Thunder restructures the front office
Rob Hennigan
The Thunder announced today via a release that they have restructured the front office to compensate for the departure of Rich Cho.
Troy Weaver was promoted to VP/Assistant General Manager, Rob Hennigan to Assistant General Manager/Player Personnel, Paul Rivers to Director of Minor League Operations and Basketball Technology and Brandon Barnett to Director of Minor League Scouting and Manager of Minor League Operations. The team added Michael Winger as Assistant General Manager/Legal and Administration and David Vanterpool as Pro Scout.
“We are pleased to continue to promote from within our organization while also bringing in new people who will enhance and compliment our current staff” said Presti. “The promotions for Troy, Rob, Paul and Brandon are well deserved. They are selfless workers who are extremely committed to our organization.” Presti added, “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to also add people such as Michael and David to our team; both will enhance our organization and help us grow in a positive direction.”
Weaver, who enters his third season with the Thunder organization, spent the previous two seasons as Assistant General Manager focusing on roster development and day-to-day basketball operations. Weaver joined the Thunder after spending four seasons in the Utah Jazz front office. The Maryland native began his career as a coach and spent nine seasons as a collegiate coach with Syracuse University, University of New Mexico and University of Pittsburgh before moving to the NBA.
Hennigan spent the previous two seasons as the Thunder’s Director, of College/International Player Personnel where he focused on NBA Draft preparation and assisted on the day-to-day operations of the Thunder’s front office. Prior to joining the Thunder, from 2004-2001, Hennigan spent four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs working his way from basketball operations intern to Director of Basketball Operations.
Winger joins the Thunder from the Cleveland Cavaliers where he served as Director of Basketball Operations & Team Counsel. He enjoyed five seasons with the Cavaliers in various front office capacities, working on all matters within basketball operations. Winger will focus on player contract negotiations and drafting, salary cap management, as well as other basketball legal and administrative duties.
Rivers enters his fourth season with the Thunder. He served as the Director of Basketball Administration and Technology for the past three seasons. Rivers joined the Thunder after serving as a video coordinator with the Detroit Pistons (2005-07) and the San Antonio Spurs (2004-05). He spent two years working for head Coach Tom Izzo as a member of Michigan State University’s basketball program. Rivers will oversee the operations for the Thunder’s Minor League affiliate in Tulsa.
Barnett joined the Thunder in 2008 as the team’s Manager of Minor League Operations and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Tulsa 66ers. Prior to joining the Thunder, Barnett spent two seasons at the NBA league office in New York. Barnett will oversee Minor League Scouting Operations in his new role.
Vanterpool joins the Thunder from CSKA in Moscow, Russia where he was most recently an assistant coach for the European power. Vanterpool enjoyed a 14-year playing career in the US and Europe, most recently with CSKA where he helped lead the team to the Russian Championship and the Russian Cup in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. He was a member of the 2006 Euroleague Championship team. The 6-4 guard, who played 27 games with the Washington Wizards during the 2000-01 season, also played professionally in Italy and China. Vanterpool will focus on Professional Scouting in the United States and Overseas.