AUGUST 2: The Wizards have officially announced the hiring of Rogers as VP of pro personnel. He’ll oversee Washington’s NBA, G League, and international scouting efforts, according to the team.
“Johnny brings tremendous global experience, vast NBA knowledge and great basketball relationships to our franchise,” Sheppard said in a statement. “He is universally respected as a player and executive.”
JULY 30: After being named the permanent general manager in Washington, Tommy Sheppard is in the process of filling out the Wizards‘ front office, and is hiring Johnny Rogers away from the Clippers, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe (Twitter link).
According to ESPN’s report, Rogers will be named the Wizards’ VP of pro personnel, which will be a new position in the club’s front office. He had been the Clippers’ director of pro player personnel.
A handful of Clippers executives have drawn interest from rival NBA teams this summer, though the club managed to hang onto most of its front office talent. General manager Michael Winger and assistant GM Trent Redden opted to remain in Los Angeles after receiving consideration for jobs with other clubs.
However, the Clippers won’t be able to retain Rogers, who previously worked for the Thunder as well. In Washington, he’ll reunite for a second time with former OKC head coach Scott Brooks — as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets, Rogers and Brooks played together in college at UC Irvine.
Ryan West, son of Jerry West, held the exact same title with the Lakers until he was relieved of his duties the other day. So one might speculate that Rogers had been told he would be replaced. In any case, the Lakers now have an opening for that position.
Rogers was good, but I suspect West is just as good. The one thing the Lakers have done at an elite level during this period of failure has been drafting. West will be a coveted NBA executive by some team, so why not LAC?
I meant to say “the Clippers have an opening…”
Sounds like a gamble.