Former New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has agreed to join the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach, reuniting with head coach Quin Snyder, sources tell ESPN.
Demps — New Orleans’ GM for nine years, ending in 2019 — is making a dramatic career change after two decades as a front-office executive, a run that included a successful GM/coach partnership with Snyder with the San Antonio Spurs‘ G League affiliate in Austin, Texas.
The Jazz recently lost assistant coach Johnnie Bryant to an associate head-coaching role with the New York Knicks.
After leaving New Orleans, Demps decided that he wanted to transition to coaching, and he spent some time in Utah attending practices and meetings with Snyder and his Jazz staff. They were together in Austin from 2007 to 2010 and built a strong working and personal relationship.
Demps had an eight-year playing career that included NBA stops with Golden State, Orlando and San Antonio, and several seasons overseas and in the old Continental Basketball Association.
The Jazz are also hiring former NBA guard Keyon Dooling in a player development role, sources tell ESPN. Dooling played parts of 13 years in the NBA, and collegiately for Snyder at the University of Missouri.
