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Sparks hire Kari Korver as director of basketball operations

By David Yapkowitz

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: The empty streets outside the Staples Center at LA Live on April 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. COVID-19 has spread to most countries around the world, claiming over 170,000 lives and infecting over 2.5 million people. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: The empty streets outside the Staples Center at LA Live on April 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. COVID-19 has spread to most countries around the world, claiming over 170,000 lives and infecting over 2.5 million people. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images) /
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The former UCLA standout will take over as one of the league’s youngest executives.

The Los Angeles Sparks search for a revamped front office continued on Friday with the hiring of Kari Korver as the new director of basketball operations, as first reported by Brady Klopfer.

Korver was a standout player at nearby UCLA from 2012-2017, sitting out the 2013-14 season with a torn ACL. She bounced back and helped lead the Bruins to two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances as well as the 2015 WNIT championship. She left UCLA as one of the best shooters and scorers in school history. She ended her time as a Bruin with 1,098 career points and 36.8 percent shooting from the three-point line.

Following her graduation from UCLA, Korver played professionally in Germany and was most recently an assistant coach at Northern Colorado under head coach Jenny Huth. She also has experience as the head coach of the junior varsity girls’ basketball team at local Palisades High School as well as being an assistant on the varsity team.

Korver will join a front office that includes assistant general manager Michael Fischer and basketball operations scout Thomas Archie. Fischer has been with the Sparks organization for eight years now and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2018. Archie has been with the Sparks since their inception in 1997 and originally began as an intern. Korver will be one of the WNBA’s youngest executives.

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The Sparks have been in search of additions to their front office since long-time general manager Penny Toler was let go back in October following the Sparks semifinal playoff loss to the Connecticut Sun. To that point, she had been the WNBA’s longest-tenured executive.

Toler’s exit came amid a supposed locker room outburst following the Sparks Game 2 loss. She has since filed a lawsuit against the organization alleging wrongful termination.

Fischer and Sparks head coach Derek Fisher recently oversaw the team’s draft night that saw them select Miami’s Beatrice Mompremier and German’s Leonie Fiebich in the second round, and West Virginia’s Tynice Martin in the third round.

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