The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that they have hired Benetton Treviso general manager Maurizio Gherardini as the club?s vice president and assistant general manager. Gherardini becomes the first European to hold a senior management position with an NBA franchise.

?We are thrilled to have a globally esteemed basketball executive like Maurizio Gherardini join the Toronto Raptors,? said Bryan Colangelo, president and general manager of the Raptors. ?This is a ground breaking move for the league, appropriately with the NBA?s only true international franchise.?