Sonics owner Clay Bennett is scheduled to announce Friday afternoon that former Sonics coach and Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens will join the organization as a vice chairman, according to two sources.

Wilkens, 69, has been the team's television analyst for Fox Sports Northwest this season and will continue in that capacity. Wilkens' last job in the NBA was as head coach of the New York Knicks before being relieved of his duties after a 17-22 record in 2005.

Bob Hill told media members in a pregame interview that everything said and written by everyone in the 'coach vs. the bench' situation was "blown out of proportion."

"I wanted to stir it up," Hill said of his criticisms of Damien Wilkins and Earl Watson.

"But I didn't want to stir up a stew for Thanksgiving," Hill continued. "I wanted to stir some tea."

Perhaps the Sonics won't be leaving the Seattle area after all.

Clay Bennett, Chairman of the Seattle Sonics and Storm ownership group, will host a news conference on Wednesday to announce the retention of an architecture and design firm to design a new multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in the greater Seattle region.

When Damien Wilkins finished an interview on Monday, Bob Hill told him, ?I will be done in a second. Just go up in my office.?

?See, he is pouting today,? Hill said about Wilkins. ?He is pouting. How can he do that? He has a nice life.?

Wilkins and Earl Watson have been vocally and visibly upset with their lack of playing time.  Hill said Wilkins will not be dealt, but omitted to say the same thing about Watson.

?When you are going bad, which we are right now, everyone?s got excuses,? Hill said. ?I told them the other day, when things are going bad, some people can run to their locker and ... make excuses. The teams that win hold themselves accountable. (Say) ?Maybe I can do better.? If they are standing in my shoes and I am trying to win games and they are missing shots or not defending, I am not going to leave them out there. I?m not going to do it. It ain?t happening.?

For years, Ray Allen has complained about Bruce Bowen's defensive tactics. So it came as no surprise to him that the San Antonio guard has been warned by the NBA about his habit of sliding under players while they're shooting.

"What he does on the court, he does," Allen said, "and we know, around the league, what everybody does.

"When you do something on the grand stage in New York City, everybody definitely pays attention."

Stu Jackson, NBA vice president of operations, chose not to fine Bowen, but gave him a warning after a recent incident involving Bowen and Knicks guard Steve Francis.

"I don't know if that will be enough," Allen said. "The one good thing is now he knows that they [the referees] are watching it."

It appears as if Bob Hill's patience with his struggling bench is running short. And it also appears as if the bench's patience with Hill's inconsistent rotations and quick hooks is also wearing thin.

"We've been doing so poorly with our bench scoring," Hill said. "When we go to our bench it just falls off and puts more pressure on Rashard (Lewis) and Ray (Allen). That's a problem. We've got to figure out how to get some points. There is no help for the first group."

When told of Hill's comments, two members of the bench retorted that some of the responsibility may also lie with Hill and his inconsistent playing rotations. One player said privately that the reserves are busy looking back at the bench waiting to get pulled for the slightest miscue. It has put pressure on the reserves to perform immediately.

"I can't say that I speak for everybody but I know I speak for a few people," guard Damien Wilkins said. "I say he needs to develop a little bit more trust in us. It seems like his leash is so short with everybody on the bench. If he developed a little more trust in us I say we would be able to play with a little bit more confidence. But it seems like to me, we're all just out there thinking and not really knowing what to do."

For the first time this season, Heat coach Pat Riley publicly acknowledged that his search for a boost to get his struggling team going might extend beyond the team's roster.

Injuries and inconsistent play have hampered the Heat through a 4-8 start. Along the way, Riley has changed his starting lineup, his strategy and, he said, his patience level with the team's sporadic play.

Next could be a roster change, possibly at point guard, where Jason Williams and Gary Payton are battling knee injuries and Dwyane Wade has, at times, been overextended while logging extensive minutes at both guard positions.

Asked before Friday's game if it might be time to consider a roster move to land a veteran point guard, Riley said: ``Probably. Yeah. I think, probably. You've gotta do your due diligence. And plus, I'm not going to make any kind of lateral move.

``It's gotta be somebody who can play. I can play Dwyane there. I'd rather have a 50 percent Dwyane as a point guard than somebody who can't play.''

Riley already has gotten a close-up look at two potential veteran point guards the Heat might consider pursuing.

Seattle Sonics reserve Earl Watson has been unhappy with his inconsistent playing time.

Memphis' Damon Stoudamire and Atlanta's Tyronn Lue might also be attractive options because both are playing on short, relatively inexpensive contracts and fit Riley's win-now, rebuild-later philosophy.

''We've got a long list,'' Riley said.

Young Sonics center Robert Swift had surgery in Los Angeles on Wednesday to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament. Today will serve as the first day of an arduous and challenging rehabilitation process for the 20-year-old. Swift tweaked his knee on Oct. 25 during a preseason game with the Sacramento Kings.

Swift is expected to miss the rest of the season and may not be ready for training camp in 2007 if recent history is any indication. Denver forward Nene, who tore his right ACL on opening night last season and had surgery Nov. 21, 2005 -- 366 days prior to Swift -- was expected to be fully recovered by the regular season, but he is still experiencing knee soreness.

"He has no idea what he's headed into," Sonics coach Bob Hill said of Swift. "It's really hard and it's boring. You have to be in there (rehabilitating) every day. ... I've seen this operation destroy a guy's leg and they drag it because they don't rehab it right. It takes enormous discipline."

Sonicscentral has learned that Robert Swift is currently in Los Angeles attending his pre-operation appointment today.

Surgery on his injured knee is scheduled for tomorrow by Dr. Steve Lombardo, team doctor for the Lakers.

The surgery was originally to take place at the end of the month but was moved up one week at the Sonics? request.

The second marriage of Earl Watson and the Sonics has been a rocky one.  His minutes have been inconsistent and he has publicly voiced his concerns.

Watson sat down with coach Bob Hill on Thursday to clear the air, but there appears to be no resolution.

?I think that for the most part, coach and I have a great relationship,? Watson said. ?It is just rocky right now. We are adults, and we are in a business to win. I would just like to get on the same page and that is it.

?We need resolution. He says my shot is inconsistent. I say my minutes are inconsistent. We got to get on the same page.?