Chuck Hayes named director of basketball operations for Golden State Warriors

Chuck Hayes is no longer with the Houston Rockets, leaving his position as assistant director of player personnel for a job with the Golden State Warriors. He will take over as director of basketball operations for the franchise that has won four world championships over the last nine years.

The Houston Chronicle broke the news on Saturday.

Hayes joined the Rockets’ front office in 2017 as a pro player personnel scout after spending seven total seasons with the franchise as a player between 2006-11, then again in 2015-16.

The former Kentucky standout returns home to the Bay Area — he’s a native of San Leandro — where he will continue scouting but also “enhance my responsibilities with free agency and some trade strategy,” Hayes told Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle.

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound forward played 11 years in the NBA, spending time with the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors beyond his stints with the Rockets. He averaged 3.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest across 644 career games — 244 being starts.

A fan favorite known for his relentless defense and tenacious rebounding as a Wildcat, Hayes entered the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. A two-time All-SEC member and SEC Defensive Player of the Year, the standout big man is a member of the 1,000-point club and closed out his career ranked seventh in total rebounds with 910 after leading the team for three straight seasons from 2003-05. Hayes led Kentucky to the 2005 SEC regular-season title and was a key member on SEC Tournament championship teams in 2003 and 2004. He appeared in the NCAA Tournament in all four of his seasons in Lexington, including Elite Eight finishes in 2003 and 2005.

Now, the 40-year-old is moving on up in the basketball world as a key member of Golden State’s front office.