Mark Warkentien
Mark Warkentien (born April 16, 1953 in Huntington, Indiana) was the general manager of the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. He was named as Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Nuggets on September 7, 2006. He was hired by the New York Knicks on January 30, 2011 as a Consultant to the president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh.
Career
He was elevated to Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2006, replacing the released Kiki Vandeweghe shortly after the season ended. In his time in Denver he made two blockbuster deals, one involving the Philadelphia 76ers which sent Andre Miller to Philadelphia for Allen Iverson, and the second transaction sending Iverson to Detroit to return Denver native Chauncey Billups home.
Before his current position, he was in the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers as Director of Player Personnel and then became the interim GM for the latter half of the 2004-05 season. Before working for Cleveland, Warkentien worked for the Portland Trail Blazers for ten seasons. During his time in Portland, Warkentien held many positions. He was a scout, then promoted to Director of Scouting and the became assistant general manager for the Portland Trail Blazers from 1998-2003 and spent the next season as Director of Player Personnel.
His NBA career began in 1991 with the former Seattle SuperSonics, where he spent three years as scout.
He also coached several Southern California college basketball teams, before joining Jerry Tarkanian's coaching staff as an assistant at UNLV.
In March 2009 Warkentien was mentioned in Sports Illustrated's as mid-seasons Executive of the Year and again in April 2009
He won the NBA Executive of the Year Award for the 2008–09 NBA season. His transactions included sending Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups, and signing free-agent Chris Andersen, while moving the Nuggets under the luxury tax at the same time.[1]
On August 3, 2010, the Nuggets declined to extend Warkentien's contract, ending his four-year association with the team.[2]
On January 30, 2011 The New York Knicks agreed to hire Warkentien as a high-level consultant.
Personal life
Warkentien graduated from Cal-State Fullerton as a part of the school's 1976 graduating class. Warkentien is married to the former Maureen Trivisonno and has 2 daughters, Kreigh Dannette and Aubrie Jane.
Warkentien's daughter Kreigh appears to be following in her father's footsteps. Kreigh was recently named the Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas [UNLV]...the same school where her dad coached prior to coaching in the NBA.
