The Sacramento Kings announced today staff additions and promotions within the basketball operations department for the 2019-20 NBA season.
New additions include Craig Slaunwhite as Head of Performance, Tommy Brice and Aisling Toolan as Physical Therapists, Wes Bohn as Advance Scout and Alexander Sigua as Director, Media Relations. Promotions include Teena Murray as Vice President, Health and Performance, Greg Stratton as Director of Scouting, Melanie Stocking as Director, Team Travel and Logistics, Mark Toyoda as Director, Basketball Administration, Analise Langford as Basketball Facility Operations Manager, Robbie Lemons as Manager of Basketball Administration, Akachi Okugo as Player Development Manager and Michael Martinez as Media Relations Coordinator.
PERFORMANCE
Murray has been promoted to Vice President, Health and Performance where she leads a growing interdisciplinary high-performance team including strength and conditioning, analytics, performance medicine, mental health, performance psychology, and performance nutrition (including the Kings culinary team). She is building a unique ecosystem of academic, research and development, and technology partners to support the delivery of elite care to all Kings players.
Slaunwhite joins the Kings as Head of Performance after spending the past five seasons (2014-19) with the Winnipeg Jets as the Director of High Performance. Prior to the Jets, Slaunwhite spent five seasons as the Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Florida Panthers. Slaunwhite holds a Doctor of Chiropractic from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Dalhousie University in 2003. He also holds a license in Chiropractic Medicine both in Canada and the United States. A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Slaunwhite is an accomplished athlete who served as captain of both basketball and track & field teams while attending Dalhousie University. He set several school and provincial records at Dalhousie in pentathlon, pole vault, shot-put, discus, and decathlon, and achieved All-Canadian honors in track and field. Following his collegiate career, Slaunwhite competed on the Canadian Track & Field Team for events in Africa, Europe, and South America and earned a bronze medal in decathlon at the 2008 Canadian Olympic trials.
Brice begins his first season with the Kings as Physical Therapist. Brice hails from Bloomingdale, IL and played college basketball at Marquette University. After completing his Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Marquette in 2010 he worked in an outpatient clinic in Milwaukee for five years. In 2015 he accepted a two-year residency at Palo Alto Medical Foundation before moving into a Division I Sports Medicine Fellowship at USC where he has spent the past two years. His fellowship included a season with the UCLA Men’s Basketball and Football programs.
Toolan joins the team as Physical Therapist after spending the 2016-18 seasons with the Brooklyn Nets as Director of Rehabilitation. Prior to joining the Nets, Toolan spent six years as a physical therapist at the Hospital for Special Surgery Sports Rehabilitation and Performance Center. In addition, Toolan served as a physical therapist for New York City FC in 2015 and has worked with U.S. Soccer national teams since 2011. In 2014, Toolan completed a rotation at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, working with National Team gymnasts, fencers, wrestlers and weightlifters. A native of Dublin, Ireland, Toolan received her Bachelor of Science degree in physiotherapy from Trinity College, a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Stony Brook University and an athletic training degree from Hofstra in 2016. She is working towards a Master’s in High Performance Sport at Australian Catholic University. The former Irish international soccer player is also a board-certified clinical specialist in sports physical therapy and a certified strength and conditioning coach.
COMMUNICATIONS
Sigua returns to the Kings as Director, Media Relations after beginning his career with the franchise during the 2004-05 season as an intern and growing into several roles including Public Relations Manager through 2011. Throughout his career, Sigua has executed integrated communications strategies across the United States in the areas of sports, entertainment, healthcare, technology and corporate social responsibility. He has also managed PR campaigns on behalf of Fortune 500 companies affiliated with the Olympic Winter Games, FIFA World Cup and NFL, and led media relations for several national and global charity programs.
Martinez has been promoted to Media Relations Coordinator as he enters his fourth season with the Kings. A Sacramento native, Martinez started as an intern during the 2016-17 season, then continued as the team’s Media Relations Assistant through the 2018-19 season. Martinez graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Psychology in 2017.
SCOUTING
Stratton enters his 26th year in the NBA and first as the Director of Scouting for the Kings. Stratton joined the Kings in 2016 as a College Scout and has served in that capacity for the past three seasons. He began his career in the NBA as an intern for the Cleveland Cavaliers prior to the 1993-94 season which led to various positions within the organization and ultimately served as team division coordinator from 1994-2001. In 2001, Stratton moved to California and began a five-year stint with the Golden State Warriors, serving first as the Manager of Basketball Operations and then as Manager of Scouting. In 2006-07, Stratton became a college scout for the Orlando Magic until 2013 when he then became a college scout for the LA Clippers.
Bohn begins his first season with the Kings as Advance Scout after spending the 2018-19 season with the Milwaukee Bucks as Assistant Video Coordinator. Prior to that, Bohn served in various roles as a member of the scouting departments with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx, Connecticut Sun, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Erie BayHawks and New York Knicks.
ADMINISTRATION
Stocking has been promoted to Director, Team Travel and Logistics in her 14th season with the Kings after serving as Senior Manager in the same area during the 2018-19 season. In her tenure with the organization, she has served as Manager of Basketball Operations and in various other capacities. A native of Winters, California, Stocking is a Sonoma State University graduate.
Toyoda has been promoted to Director, Basketball Administration. A former intern, Toyoda is responsible for administrating day-to-day legal, finance, and basketball operations tasks. The Chicago native graduated from Northwestern University in 2011 and the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in 2014.
Langford has been promoted to Basketball Facility Operations Manager in her 19th season with the Kings after serving in various roles with the organization, including Operations Senior Systems Administrator, Operations Administrator, Operations Coordinator and Administrative Assistant to the Director of Operations.
Lemons has been promoted to Manager, Basketball Administration after spending the 2018-19 season as the Scouting Coordinator. Lemons has also served in a Basketball Operations role during the previous two campaigns. A Sacramento native, the 2015 Stanford graduate earned First-Team PAC-12 All-Academic honors as a member of the Cardinal basketball team (2010-2014). Lemons secured his public policy MA in Palo Alto and MSC in banking and finance from Newcastle University.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Okugo has been promoted to Player Development Manager after serving as an Assistant Player Development Coach for the past two seasons. Okugo is tasked with assisting with player workouts before, during and after practices during the season and offseason. Okugo is a graduate of California State University, San Marcos where he was a basketball standout, ranking second in school history for threes made.