Clippers hire Gerald Madkins for front office position

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 11:03 pm

In their quest to continue to change the team's culture, the Clippers have hired highly-thought-of Gerald Madkins to be the team’s director of basketball operations, said NBA executives Friday who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Madkins, who has worked in the NBA for 10 years, will work in the front office alongside Gary Sacks, who was recently named the Clippers’ general manager.

Madkins spent the last two seasons with the New Orleans Hornets as their director of player personnel. He served as the director of scouting for the Houston Rockets for two years, as the director of West Coast college scouting for the Seattle SuperSonics for one year and as a scout for the New York Knicks from 2003 to 2007.

Madkins played at UCLA from 1987 to 1992 and was an assistant coach with the Bruins for two years.

Brad Turner, LA Times

Post #2 » by **mkwest** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 11:25 pm

Madkins will be taking over Sacks' old position. I've read that he was a key influence of the Sonics drafting Westbrook. With our financial situation as it is, making wise draft picks and picking up overlooked talent is going to be important. I hope he can be a positive addition in those areas.

I'm happy that we're adding to the FO after taking a hit earlier in the summer. Right now, it's easy to question if his hiring was because of his track record or because of a possible connection to CP3 (spent a season together in NO). It doesn't hurt that there is some familiarity. Paul is getting a lot of say with some of the personnel decisions and I'm sure that he is enjoying that. With the Hornets, it was a little harder for him to have a say when the owner was trying to keep the costs down.

illastrate · Post #3 » by **illastrate** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:40 pm

Good to see another FO hire. Madkins seems well-respected and should help Sacks in recruiting and signing talent.

Neddy · Post #4 » by **Neddy** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:11 pm

i guess madkins is the next GM in making when sacks' long term contract doesn't pan out with DTS

Post #5 » by **mkwest** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:24 am

GERALD MADKINS HIRED AS DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS

Prior to his role in New Orleans, Madkins served as the Director of Scouting for the Houston Rockets from 2008-2010. During his time in Houston, the Rockets advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals in 2009 and acquired Trevor Ariza and Kevin Martin via free agency. The Rockets also drafted Sergio Llul (34th pick) and Chase Budinger, (44th pick) in the 2009 NBA draft, and Patrick Patterson (14th pick) in the 2010 NBA draft. In addition to overseeing the scouting staff and evaluating college, developmental league and international talent, Madkins assisted the basketball operations staff with statistical analysis. Madkins also served as the Vice President of Player Personnel for Houston’s NBA Developmental League affiliate, the Rio Grand Valley Vipers.

Prior to his role with the Rockets, Madkins served as the Director of West Coast Scouting for the former Seattle Supersonics and current Oklahoma City Thunder. During his tenure, the Sonics drafted Russell Westbrook (4th pick), Serge Ibaka (24th pick) and DJ White (29th pick) in the 2008 NBA draft. Madkins also served as a scout for the New York Knicks from 2003-07, when the Knicks notably drafted Trevor Ariza with the 43rd pick in 2003. The Knicks also drafted Channing Frye (8th pick) Nate Robinson (22nd pick) and David Lee (30th pick) in the 2004 NBA draft, and Wilson Chandler (17th pick) among others during Madkins’ tenure.

Also new to the basketball operations department is Eric Miller, who will step into the role of Director of Basketball Administration. Miller’s responsibilities will include salary cap and database management, contract negotiations, analytics, scheduling of preseason games as well as assisting the Vice President of Basketball Operations in all other front office duties. Prior to joining the Clippers, Miller worked seven years as a CPA in public accounting in the San Fernando Valley. A 2000 graduate of Cal State Northridge with a degree in Accountancy, Miller, his wife Joanna and their four children Hannah, Luke, Ava and Sofia reside in Calabasas.

Rounding out the changes in the basketball operations department is Jason Piombetti, who has been promoted to the position of Director of Scouting. This marks Piombetti’s eighth overall season with the team. Piombetti previously held the position of Scouting Coordinator for the past two seasons after joining the Clippers as Basketball Operations Assistant in 2005. He came to the Clippers after serving two seasons (2003-05) in the baseball operations department for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his current role, Piombetti will oversee the team’s domestic scouting efforts and evaluate prospects in college and the NBA D-League and will also assist in the day-to-day activities of the basketball operations department. In addition, he will continue to compile information for the upcoming NBA Draft. Piombetti graduated from Cal Poly San Louis Obispo in 2003 with a double-major in Biology and Business Administration and was a member of the Mustang baseball team. A New Jersey native, Piombetti and his wife Christina reside in Beverly Hills.

Eric Patten, Clippers.com

Some more details into some of the decisions that Madkins may have had a part of in the past as well other recent hirings/promotions in the front office.