at point guard:

“It seems that Earl has been here all the time, so we’ve gotten a chance to watch him a lot in practice and he’s got the most minutes by a sizable margin, especially if you combine the preseason.”

“Luke is the unknown now, which is kind of backwards because he’s been here the longest. He’s been a Sonic the longest and has played the most minutes for the franchise. But for us that hasn’t happened.”

Carlesimo went on to say the position is still muddled because Ridnour has been out, and Carlesimo wants to give Delonte West some more starts to see what he can do before he determines roles for all three guys.

“We’re not going to have the kind of resolution we want for awhile,” Carlesimo said. “I just think that there’s more that goes into it. I mean I think it is how they defend and how they’re running the team, not just the points and the assists and the field goal percentage, but the whole thing. I think they’ve done a decent job.

“When our record is what it is no one is going to get graded well – coaches, players or any position. I’m not throwing us all under the bus, but it would be inaccurate to say, ‘This position has been really good for us.’ It’s not. It’s all part of the team thing. And we’re not doing as good of job as we all feel we’re capable of doing.”

On the team’s 2-14 start:

“We’re not happy with a lot because we are not winning basketball games. We are making progress in terms of the team is playing better basketball now than two weeks ago.

“But losing basketball games is not the best way to learn. Sometimes you learn more when you lose than when you win, but a part of our learning is to learn how to win, too. And we haven’t done that yet. And that still to me colors the whole thing.

“To me it’s still we’ve got to find a unit that’s able to get better results than we’ve been getting. And I still believe we can be a lot more productive and a lot more successful than we’ve been so far, even with all of the other factors that are present.”

On Kevin Durant’s development:

“I think he is becoming better certainly with his decision making, and certainly with his shot selection. And he’s involving people more. We’re putting him in more pick-and-role situations than we did earlier. He’s getting more assists.

“Kevin gets a lot of touches because we go to him. So he’s going to get that. I think he’s doing a much better job playing within the offense, distributing the ball to other guys and not holding onto the ball when it’s not appropriate. He’s doing that much better recently than he did early.”

Carlesimo went on to say that Durant will remain a focal part of the offense as he continues to develop, but he does not see Durant becoming a Magic Johnson-type of player with him coaching. Carlesimo is a traditionalist who believes that’s the role of his point guard to run the offense and get the ball to his scorers.

“There are some guys who are good at getting themselves a shot but aren’t real good at creating situations and distributing to people when it’s there,” Carlesimo said about Durant. “I think he can do both. And it’s not something we taught him. He’s good at that. He sees people.”

While covering Seattle’s 2-14 start to the season has had its share of ups and downs, as beat reporters we have not reached the depression level apparently suffered by the folks covering the New York Knicks, as detailed in this story from the New York Observer.

Beat writers from the New York Times, the New York Daily News and other newspapers describe what they consider oppressive tactics by the Knicks’ PR staff, including one reporter who has a security guard tracking his every move at Madison Square Garden.

With a new regime taking over the Sonics media time has been regimented, with both players and coaches making themselves available during certain appointed times before and after games.

It’s definitely not as informal as it has been in the past, but the guys, at least from my perspective, have been accessible and for the most part willing to talk when I’ve asked for them. Hopefully that continues throughout the rest of the season