NBA players set to vote on new executive director Monday

Hours from NBA players voting for a new union executive director, the National Basketball Players Association's executive committee had a strong message to deliver.

The search to replace Billy Hunter, who has fired during All-Star weekend in Houston in 2013, was thorough, according to NBPA secretary-treasurer James Jones

"The search process was extremely efficient, extremely thorough and timely," Jones told USA TODAY Sports. "Not only did we have an expanded search committee input and involvement, we had had the opportunity for our players to engage in the interviews with a high-level of focus.

"Our guys were able to really work this process to make sure we were all comfortable with the candidates the search committee has presented and we endorsed."

Through a professional search firm and the executive search committee led by Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, more than 300 people were contacted, more than 70 candidates were interviewed and three finalists were identified from that pool by Johnson's committee.

The finalists:

• Dallas Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery, who has been CEO and president of the Dallas Mavericks for 17 years and was Nike's president of sports management before that.
• Michele Roberts, a trial attorney for the prestigious law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and who was a finalist for the job in February before players re-started the process to find a new executive director.
• Dean Garfield, the CEO and president of the Information Technology Industry Council who previously was the executive vice president and chief strategic officer for the Motion Picture Association of America.

The three finalists will be interviewed again later Monday in Las Vegas and players will vote at 8 p.m. PT on Monday. A candidate requires 2/3 majority vote from the executive committee and team player representatives – 25 votes – to be named executive director, according to an NBPA memo.

"I give our players a lot of credit for their level of focus. It also eases the minds of our players who have entrusted us with being thorough and being diligent in making sure their interest is being protected," Jones said.

The NBPA executive committee had two finalists at All-Star weekend in February, but Jones said players had concerns about the process. It also gave the NBPA executive committee more time to interview candidates after the 2013-14 season.

"We heard their requests to slow the process down, make it more inclusive, hear what players and agents had to say, retired players as well and enlist the help of qualified professionals to get different perspectives," Jones said.

Johnson's high-profile search committee included former businessman and former NBA player Junior Bridgeman; Troy Carter, chairman and CEO of Atom Factory; David Drummond, senior VP of corporate development and chief legal counsel at Google; former WNBA player and WNBPA president Sonja Henning, an attorney and senior director of business affairs at Nike; attorney James Quinn; and Charles Tribbett III, director of the search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.

But Johnson abruptly withdrew from the process late last week. Jones said the NBPA preferred Johnson stay through the end, but also said the work of Johnson and his committee had finished once finalists were ID'd. There wasn't much left for that committee to do.

"Here we stand months later with candidates who the search committee has provided us and who we all feel good and excited about it," Jones said.

Longtime NBPA attorney Ron Klempner, who is extremely knowledgeable about the collective bargaining agreement, has been the union's acting executive director since Hunter was dismissed.