September 17, 2013 – The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has promoted Randy Brown to Assistant General Manager, Ivica Dukan to Director of International Scouting/Special Assistant to the General Manager, Nick Papendieck to Head Strength Coach, and also hired Matt Johnson as Assistant Strength Coach.
Brown is entering his fifth season with the Bulls and has spent the last three seasons serving as the Special Assistant to the General Manager. He served as the team’s Director of Player Development during the 2009-10 campaign. Originally drafted by the Kings in the second round (31st overall) of the 1991 NBA Draft, Brown played 12 seasons and was a member of three NBA Championship teams with the Bulls (1996, 1997, 1998), including the 1996 team that won an NBA-record 72 games during the regular season.
Dukan will begin his 23rd season with the Bulls after being hired as the Director of International Scouting on Aug. 20, 1992. Prior to being hired full-time, Dukan worked as a part-time scout for the Bulls during the 1991-92 season. Dukan had a successful 14-year career overseas, as he played in England, Switzerland, France and Yugoslavia. A native of Croatia, he served as captain of the team in Split, Croatia and played for the Yugoslavia National Team.
Papendieck is entering his third season with the Bulls, as he spent the last two seasons as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. Prior to joining the Bulls, he was a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Virginia. A native of Edgerton, Wis., Papendieck earned a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2009 and an M. Ed. degree in Kinesiology in 2011 from the University of Virginia.
Johnson begins his second season with the Bulls, and first in a full-time capacity, after spending the 2012-13 season as a Strength and Conditioning Intern. Prior to joining the Bulls, Johnson served as an intern with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Strength and Conditioning department. Johnson received his B.S. degree in Exercise and Sport Science with an emphasis in Strength and Conditioning, as well as his M.S. degree in Human Performance, from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2012.