Wolves Announce Basketball Operations Restructuring
September 26, 2009
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced a restructuring of their basketball operations department. The changes in the front office reflect the organization's commitment to a greater emphasis on NBA player scouting.
Fred Hoiberg, who has served as Assistant General Manager for the past three seasons, has been named Vice President of Basketball Operations and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the department. He will report directly to David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations.
Jerry Sichting has been named the Director of Pro Player Personnel. Sichting will oversee the scouting of NBA players as the Timberwolves head into the summer of 2010 with significant salary cap room. He will also confer on a regular basis with head coach Kurt Rambis.
"Jerry's experience in both player personnel and on the bench makes him well suited to handle this important task for us," Kahn said. "This coming summer is obviously an important one for our franchise." Additionally, Rob Babcock has been named Director of Scouting/Administration, Zarko Durisic has been named Director of College and European Player Personnel and Amy Peterson has been named Director of Team Operations.
The Timberwolves will also move to a more regionalized approach to scouting this season, with scouts located in several NBA markets. These scouts will report on both college and pro talent, so that the team has a more integrated approach to player evaluation.
"By regionalizing our scouting and focusing on key markets, we should be able to accumulate more information in a more efficient, cost-effective manner," Kahn said. "These scouts also will be critical in our assessment of free agents and player acquisitions."
The Timberwolves regional scouts will be Milton Barnes, Dean Cooper, Pete Philo, Derek Pierce, J.T. Prada and Jim Stack.
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/Wo ... 09_26.html
