At the quarter pole of the season Seattle general manager Sam Presti met with all of the beat reporters who cover the Seattle SuperSonics to talk about the team. The following is my conversation with Presti on several different topics concerning the rebuilding of this franchise.

Q: What’s your assessment of the team as far as where they are at a quarter of the way into the season in terms of this rebuilding process?

A: As we go through the year I think it’s good to look at the group and look at the team in chunks. At this point, we feel good about the way our guys have competed every night. I think they’ve been consistent with that.

And also obviously we’ve said consistently we want to have a defensive mentality, and I think we’ve taken steps toward that direction. And I think our guys have been great about working at that everyday and being committed to that. And we’re excited about the direction we’re headed in.

Q: Specifically what are your thoughts on the development of the two rookies, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green and where they are at, at this point of the season?

A: Sure. Both of those guys I think have handled the challenges of being a rookie in this league exceptionally well. And I think it speaks to the type of people they are and the way they’ve been raised. Both Kevin and Jeff our guys who want to learn. They want to get better. But they understand it is a process.

Obviously being in a rookie in the NBA there’s going to be peaks and there’s going to be valleys. Watching them go through that, and watching them manage their successes, and also respond to their adversities is helpful for us to learn about where they are and ultimately where we hope they will be.

[More:]

Q: Are you happy with where they are at right now?

A: Certainly. Both of those guys have taken on the challenge and have improved since the beginning of camp. And really our interest is watching them develop and letting them develop, and they’ve both done that for us.

Q: What are your thoughts on coach P.J. Carlesimo and the job that he’s done for this team? I know you would probably like to see more wins than you have, but are you happy with the job he’s done?

A: I think all of us associated with the ball club would like to have more wins than we have. But we also understand that trying to define an identity, or trying to establish the identity of our basketball team is not something that’s going to happen overnight.

And I think P.J.’s emphasis on defense and consistency making it clear that we are a defensive team first. And then his teaching, you know, teaching that system and letting the young guys learn on the fly a little bit. I think he’s done a tremendous job in that respect.

Defensively we’ve gotten better as the season has gone on. I think we are 12th in defensive field goal percentage (13th actually at 44.9 percent). We started the year at 16th at 10 games through, and last year our team finished 28th last season (47.6 percent).

In terms of overall rebounding we were 26th last year, and we’re the second overall rebounding team this year. So I think we’re certainly not where we want to be defensively, and we’re always going to push to get better. And we have a long way to go, but I think our guys should be really commended for committing to putting a defensive mentality together.

One other thing I would add is we’ve held five teams to under 40 percent shooting this season, and last year that only happened nine times for the entire year. And obviously when we’re able to stop people like that, it gives you the opportunity to win ball games. And I’m excited to see our team continue on that path.

Q: How hard has it been to evaluate every player with all of the injuries you’ve had, particularly with Robert Swift being out for as long as he has, and Luke Ridnour and Delonte West being out for stretches of the season?

A: You certainly would like to have a full compliment of players. But the reality is everyone has got injuries, and you have to push through that. Injuries are obviously tough from an evaluation standpoint. But our coaches and our teams understand that every team in this league is nicked up, bumped and bruised. And it’s not really and excuse for us. We’ve got to go out there and put an effort together and continue to push forward.

But sure you would like to have everyone out there together, especially so you can watch the group in full.

Q: Do the injuries move forward the time you’re going to allow to evaluate players because you haven’t had a chance to do it in the first 20 games?

A: I think you’re always evaluating the team. That’s an important thing for us. We always want to be learning about our players. We always want to be focused on putting them in the best positions to succeed, and evaluate the team in general.

Q: There are some trade rumors swirling around some of the players, particularly Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour being mentioned in possible trade scenarios. How do you evaluate those things in terms of the long-term growth of the franchise and how you want to build this team for the future?

A: Sure. It’s not our practice to comment on trade speculation or negotiation speculation other than to say we have a responsibility to improve our team if we think something can improve our team. But we’re not in a rush to do anything in that regard.

Q: How important is it to hold onto key role players that can help contribute to the foundation you’ve established with Durant and Green, in particular a player like Kurt Thomas that obviously brings a lot to the table and will help in the development of those young players?

A: Obviously the veteran players we have on our roster, we certainly rely on them for production, for stability and for leadership. And the guys that we’ve got have done a great job of coming out and playing hard and setting an example in that way. And I really feel good about the professionalism that the core of our team and are veterans have shown.

Q: In terms of what guys you will keep around do you have to wait and see how those things play out?

A: We still have to continue to learn our group. We have yet to see the group in full as we’ve talked about so it’s a little more difficult. But anytime you feel there’s a player that can help your ball club on the floor or off the floor, we’re going to be aggressive in trying to make sure we help our team any way we can.

Q: You’ve been traveling with the team a lot during these first 20 to 25 games, which seems a little bit unusual for a general manager. Why do you think it’s important that you’re on these road trips with the team?

A: I think early in the process it’s a great opportunity to evaluate our group. To be with the group and see the game and also the shootarounds and the practices, just to learn more about the tone of the team and the pulse of the team. It’s probably I’ll continue to do throughout the year, but early in the season it’s been helpful for me and the job that I have to do.

Obviously on the road you learn more about your team because it’s not as easy to win on the road in the NBA. So seeing our team in those environments has been helpful to me. It’s also given P.J. and I more time to talk about the group.

Q: Overall do you feel like the team is making progress? Do you feel like the team is moving in the right direction?

A: I think for sure obviously defensively. We’re seeing some improvement and that’s important for the type of teams we want to put together. We’re far from where we want to be. But we’re also taking step in that respect. Our guys have competed consistently, and that’s another core value that we want to see our team represent.

And we understand that it is a process, and that one of objectives is we want to put together a team that will sustain success. And that’s not something that happens overnight. That happens as we chip at it everyday. And each day that we are together as a ball club is an opportunity to improve and further enhance that identity.