Reeko wrote:Badonkadonk wrote:Have been saying since we won the 'chip that Masai's next step is outside of the NBA. His ambitions are larger than just sports and he has the ability to realize many of those ambitions.
If he does stay in the NBA, I only see it in a position that places him as Commissioner-in-waiting. He's beyond running teams.
The history of the league suggests that Masai will never be the commissioner or even considered for that position. Of the 5 commissioners that the NBA has had, 4 were lawyers/had a law degree and the one who wasn't was heavily involved in American politics. All of them come from prestigious universities: Yale, Notre Dame, Northeastern, Columbia, University of Chicago. Mark Tatum is most likely to succeed Adam Silver, he attended Cornell and graduated from Harvard Business School. Before working in sports Tatum was a marketing executive for companies like PepsiCo and Procter and Gamble, and he went on to work as an executive in the MLB before joining the NBA. He has played a big role in the globalization of basketball, and has negotiated television contracts with multiple networks.
I'm not saying it's impossible for Masai to attain that position but it is highly improbable.
I agree that it's improbable based on historical precedent, but I do think we live in interesting times and that Ujiri represents an opportunity to evolve the role. He lacks experience on the media business side and perhaps other areas, but would bring new strengths and relationships. Most importantly, he is a strong leader, which is key when it comes to inevitably building out your support structure (as every Commissioner needs) to help augment your own areas of inexperience. Also, Sliver isn't going anywhere soon and I used "Commissioner-in-waiting" on purpose, as he has agency over how to spend the next few years of his career and which skills to focus on.
Aside from being qualified, NBA rosters are 75% black. Given a pool of equally strong candidates, I think it would eventually benefit the NBA to have leadership that's representative.
Anyway, I think this is moot as his most likely pursuit will be out of the league entirely.