Cavs and Blazers Fill the Front Office

The Cleveland Cavaliers promoted Mike Bratz to director of basketball operations and also announced the hiring of Mark Warkentien as the director of player personnel.

Contracts terms were not disclosed.

Cavs general manager Jim Paxson told the media that the moves will allow the organization to improve its talent scouting at the college level, in Europe and in the NBA.

Bratz joined Cleveland in 2000 as a college and minor-league scout and most recently was director of player personnel.

Warkentien spent 10 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and held several positions, including director of player personnel, assistant general manager and director of scouting.

The Portland Trail Blazers named Kevin Pritchard as their new director of player personnel. He replaces Mark Warkentien, who left the Blazers after nine seasons.

Pritchard had been a scout with the San Antonio Spurs and prior to that spent three years with the ABA's Kansas City Knights.

"Kevin brings experience as a former player, both in the NBA and internationally, as a successful minor league coach and as an NBA scout. He is one of the rising young executives in the NBA," Blazer GM John Nash said.

Via ESPN

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Cavs lead assistant coach dies suddenly

Cleveland Cavaliers lead assistant coach Mark Osowski died at the Cleveland Clinic today from complications related to a recent bout with pancreatitis. Osowski, 41, had been hospitalized for an extended period.

Osowski broke into the NBA for the 1996-97 season, serving four years on the Charlotte Hornets' coaching staff under Dave Cowens and Paul Silas, before leaving to coach under Cowens again in Golden State for three years. He returned to Silas' tutelage with the Cavs last year.

He is survived by his wife, Kristin-Ann.

Via Tommie De Riemaecker of RealGM.com

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Ilgauskas 2005 Speculation Now Begins in Cleveland

Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas will be a free agent following this season and Roger Brown of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is already speculating that there will be few suitors who will be able to sign him. Amongst the teams with suitable cap room will likely be Golden State and Atlanta, but neither have proved terribly attractive to free agents in past seasons. With the lack of options, combined with the Cavs losing Carlos Boozer this past offseason, Cleveland GM Jim Paxson will likely do all that is possible to resign his center.

Via Cleveland Plain Dealer

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