The Salt Lake City Stars, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, announced today that Dean Cooper will return as head coach for the team’s inaugural 2016-17 season in Salt Lake City.
Cooper enters his third season as the head coach for the Jazz’s D-League affiliate. Before joining the organization in 2014, Cooper spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets on Kevin McHale’s staff. He began his NBA career with the Rockets in 1999 as a video coordinator, eventually becoming an assistant coach to Rudy Tomjanovich. When Jeff Van Gundy succeeded Tomjanovich, Cooper transitioned to the front office as a personnel scout for one season before eventually becoming the Director of Scouting (2004-07) and Vice President of Player Personnel (2007-08).
He spent the 2008-09 season as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves when McHale was the interim coach. Following a one-year stint as a regional scout for the Timberwolves (2009-10), Cooper became Director of Player Development for the Portland Trail Blazers under Nate McMillan.
Prior to the NBA, Cooper coached four years at the collegiate level.
The Salt Lake City Stars, the NBA D-League team owned and operated by the Utah Jazz, will play their inaugural season in Utah in 2016-17. The Utah Jazz relocated the Boise-based Idaho Stampede in April 2016 after purchasing the team in March 2015 following a single affiliation agreement for the 2014 season.
