Report: NBPA could hire former Secretary of Education as next executive director

The NBA Players Association could be going with a familiar but unexpected name to be their next executive director.

Veteran basketball writer Marc Stein reported this week that Arne Duncan, the former United States Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama, is a candidate to succeed Michele Roberts as NBPA executive director. Roberts’ tenure is coming to an end after eight years.

Stein also mentions former San Antonio Spur Malik Rose, NBA agent Mark Termini, and ex-Minnesota Timberwolves executive Noah Croom as other potential candidates for the position.

Duncan, who served in President Obama’s Cabinet from 2009 to 2016, is the biggest name of the bunch here. He actually played professional basketball in Australia back in the 1990s and has participated in multiple NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Games. Obama even gave Duncan credit for discovering one NBA star.

For the NBPA, it has been a year of change with Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum replacing Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul as NBPA president. Picking Roberts’ successor as executive director appears to be next up on their agenda.