Report: GM interviews set
Team adds three more candidates
The Milwaukee Bucks have been granted permission to talk to three more front-office candidates following the departure of general manager John Hammond last week, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
On Tuesday, the Bucks received permission to speak with four executives from different NBA teams regarding the opening. Miami’s Adam Simon, Detroit’s Pat Garrity and Portland’s Bill Branch joined that list Thursday.
According to Wojnarowski, the Bucks plan to begin the formal interview process Monday in New York.
Simon has spent 22 seasons with the Heat, climbing the ladder from video intern to assistant general manager, a post he has held for the past four seasons. During his time as assistant GM, Simon also has been the general manager of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate since 2013.
No matter what the Bucks do to fill their front-office opening — hire from the outside, promote assistant GM Justin Zanik to general manager and bring in a new assistant or something else — they will have to consider their new D-League affiliate in Oshkosh, which will begin play in the fall. That team, the name of which is still to be determined, currently doesn’t have a front-office staff, coach or even players. Those pieces will have to fall into place over the summer before the D-League draft in October.
Garrity joined the Pistons’ staff in September 2014 as director of strategic planning after more than five years away from the NBA following 10 seasons as a player.
He began that career, interestingly, by getting drafted by the Bucks with the 19th pick in 1998. Garrity was part of the trade that sent Dirk Nowitzki, also picked by the Bucks in that draft, to Dallas for Robert Traylor. Later on draft day, Garrity was shipped to Phoenix as part of the trade that brought Steve Nash to Dallas.
Garrity spent nine of his seasons with the Orlando Magic. In his final season, 2007-’08, he played for head coach Stan Van Gundy.
It was Van Gundy who brought Garrity to the Pistons in 2014. Last summer Van Gundy promoted Garrity to assistant general manager, with his roles including managing the team’s analytics staff and providing expertise regarding the salary cap.
Branch has been with the Trail Blazers as the team’s assistant general manager since 2010. He’s been in the league for 30 years, working in the Charlotte Hornets’ basketball operations from 1987-’97 before stints with the Denver Nuggets (1997-2007) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-’10). He’s spent many of those years scouting and evaluating NBA-level talent.