Milwaukee Bucks announce Dave Dean as Wisconsin Herd GM
By Adam McGee
The Milwaukee Bucks have announced a basketball operations restructuring that includes the appointment of Dave Dean as Wisconsin Herd GM.
As the Milwaukee Bucks front office is working its way through the various offseason decisions facing the franchise in the early stages of free agency, significant news has been released about the shape of the Bucks’ decision-making team.
On a statement released on the team’s website on Saturday afternoon, the Bucks announced they had “fortified the team’s basketball operations staff” with a restructuring that will include new roles for existing front office employees, as well as additional hires externally.
Matt Bollero has been named as the team’s Director of Scouting, Ryan Hoover as the Vice President of Global Scouting, and perhaps most notably, Dave Dean has been named Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager of the Wisconsin Herd.
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According to the release, the Bucks have also hired B.J. Domingo as Scout, Patrick Haneman as Basketball Strategy and Operations Manager, and Lexi Phillips as Basketball Operations Coordinator.
In a quote provided in the Bucks’ statement, general manager Jon Horst said:
"“As our basketball operations department takes shape, I’m very excited to add Ryan and Matt to our staff,” said General Manager Jon Horst. “Additionally, Dave has been a trusted colleague during my tenure with the Bucks and will be a great resource as we begin our G League team operations in Oshkosh. They are all exceptional talent evaluators and well respected among their peers in the NBA. I look forward to working with them as we continue to build a championship-caliber organization.”"
Dean will be tasked with building a roster in Oshkosh as the Herd get up and running for their inaugural season in the G-League. Much like Horst, Dean has been with the Bucks for a number of years, in his case joining the team back in 2001. Most recently, Dean was the Bucks’ Director of Basketball Administration.
Bollero and Hoover both join the Bucks from NBA franchises in neighboring states. Like Horst, Hoover arrives in Milwaukee with ties to the Detroit Pistons, having worked for the franchise for 13 years including time alongside Horst and former Bucks GM John Hammond. Bollero arrives after eight years in scouting roles with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Judging from comments around the time of Horst’s appointment, it’s still entirely possible that the Bucks hire an experienced NBA executive to work alongside their young general manager, so this likely isn’t the last front office announcement of the summer for the Bucks.