SALT LAKE CITY (August 16, 2013) – The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has promoted David Fredman to director of pro player personnel, Richard Smith to executive director of basketball operations and also hired Bart Taylor as coordinator of scouting and Isaiah Wright as assistant strength and conditioning coach.
“David Fredman and Richard Smith have always been tremendous assets to our organization,” said General Manager Dennis Lindsey. “Their promotions are well deserved and their expanded roles will aid our long term goals for the franchise. Bart Taylor and Isaiah Wright have demonstrated all of the attributes we look for in anyone we add to our team and we look forward to their contributions to the Utah Jazz. I would like to thank the Miller family for their unwavering commitment to strengthening our basketball operations department.”
Fredman will enter his 35th season with the Jazz in 2013-14 and is the only member of the franchise to have worked for the team both in New Orleans and Utah. He returned to the organization in 2008 as Utah’s head scout after spending one year as the inaugural general manager of the NBA Development League’s Utah Flash. Prior to that, Fredman spent five seasons as assistant general manager of the Denver Nuggets.
Before joining the Nuggets, Fredman spent the previous 27 years with the Jazz. He worked directly in basketball operations for the final 14 of those seasons, serving as director of scouting/assistant coach for the last two. From 1987-99, Fredman was an assistant coach for the club, focusing on advance scouting and game preparation. The native of Marion, Ill., earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola University (New Orleans).
Smith is entering his 19th year with the Jazz organization and had most recently served as the Jazz’s director of basketball operations for the past five seasons. Prior to that he worked as the team’s director of scouting services where he provided the coaching staff with scouting reports, player profiles and analysis of player statistics and tendencies. In addition, he also served as the team player development director, working on issues related to players’ off-the-court development.
Smith spent his first five seasons with the team as the video coordinator and a scout, followed by three seasons as the assistant director of scouting. During his tenure with the organization, he has also served as a bench assistant for Jazz summer league entries and served as assistant coach and video coordinator for the WNBA’s Utah Starzz from 1997-2002. A part-time Jazz basketball assistant for 11 seasons (1984-95), Smith joined the team full-time prior to the 1995-96 season following 16 years at the University of Utah as a student affairs administrator. The native of Norwich, Conn., “Smitty” earned a bachelor’s degree in history and psychology and a master’s degree in student personnel administration from Central Connecticut State College (New Britain, Conn.). In addition, he also has a certificate in business communication from Michigan State University.
Taylor begins his second season with the Jazz, and first in a full-time capacity, after spending 2012-13 as a basketball operations intern. The San Antonio native joined Utah after completing previous internships with the Austin Toros and San Antonio Spurs basketball operations departments. Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Trinity University where he played three years on the men’s basketball team.
Wright enters his second season with the Jazz strength and conditioning staff after spending 2012-13 as a strength and conditioning intern. The Salt Lake City native previously spent seven years with the franchise working with the team’s equipment staff as a team attendant. Wright graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science from the University of Utah.