Day: July 23, 2008

Raptors front office promotions

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday that the following changes have been made to the structure of the basketball operations department:

Maurizio Gherardini (formerly Vice President/Assistant General Manager) has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations. Since joining the Raptors prior to the 2006-07 season, Gherardini’s knowledge and vast international experience have been instrumental in helping facilitate a multitude of transactions involving both domestic and international players.

Marc Eversley (formerly Director of Basketball Operations) has been promoted to Assistant General Manager, Player Development. Eversley who joined the Raptors prior to the 2006-07 season will continue to play an integral role in off-court development and relationship management of the players.

Masai Ujiri (formerly Director of Global Scouting) has been promoted to Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel. Since joining the front office in July of last year, Ujiri has played a key role in the player procurement process, including all aspects of scouting, talent assessment and related data management.

Jim Kelly (formerly Director of Player Personnel), entering his 15th season with the team, has been promoted to Senior Director of Player Personnel. In addition to his prominent scouting role of all college, professional and international prospects, Kelly has managed the team’s recent free agent camps, draft workouts and summer league team.

Steve Fruitman (formerly Director of Basketball Finance) has been promoted to Senior Director of Basketball Administration. Fruitman’s extensive knowledge of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, insurance programs and other related business complexities have made him invaluable to the organization.

Micah Nori (formerly Advance Scout) has been promoted to Director of NBA Scouting. Nori, entering his 11th season with Toronto, will take over the management of the video scouting/editing suite and will continue to serve as the interface with the coaching staff as it relates to advance (opponent) scouting.

Raptors President and General Manager, Bryan Colangelo said, “We have assembled an exemplary front office and all of these individuals deserve to be recognized as key contributors to our successes on and off the court.”

OKC team gets practice facility

Oklahoma City’s new NBA team has reached an agreement in principle to purchase the Performance Sports Center building in north Oklahoma City to use as its temporary home for practice and basketball operations offices, team officials announced today. The 30,000 square foot facility will serve as the team’s practice facility until a permanent one is constructed at a still to be determined location.

“We were quite impressed with what Performance Sports Center was able to offer for our temporary needs.  The NBA size court and weight and training facilities are efficient for us in the interim ” said team General Manager Sam Presti. “It’s an excellent location and we feel our players, coaches and staff will fit in well there. The Oklahoma City area offered several good facilities but we decided this best met our needs,” Presti said.

The facility will require some minor improvements to meet temporary team needs and NBA specifications including changes to the locker rooms, training area, office space, meeting rooms and media room. The team plans to move in once the improvements are made, which should be by the time training camp opens in late September. The City of Oklahoma City is assisting in providing the temporary facility.

Presti added it’s more than just a place to practice basketball. “This is a very important piece of our basketball operations. It’s the players’ office, where they spend a great deal of time practicing, conditioning and continuing to develop as a team.”

Timberwolves re-sign Sebastian Telfair

Minnesota Timberwolves Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale today announced the team has re-signed free-agent guard Sebastian Telfair. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Sebastian showed a lot of growth as a point guard and decision-maker last season and bringing him back was a priority for us this offseason,” McHale said. “He gives us another experienced playmaker in the backcourt and I look forward to his continued development.”

The Timberwolves acquired Telfair on July 31, 2007 in a trade with Boston. In his lone season with Minnesota, the 6-0 guard averaged 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and a career-high 5.9 assists per game, finishing the season ranked 10th in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.20-to-1). Telfair appeared in 60 games for the Wolves, starting 51, before missing the final 21 contests with a sprained left ankle.

Originally selected by Portland with the 13th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Telfair played two seasons with the Blazers before being dealt to Boston in a draft-night trade on June 28, 2006. In his four seasons with the Blazers, Celtics and Wolves, Telfair has appeared in 274 games, posting career averages of 7.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Celtics re-sign Tony Allen

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have re-signed guard Tony Allen.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Allen, a 6’4”, 213lb guard, has spent his entire four year career with the Celtics after being drafted with the 25th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.  The former Oklahoma State Cowboy recorded career highs in minutes (1373), assists (114) and points (494) in 75 games last season as he worked to return from his January 2007 knee injury.  Allen posted averages of 6.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game during the 2007-08 campaign.  In his 11 starts last season Allen averaged 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.45 steals in 29.2 minutes per game including a 16 point performance in a 110-91 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles on December 31, 2007.  The Celtics had a 9-2 record in games that Allen started last season.  Allen has posted career averages of 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.01 steals in 236 career games.