a multipositional player who can shoot the three, and he's a good fit with our team.

The importance of getting Ray done; that was our No. 1 priority in the offseason. He's really taken this team under his control in terms of leadership.

He and I agreed that a change needed to be made to serve as a catalyst for elevating the performance of our team, and the timing is right for us today.

I am not so much looking at what it's going to do this year as much as what does it do for the future. What pieces fit? What doesn't? What's the best style of play? The real question is not how they play today but how we perceive them to play in the future.

He's taking on a real nice leadership role,

His knowledge of defense will complement the skills of our existing staff.

His assists per minutes played is one of the best in the league. What we like is that there is no unknown with him. You know what you're getting. He knows who he is.

In my view, he's been developing since he took over. He's done a nice job.

In his three years with the Sonics, Vitaly has given us a tough, physical presence in the middle along with the ability to score.

It's never easy to make a deal, even those that seem the simplest. When you want to do it, another team maybe wants to wait. So there's much to consider.