AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has hired Scott Perry as Vice President of Basketball Operations.
“We are pleased to welcome back Scott Perry to the Pistons basketball operations staff,” said Dumars. “Scott is familiar with the culture of our team and understands our goals we have as an organization. Given his past experience with the club, I feel the transition will be seamless.”
Perry, 44, re-joins the Pistons after serving as assistant general manager for the Seattle Supersonics for the 2007-08 campaign. He first joined the Pistons organization as a college scout during the summer of 2000 and was promoted to director of player personnel in June of 2002. Perry will be responsible for directing day-to-day operations of the basketball operations department, handling player personnel issues and assisting in roster development.
“It is great to have an opportunity to return to the Pistons organization,” said Perry. “I thank Joe Dumars for giving me the opportunity to continue my career here in Detroit and look forward helping maintain the overall success of the franchise.”
Prior to joining the Pistons in 2002, Perry spent three seasons as a head coach at Eastern Kentucky in the Ohio Valley Conference and nine seasons as an assistant coach with Michigan, Cal-Berkeley and Detroit Mercy. In addition to helping Michigan land the nation’s top ranked recruiting classes in 1994 and 1995, Perry played a significant role in recruiting current NBA players Robert Traylor and Maurice Taylor. He also coached Dallas Mavericks players Jason Kidd and Juwan Howard as well as former NBA players Jalen Rose and Lamond Murray.
Graduating from Wayne State in 1986 with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Perry was a captain and all-conference basketball player his senior year. Recruited to play at Oregon by former current Indiana Pacers head coach Jim O’Brien and NBA executive Stu Jackson, Perry spent freshman year with the Ducks prior to transferring. Perry’s father, Lowell, was the first African American assistant coach in the NFL, hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1957.