New Orleans' administrative revamp continued yesterday, with not one, not two, not three... okay, three new additions.
First off, NewOrleans.com reported that the team hired Gerald Mankins as Vice President of Player Personnel (thanks to MrWayneKeller and RedHopeful for breaking it on At the Hive):
Madkins comes to the Hornets from division rival Houston, where he worked for the past two seasons as the team's Director of Scouting.
Before working for the Rockets, Madkins served as a scout for the New York Knicks from 2003-2007. He moved from New York to Seattle as a scout for the Seattle Supersonics in 2007-2008.
As the article goes on to note, this puts Brian Hagen's role into question.
The Hornets also hired Randy Ayers and Fred Vinson as assistant coaches. This brings the total assistant count to give (Mike Malone (the lead), Bryan Gates, and James Borrego the others). Again, from NewOrleans.com:
Williams, embarking on his first-year as a head coach on any level, said he contacted Ayers about joining him in New Orleans in the first few days following his hire by the Hornets. Now, he finally has his man.
"I can't tell you guys how excited I am to have Randy here to help me," explained Williams. "I needed some wisdom. The man has been a head coach on the college level and the NBA and in a number of systems and had a ton of success."
After serving as an assistant coach under Larry Brown in Philadelphia, Ayers was the head coach of the Sixers for part of the 2003-04 season, posting a 21-31 record. Last season, he served as an assistant with the 76ers. Other NBA coaching stops for Ayers include time with Orlando and Washington. He also was assistant coach at Ohio State for six seasons before taking over the reigns as head coach of the Buckeyes for 8 years.
And the snippet relevant to Fred Vinson:
Fred Vincent will join his staff an assistant coach focusing on young player development.
"(Vincent's) also a guy that is a big-time hire for us," Williams said. "I brought Fred in here specifically for (rookies) Quincy (Pondexter) and Craig (Brackins), and Darren (Collison) and Marcus (Thornton) because of his player development acumen."
Vinson, a Georgia Tech graduate, had been an assistant for the L.A. Clippers since 2007. During his time with L.A., he also served as the Director of Player Programs in those years, mentoring younger players to ease their transition in life in the NBA.
Good luck to the three newest members of the Hornets organization, and we should have further details on the trio soon.