 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1961-04-26)April 26, 1961 (age 64) |
| Career information | |
| College | Saint Francis |
| Coaching career | 1983–present |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| 1983–1986 | Penn State (assistant) |
| 1986–1995 | Marist (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2013–2014 | Marist |
Jeffrey Bower (born April 26, 1961) is an American professionalbasketball coach and executive who last served as the vice president of basketball operations for thePhoenix Suns.[1] Bower was also the former general manager for theDetroit Pistons from2014 to2018. He also served as the general manager and head coach of theNew Orleans Hornets. Bower held the Hornets head coaching position during most of the2009–10 season, and the general manager position twice, in2002–03 and from2005 to2010.
Bower helped rebuild the Hornets, despite the troublesHurricane Katrina placed on the club and the city ofNew Orleans in general. He took a giant step in re-writing Hornets history by trading franchise pieceBaron Davis tothe Warriors, then selecting guardChris Paul fourth overall in the2005 NBA draft.The disasterKatrina caused forced the Hornets to move toOklahoma City until the2007–08 NBA season, but Bower continued to build his club. Through trade, draft, and signings, the Hornets actually competed in their two seasons inOklahoma with a 38–44 record in2005–06 and 39–43 in2006–07. Yet again, another series of trials and tribulations, the Hornets improved and contended. Injuries to Paul (for 18 games),Peja Stojaković (for sixty-nine), and scoring big manDavid West (for thirty) dampened the opportunity to make the playoffs.[2]
For 2007–08, the Hornets came back home to open arms. They broke out, with the dangerous roster ofTyson Chandler (whom Bower traded for in 2006 forJ. R. Smith), Paul, Stojakovic, West, and new acquisitionMorris Peterson (from Toronto), with pieces like 3-point specialistsRasual Butler andJannero Pargo (the former acquired in a 2005 trade, the latter left prior to the2008–09 NBA season) and reboundersMelvin Ely andRyan Bowen; and developing youth such asJulian Wright andHilton Armstrong (both draft picks of the Hornets). The general of it all was Coach of the Year Byron Scott prior to the2004–05 NBA season, and the Hornets won 56 games, their first divisional title, and were labeled "contender" by many analysts.[3][4]
Bower's performance in spearheading the Hornets from lottery team to contender gave him 12 votes from the sportswriters for theSporting NewsNBA Executive of the Year, behindLakers' GMMitch Kupchak and winner,Boston Celtics'Danny Ainge.[5]
Bower helped draft David West, J. R. Smith, Chris Paul, Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton. Bower had been with the organization for 14 years, beginning in1995–96,[6] director of scouting, director of player personnel, as a scout, GM (in2002–03), and assistant to former coachesPaul Silas andTim Floyd.[2] Bowers served as an advance scout for theCharlotte Hornets in 1995–97 and the Hornets Director of Scouting in 1997–2009. He also was an associate head coach atMarist College from 1990 to 1995, prior to that, being an assistant coach at both Marist andPenn State University.[2]
On November 12, 2009, Bower was made the head coach of the team after the firing ofByron Scott.[7] He led the team to a 34–39 record despite injury problems in the team. At the end of the season, he stepped down from the coaching duty and returned to his position as a general manager.[8] He was replaced byMonty Williams. Bower and theHornets parted ways on July 13, 2010.[9]
On April 10, 2013, it was announced that he will take over as coach of theMarist College men's basketball team.[10] Bower served as an assistant coach for theRed Foxes from 1986 to 1990 and served as the associate head coach from 1990 to 1995. He was involved in the team's1987 NCAA Tournament appearance andECAC Metro Conference regular-season championships in 1987 and 1988. Bower also aided in the development ofRik Smits, the second overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft by theIndiana Pacers.[11]
On June 3, 2014, Bower was named thegeneral manager of theDetroit Pistons.[12] On June 13, 2016, the Pistons signed Bower to a contract extension.[13] Under Bower, the Pistons reached the playoffs in his second season as the general manager. However, on June 1, 2018, Bower was fired from his position as general manager of the team.[14]
On April 11, 2019, Bower was named a senior vice president of basketball operations for thePhoenix Suns[1] Under this new title, Bower helped relay certain information towards general managerJames Jones whenever necessary. In his second and final season with the Suns, they not only reached theNBA playoffs for the first time since2010, but also theNBA Finals for the first time since1993. Bower mutually agreed to resign from his position on July 24, 2021.[15]
Bower and his wife, Lisa and have a daughter, Lindsey, born in January 2003. Lindsey now attends Physical Therapy school through the Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern University in Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and education fromSaint Francis University inPennsylvania.
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | 2009–10 | 73 | 34 | 39 | .466 | 5th inSouthwest | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Career | 73 | 34 | 39 | .466 | — | — | — | — | |||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marist Red Foxes(Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)(2013–2014) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Marist | 12–19 | 9–11 | 8th | |||||
| Marist: | 12–19 | 9–11 | |||||||
| Total: | 12–19 | ||||||||