Interview - David Kahn - D-League Owner, and former GM Indiana Pacers

In the future, if the NBA’s Development League is as successful as planned, it may well be David Kahn, not David Stern, that will be remembered as the sports executive most responsible for making it happen. Kahn, the former General Manager of the Indiana Pacers, was lobbied heavily by Stern to become involved in ownership of several D-League teams in the Southwest in 2005. Those markets included Albuquerque, N.M., Austin and Fort Worth, Texas, and Tulsa, Okla.

“[Stern] came at me a couple of times when I was visiting back in New York, and he was very persuasive in laying out the vision,” Kahn said in an interview with the Sports Business Journal. “With each passing conversation, I could see his determination and his deep motivation to see it succeed.”

Looking at Kahn’s background, one can understand why Stern sought Kahn out.

Kahn worked for nearly nine years in the front office of the Indiana Pacers. During that time he held the positions of General Manager for four seasons, Assistant to the President for one season and Vice President and Assistant General Manager for two years. From 1998-2002 he oversaw both the business and basketball sides of the organization; represented the Pacers on the NBA's Competition Committee; and managed a staff of over 120 when the team moved into Conseco Fieldhouse in 1999.

Kahn also served from 1991-95 as the basketball consultant for "NBA Showtime" at NBC Sports in New York, working closely with the show's producers and on-air talent, including Bob Costas and Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving.

But, Kahn’s interest also has been outside of basketball. Upon moving back to his home city, he headed the effort to bring Major League Baseball to Portland in 2003-2004 when the Montreal Expos were up for relocation.

The following interview covers Kahn’s rapid rise into the NBA as a sports executive; his time at NBA Showtime, his views on working within the salary cap; his involvement in the development of Canceco Fieldhouse, and how that effort differed from the work to get stadium funding in Portland for an MLB stadium; his thoughts on the sudden and tragic death of Dennis Johnson, who Kahn had hired to coach the Toros; the players he was the most proud of signing to the Pacers during his time as GM; the future of the NBDL, and much more. – Maury Brown

(Select Read More to see the interview with David Kahn on The Biz of Basketball)

Thanks, Maury, for the nice interview. I know David had his detractors, but I appreciate all he did to help us in the attempt to bring the Expos to Portland. We will need someone like him with energy and vision to spearhead the next round when MLB finally decides to expand again.

So how much did he rake in when he sold one of his franchises to the Spurs?