The NBA is a copycat league, which is good new for agents who want to become team executives.
Two of the league’s most successful teams – both on the court and with salary-cap outlook – employ former agents in their front office. Lon Babby is the Suns’ President of Basketball Operations, and Bob Myers is the Warriors general manager.
So, obviously, the key to success is hiring an agent, right? If only causation were that simple, but teams will chase it anyway.
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Bartelstein – whose client list includes David Lee, Taj Gibson and Bradley Beal – could actually probably be a good team executive. It’s always tricky to assess agents, but Bartelstein, who founded his own agency, seems to have the organizational skills necessary for the role. Perhaps, he’d complement interim general manager David Griffin (pictured) in the increasingly popular two-man President/GM setup.
But he might choose just to remain an agent, a job he’s definitely suited for.
