Bill Branch, asst GM #2

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Bill Branch, 40, begins his 20th year in the NBA and his fifth season as assistant coach/director of scouting for the Nuggets. Regarded as one of the NBA’s top advance scouts, Branch is responsible for the preparation of all game plans and reports as well as assisting in practices.
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-NBA.com
 
I wonder. Should Born and Buchanan be a bit scared?

http://www.nba.com/coachfile/bill_branch/index.html

bill_branch.jpg


Bill Branch, 40, begins his 20th year in the NBA and his fifth season as assistant coach/director of scouting for the Nuggets. Regarded as one of the NBA’s top advance scouts, Branch is responsible for the preparation of all game plans and reports as well as assisting in practices.
In addition to those duties, Branch oversees the team’s pro personnel scouting, including the CBA and D-League. This past summer, Branch participated in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program in South Africa.

Branch is in his 10th season with Denver after starting his career with the Charlotte Hornets in 1987 as the expansion team’s first intern. The North Carolina-native spent 10 seasons on the Hornets basketball operations staff, working with general managers Allan Bristow, Dave Twardzik and Bob Bass. An administrative assistant in the player personnel department from 1987-90, Branch designed the team’s first computerized scouting database to track collegiate and pro talent. He was promoted to scout for the ‘90-91 season and completed his tenure with the club as its director of scouting from ’95-97, managing the day-to-day operations of the club’s scouting department as well as overseeing the team’s computerized and video scouting services. During Branch’s years in the personnel department, the Hornets drafted Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson and Kendall Gill.

Branch graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College in 1988 with a degree in sports management. He and his wife, Monicah, live in Denver with their new baby girl, Ava McGee.
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http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/bl...s-expected-to-hire-branch-rosenberry-as-assi/

One of the primary reasons the Portland Trail Blazers hired Rich Cho as the team’s general manager was because of the new-generation executive’s reputation for thinking outside the box.

Cho has done just that with his first major move as GM while leading an organization that is attempting to take the next step in its evolution.

The Blazers are expected to soon name Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry as co-assistant GMs, sources have informed The Columbian.

Branch's hire is official, while Rosenberry's deal with the Blazers is "99-percent" done, a team source said Tuesday.

Both will likely handle personnel-related duties and share similar job titles. The duo would combine to fill the role formerly held by Tom Penn, who was fired in March as the Blazers’ vice president of basketball operations.

Branch was Oklahoma City’s director of professional player personnel. Rosenberry served as Atlanta’s director of pro personnel/college scouting.

Cho focused upon acquiring Branch and Rosenberry as soon as he took over the Blazers’ GM position July 19.

Almost all 30 teams in the league employ a front-office system highlighted by one GM and a single assistant. But Cho decided to go a different route.

In addition, he opted to forgo star power for insider knowledge and expertise. Neither Branch nor Rosenberry are widely known outside the close-knit world of professional scouting. However, they perfectly fell in line with Cho’s desire for experienced talent evaluators who are expected to complement Portland lead scouts Michael Born and Chad Buchanan.

Branch worked with Cho for three seasons in Oklahoma City. Known to some as the “godfather of advanced scouting,” he has been in the league for 23 years and was previously employed by Denver and New Orleans.

Branch followed a career path similar to Cho, starting in 1987 as an intern with the then-Charlotte Hornets and working his way up to the position of scout for the gold medal-winning 2008 USA Basketball team.

Rosenberry also has past ties with Cho, as they both were employed by Seattle before the team relocated to Oklahoma City. Rosenberry served two stints with the SuperSonics, spending 19 years with the organization, and also worked for Milwaukee.

Rosenberry played in the Continental Basketball Association but never made it to the NBA. He then traded his extensive knowledge of the game for a scouting career, and is known as an opinionated talent evaluator who has close ties with most of the top college basketball coaches in the country.
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Hmm, Jason Quick said it was a long-time former NBA player who was "already in Portland settling in."
 
ABM said:
I wonder. Should Born and Buchanan be a bit scared?

http://www.nba.com/coachfile/bill_branch/index.html

bill_branch.jpg
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Why scared? They both signed 2 year contracts and I imagine that when KP takes a new gig somewhere else in a couple of years (after spending two years appearing as an extra on campy cable TV shows) he'll probably tab both to be his own assistant GMs or some other name promotion with whatever team he takes over.

In the short run they both get some job security but aren't on long enough deals to limit their options if KP comes calling.
 
Wow, what a splashy hire. I'm sure McMillans stagnant offense has something to do with this horrible hire.
 
It's always nice to gut a fellow competitor. I like this hire. Cho has clearly surrounded himself with people who make up for his deficiencies. I only wish that he would have hired an old NBA hand to help him with trade talks. Sometimes, you have to step out of the two dimensional world of statistics and spreadsheets and deal with human beings. A guy like John Gabriel or Rod Thorn could help with personal relationships around the league, acting almost like a consigliere for a mob family.
 
maxiep said:
It's always nice to gut a fellow competitor. I like this hire. Cho has clearly surrounded himself with people who make up for his deficiencies. I only wish that he would have hired an old NBA hand to help him with trade talks. Sometimes, you have to step out of the two dimensional world of statistics and spreadsheets and deal with human beings. A guy like John Gabriel or Rod Thorn could help with personal relationships around the league, acting almost like a consigliere for a mob family.
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I agree there's definitely something to be said for having a former player with friends around the league in similar executive positions, but the fact is that after 15 years in the league, in a variety of positions, Cho may have developed good relationships himself (or not). Hopefully that's the case.
 
Official now....I think. He and and Rosenberry.

Now with Cho, Miller, Allen, McMIllan, Rosenberry, Branch, Buchanan, Borne and Roy it should only take 4-5 months to get something approved
 
Sounds like a pretty full front-office there. I wonder how that chain of command is going to go with so many voices going on, or if this is just common in the NBA.
 
alex42083 said:
Sounds like a pretty full front-office there. I wonder how that chain of command is going to go with so many voices going on, or if this is just common in the NBA.
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Here is my theory on how it will shake out

Denver GM: I want to trade you Anthony for Rudy and Bayless

Rich: I like it, let me run some analysis and check with the guys.

Rich: Hey Bill, the Denver GM wants to trade us Anthony for Rudy and Bayless.

Bill: I like it, let me look at some film.

Bill: Hey Steve, Denver wants to send us Melo for Rudy and Bayless.

Steve: I like it, let me see how we can get a 1st out of it as well

Steve: Hey Chad, Denver wants to send us Melo and a 1st for Rudy and Bayless.

Chad: I like it, let me run it by Michael

Chad: Hey Michael, Denver wants to send Melo and a 1st to us for Rudy and Bayless.

Michael: Sounds great, let me see what players overseas we can get too.

Michael: Hey Nate, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a Euro for Rudy and Bayless.

Nate: I like it, let me run it by Brandon to make sure he can play with Melo

Nate: Hey Brandon, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless

Roy: I 've seen Melo shoot from the corner, so I am on board.

Nate: Great, let me tell Michael

Nate: Hey Michael, Roy is on board

Michael: Great, let me tell Chad

Michael: Hey Chad, Nate is on board

Chad: Great, let me tell Steve

Chad: Hey Steve, Michael is on board

Steve: Great, let me tell Bill

Steve: Hey Bill, Chad is on board

Bill: Great, let me tell Rich

Bill: Hey Rich, Steve is on board

Rich: Great, let me run it by Larry

Rich: Hey Larry, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless

Larry: Great, let me run it by Paul

Larry: Hey Paul, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless.

Paul: I like Rudy a lot, but I like it. Let me run it by hat guy

Paul: Hey hat guy, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless.

Hat guy: I like it, you should do it.

Paul: Hey Larry, tell Rich to go ahead

Larry: Hey Rich, go ahead and make that deal

Rich: Hey Denver GM, we want to make that deal

Denver GM: What deal?

Rich: Melo a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless

Denver GM: That was last year? Melo was already traded at the deadline because we didn't think you were interested?
 
Mediocre Man said:
Here is my theory on how it will shake out

Denver GM: I want to trade you Anthony for Rudy and Bayless

Rich: I like it, let me run some analysis and check with the guys.

Rich: Hey Bill, the Denver GM wants to trade us Anthony for Rudy and Bayless.

Bill: I like it, let me look at some film.

Bill: Hey Steve, Denver wants to send us Melo for Rudy and Bayless.

Steve: I like it, let me see how we can get a 1st out of it as well

Steve: Hey Chad, Denver wants to send us Melo and a 1st for Rudy and Bayless.

Chad: I like it, let me run it by Michael

Chad: Hey Michael, Denver wants to send Melo and a 1st to us for Rudy and Bayless.

Michael: Sounds great, let me see what players overseas we can get too.

Michael: Hey Nate, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a Euro for Rudy and Bayless.

Nate: I like it, let me run it by Brandon to make sure he can play with Melo

Nate: Hey Brandon, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless

Roy: I 've seen Melo shoot from the corner, so I am on board.

Nate: Great, let me tell Michael

Nate: Hey Michael, Roy is on board

Michael: Great, let me tell Chad

Michael: Hey Chad, Nate is on board

Chad: Great, let me tell Steve

Chad: Hey Steve, Michael is on board

Steve: Great, let me tell Bill

Steve: Hey Bill, Chad is on board

Bill: Great, let me tell Rich

Bill: Hey Rich, Steve is on board

Rich: Great, let me run it by Larry

Rich: Hey Larry, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless

Larry: Great, let me run it by Paul

Larry: Hey Paul, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless.

Paul: I like Rudy a lot, but I like it. Let me run it by hat guy

Paul: Hey hat guy, Denver wants to send us Melo, a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless.

Hat guy: I like it, you should do it.

Paul: Hey Larry, tell Rich to go ahead

Larry: Hey Rich, go ahead and make that deal

Rich: Hey Denver GM, we want to make that deal

Denver GM: What deal?

Rich: Melo a 1st and a prospect for Rudy and Bayless

Denver GM: That was last year? Melo was already traded at the deadline because we didn't think you were interested?
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Did you get as bored typing that as I did reading it?
 
haha.. I actually thought it was pretty funny. It'll be interesting to see how it all goes down, and how the front office develops an identity .. and what types of moves they make. I'm eager to see what their first real move/transaction will be, or if they simply just stand pat.
 
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