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On Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Wizards will hire Johnny Rogers as a Vice President of Pro Personnel. He was previously the Director of Pro Personnel with the Los Angeles Clippers and their scouting department.
Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard is hiring Clippers executive Johnny Rogers to a newly created role of VP of Pro Personnel, league sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me. Rogers has built a strong scouting reputation both here and abroad with the Clippers and Thunder.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 30, 2019
Given that the Wizards, Mystics and Go-Go have combined shared services as Monumental Basketball, it isn’t clear if Rogers will lend a hand to anything the Mystics do.
Rogers also has a connection to Wizards head coach Scott Brooks. Both played at UC Irvine at the same time.
Newly hired Wizards VP of pro personnel Johnny Rogers was Scott Brooks’ college teammate at UC Irvine.
— Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) July 30, 2019
But it’s great to see that the Wizards are now starting to make their mark on the league. According to Robert Flom of Clips Nation, SB Nation’s Clippers blog, Rogers’ departure is more significant than one might realize.
Rogers may not have been among the top front office officials in L.A., but he was responsible for being part of the Clippers’ changes in the last few years. And though the Clippers now appear to be a championship contender with Kawhi Leonard in town, Rogers may have been looking for an opportunity to get a promotion and grow further in his career. This move allows Rogers to do just that.