Dan Reed is the President of the NBA's D-League. I also think he is the future Commissioner of the NBA (let's say: when Adam Silver, who will replace David Stern, retires).
Being commissioner of a sports league is right near the top of my No. 1 dream jobs. Reed is living that dream. Hardwood Paroxysm has a great interview with him.
I'm in the bag for Dan, because I have known him since he was a freshman phenom on the Northwestern University "club" basketball team that I coached (one step below varsity... hey: no jokes!) He also followed me by a few years at Harvard Business School (eh: He did a wee better than I did, wouldn't you say?)
But here's what I really like about Dan's story: Like Theo Epstein or Jed Hoyer or Andrew Friedman or any of the other "boy geniuses" of baseball, Dan's place as a league president IS just like one of YOUR friends getting a job as a sports-league commissioner. They aren't some crusty (or even middle-aged) guy; they are like... you. (Yeah, just a little more successful, I guess. At least compared to me, they are. Way are.)
I'm not saying Dan isn't all-business; he is -- he is as talented a sports exec under 35 as there is right now. But he blogs, because he gets that accessibility is a big deal to consumers. And he wants to make the D-League an R-and-D lab (like trying H-O-R-S-E during All-Star Weekend). And he gets to make his passion -- basketball -- his work. And he's a really good guy, too.
I'm participating in my first-ever fantasy baseball auction tomorrow afternoon. Guys like Dan (or Theo) get to live the reality. From my perspective, there's nothing wrong with living vicariously.
-- D.S.
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