Hill out in Seattle shake-up

Seattle fired coach Bob Hill and removed Rick Sund as general manager Tuesday after a 31-51 season that was the SuperSonics’ worst since finishing the 1985-86 season with an identical record.

Only three times in Seattle’s 40-year history has it finished with a worse record.

Sund, with one-year remaining on his contract, will remain with the team as a consultant. Hill’s contract was set to expire in June. Both were brought in by the previous ownership group.

Vice chairman Lenny Wilkens is likely to be rumored for both positions, but has reiterated a lack of interest in returning to coaching.

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The Boston Celtics are severing ties with guard Sebastian Telfair days after he was arrested in the New York area and charged with carrying a loaded gun in his car.

Team managing partner Wyc Grousbeck said Telfair, the 13th pick in the 2004 draft and coming off a disappointing first season with the Celtics, would not be back with the team.

Telfair, with one year left on his contract, pleaded not guilty to a charge of felony second-degree possession of a weapon, and was released Friday on $7,500 bail.

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Sam Mitchell was named coach of the year after leading the Toronto Raptors to a team record-tying 47 victories and its first Atlantic Division title.

Mitchell won the honor over Utah’s Jerry Sloan, with 49 first-place votes for a total of 394 points in balloting by 128 basketball writers and broadcasters. Sloan had 301 points.

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LeBron James, who has a sprained left ankle, didn’t practice Tuesday but said he would play tonight in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference series against the Washington Wizards.

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The Clippers’ Sam Cassell will serve as a guest studio analyst for TNT on Thursday night, when the network televises an NBA playoff doubleheader that includes Game 3 of the Lakers-Phoenix Suns series. That game will also be on FSN West.

-- Larry Stewart