NBA hires Byron Spruell to oversee basketball operations, referee operations
The NBA has a new president of league operations
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1 min read
The NBA announced on Thursday that it has hired Byron Spruell as the president of league operations. Starting Aug. 1, Spruell will oversee the basketball operations and referee operations departments and report directly to commissioner Adam Silver.
Essentially, Spruell will be basketball operations executive vice president Kiki VanDeWeghe's new boss. The same goes for referee operations executive vice president Mike Bantom.
From the NBA:
Spruell spent the last 20 years at Deloitte LLP, most recently as its Vice Chairman, Central Region Market Leader. He spearheaded the firm's client and business growth and strategic positioning across 22 states consisting of 31 offices and more than 14,000 Deloitte professionals across the region. He also served as Chicago Managing Principal, supervising talent and community involvement initiatives in the local office.
"Byron's excellent track record of operations and employee management coupled with his established leadership skills make him well-suited to further develop and enhance the processes supporting our game," said Silver. "An innovator with strong strategic vision and a willingness to challenge the status quo, Byron is a terrific addition to the NBA's executive team and will be instrumental in helping to shape the future of our league."
"As a lifelong NBA fan, I'm privileged to join the league at such an exciting time," said Spruell. "Having watched the NBA's continued ascendance from afar, I couldn't ask for a better opportunity than a leadership role with a forward-thinking organization that embraces new technology and modern management techniques while upholding the critical principles of transparency and integrity."
The most notable thing here is that someone new is overseeing officiating and discipline issues. Both became huge topics of conversation during this year's NBA playoffs, and there's no way the league liked that. Silver said publicly that he was aware of fans making up conspiracy theories, a sensitive issue to him because he is a caretaker of the league's integrity.
Here's hoping Spruell can help end Hack-a-Shaq.
