April 2012 Basketball Wiretap

Thunder Hire Darko Rajakovic To Become Head Coach Of D-League's 66ers

Oct 17, 2012 1:38 AM

The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to hire Darko Rajakovic to become the heaad coach the Tulsa 66ers, the franchise's D-League affiliate.

Rajakovic's hiring with the Tulsa 66ers is still pending his completion of the immigration process, sources said.

Rajakovic is the first European hired to be a head coach of a D-League or NBA franchise.

For the past three years, Rajakovic has been the head coach of Torrelodones in Spain, where he has gained a reputation as an excellent developer of talent.

Presti helped bring Rajakovic into the Spurs as a consultant and scout in 2004. 

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Oklahoma City Thunder, Tulsa 66ers, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA Misc Official Transaction, D-League, D-League Teams, D-League Misc Rumor

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Spurs Name Sean Marks GM Of Austin Toros

Oct 9, 2012 6:31 PM

The San Antonio Spurs announced several front office changes on Tuesday.

Sean Marks has been promoted to director of basketball operations/Toros general manager, Brian Pauga has been elevated to director of scouting and Gabe Farkas will assume the position of director of basketball analytics. Additionally, Matt Meiners has been hired as the manager of statistical development, Brandon James joins the Spurs as the manager of basketball administration and Trajan Langdon joins the team as a pro scout.

In addition to his duties with the Spurs, Marks, who spent last season as a basketball operations assistant for the team, will serve as the general manager for the Austin Toros. 

Pauga assumes the role of director of scouting after spending the past two seasons as the team’s scouting coordinator. The Michigan State graduate began his career with the Spurs as a basketball operations intern during the 2007-08 season before being elevated to an assistant.

Farkas has served as the Spurs coordinator of basketball analytics for the past two years. Originally from New York, he began his career with the team as an external statistical consultant in 2007.

Meiners most recently served as senior manager of basketball analytics for the NBA. Prior to his work in the league office, Meiners spent five seasons from 2004-09 as the basketball operations manager and scout for the Los Angeles Clippers.

James joins the Spurs front office after spending the previous four years serving several positions for IMG Sports, Entertainment and Media. A 2007 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, James spent a year as a judicial clerk in Georgia prior to joining IMG.

After being named to the 1999 All-ACC First Team while playing for Duke University, Langdon played three seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Following his stint in the NBA, Langdon played eight seasons overseas in Russia, Turkey and Italy.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: San Antonio Spurs, Austin Spurs, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA Misc Official Transaction, D-League, D-League Teams, D-League Misc Rumor

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