The National Basketball Players Association still hasn’t replaced Billy Hunter, who was ousted as executive director 11 months ago. Ron Klempner has held the title in an interim capacity, but the union is still looking for a permanent director.
Enter Larry Miller.
Chris Haynes of CSN Northwest:The National Basketball Players Association reached out to former Portland Trail Blazers president Larry Miller, now president of Jordan Brand, to gauge his interest in their vacant executive director position, a league source informed CSNNW.com.
According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the search, said Miller politely declined to entertain the proposition, being that “he’s extremely happy in his current role.”
Miller’s work with Jordan Brand has put him position to foster relationships with some NBA players, including NBPA president Chris Paul, a Jordan Brand endorser.
But re-read the previous sentence, emphasizing the word “some,” and the meaning changes.
For this to work, Miller would have to put aside his allegiance to Nike. That was the case when Miller left Jordan Brand to work for the Trail Blazers, but immediately after his time in Portland, he returned to a second stint with Jordan Brand.
The players association, with differing opinions on Hunter and former president Derek Fisher, has experienced too much fragmentation recently. Drawing lines based on shoes could create new problems.
I believe Chris Paul was a good choice to serve as the union’s president, but the members should at least be wary of Paul pushing in an executive director whose professional interests intersect Paul’s in a way that has nothing to do with the union on the whole. Maybe Miller is the best choice, but if he’s nominated, he deserves scrutiny from the rank-and-file before confirmation.