Howard Marks | NBA Draft Observations | Where are Championships Won and Lost? | Building a Front Office: Florida Panthers | Attributes of a GM | Nou Mestalla Stadium
Table of Contents
MOBT
Howard Marks| NBA Draft | Behavioral Biases
Where are Championships Won and Lost?
Building a Front Office: Florida Panthers
Attributes of a GM
Deal Points: Nou Mestalla Stadium/Next Frontier
Match of the Day
MK Sports Advisory
TV Recommendation: Silo
The Mechanics of Building a Team
Every the NBA Draft and Other Drafts represent a Unique Opportunity to Capture Insights and Intelligence around The Mechanics of Building a Team. This is a Great Time to Read, Observe, Listen, and Study Logical and Illogical Thought Patterns. Once You Identify these Patterns, Incorporate them into Your Process as at Minimum Anecdotal Evidence that can inform Better Future Decision-Making.
Howard Marks | NBA Draft | Behavioral Biases
NBA Draft Pre and Post Coverage seems to be this Perpetual Internal and Collective Battle between Consensus vs Conviction. If you are in the Consensus Camp you will quickly aggregate the Plethora of Mock Drafts to argue Pick X was Bad. If you are in the Conviction Camp you will quickly dismiss the Plethora of Mock Drafts to argue Pick X was Good.
In his 2006 Memo “Dare to Be Great,” Howard Marks asserted that the “route to superior returns by necessity runs through unconventionality.” He goes onto explain, “If your behavior and that of your managers is conventional, you’re likely to get conventional results – either good or bad. Only if the behavior is unconventional is your performance likely to be unconventional ...and only if the judgments are superior is your performance likely to be above average. The consensus opinion of market participants is baked into market prices. Thus, if investors lack insight that is superior to the average of the people who make up the consensus, they should expect average risk-adjusted performance. He Ends by Saying the Following, “You can’t take the same actions as everyone else and expect to outperform.”
Comment: Every NBA Teams Draft Board Should Be Differentiated. If Your Draft Board Looks Like the Consensus Mock Drafts on NBADraft.Net, You’re Probably Not Doing it Correctly. That’s Not to say the Plethora of Mock Drafts aren’t Good and the People that do them aren’t intelligent. They are Mostly Very Good and the People that do them are Intelligent and put in a lot of work.
That Said, I am a Proponent of Conviction Drafting. I like at least theoretically when the Brooklyn Nets Draft Egor Demin with the 8th Pick. I like when the New Orleans Pelicans move up to Draft Derik Queen with the 13th Pick. I also like the Portland Trail Blazers and their decision to draft Yang Hansen with the 16th Pick.
There are of course things I don’t like. I like the Phoenix Suns and their Decision to Select Khaman Maluach with the 10th Pick in the Draft. I don’t though understand the decision to acquire Mark Williams. I like the New Orleans Pelicans decision and conviction to acquire Derik Queen. I don’t though understand the logic or the process around sending an Unprotected First Round Draft Pick. The Pelicans Finished 21-61 Last Season and their Success is Wholly Dependent on Zion Williamson’s Health. To his Credit, Zion Williamson has been Consistently Unavailable throughout his career. I like the Portland Trail Blazers decision and conviction to draft Yang Hansen. I don’t though understand the Conviction and the Logic behind drafting Donovan Clingan Last Year. What was the Evaluation on Clingan?
Ownership Wisdom: Where are Championships Won and Lost?
Championships are not Won and Lost in the War Room on Draft Night. Championships are Won in the Boardroom with the Decisions that Precede the Machinations of Building Championship Teams. The Following are Six Key Elements of Required to Build a Sustainable Championship Team that operates within the Parameters of a Sustainable Business Model.
Organizational Ambition (Clarity)
Corporate Governance
Operating Model (Business and Sporting)
Organizational Structure
Organizational Function
Organizational Alignment
Building a Front Office: Florida Panthers
Matt Caldwell - President and CEO
Bill Zito - General Manager, President of Hockey Operations, Alternate Governor
Executive Council
Shawn Thornton - Chief Revenue Officer
Bryce Hollweg - Chief Operating Officer
Rob Stevenson - Executive VP of People and Facilities
Lauren Cochran - Chief Marketing Officer
James Suh - Chief Financial Officer
Mark Farther - Chief Strategy Officer
Hockey Operations (Core)
Bill Zito - General Manager, President of Hockey Operations, Alternate Governor
Gregory Campbell - Assistant General Manager
Sunny Mehta - Assistant GM - Head of Analytics
Brett Peterson - Assistant GM
Hockey Operations (Advisors)
Roberto Luongo - Special Advisor to GM (Former Player)
Paul Fenton - Senior Advisor to GM (Former GM)
Rick Dudley - Senior Advisor to GM (Former GM)
Attributes of a GM
One of the Key Attributes of an Elite GM is Conviction. But Conviction in Isolation can be borne out of Overconfidence. You Want Conviction borne out of Work and Process. One of the Interesting Things from Draft Night was the New Orleans Pelicans Decision to Trade Up from the 23rd Pick to the 13th Pick to Select Derik Queen. That Trade Included an Unprotected 2026 First Round Pick. The One Interesting Thing about that the GM’s or Decision-Makers of Both Teams were Recently Hired. Except there’s One Distinction. Joe Dumars hasn’t been a General Manager for the Better Part of 10 Years. While Onsi Saleh was an Internal Hire who has likely been Deeply Invested in the Draft.
Deal Points: Nou Mestalla Stadium
Bank: Goldman Sachs
Loan: 322M Euros - 85M of the financing would be prepaid from selling the land on which its current Mestalla ground sits
Stadium Capacity: 70,000 (Including 7,000 VIP Seats for Non-Football Events)
Comment: Every Time I see a Story about Stadium Construction and Financing, I wonder if Stadium Construction and Local Regeneration is Sufficient. I wonder if we are getting closer to a world where the Stadium is the Epicenter of the Creation of a Charter City. Is that the Next Frontier?
Match of the Day
MLB: New York Mets vs Pittsburgh Pirates (6:40PM EST)
MLB: San Diego Padres vs Cincinnati Reds (7:10PM EST) (Note: Watch the Reds)
MK Sports Advisory is a Multi-Sport Strategy Group that seeks to simplify the Complex Process of Building Sustainable Championship Teams. We leverage Data and Consilient Insights to develop Qualitative Models that help ensure Aligned Decision-Making across the Team and Organization Building Process.
Key Subjects
Organizational Alignment
Embedded Succession Planning
Talent Identification
Depth Chart Management
Research Process Development
Consilient Sporting Insights
Corporate Access
Sponsorship Development
Ecosystem Development
Sports Investment Advisory
Contact - Mohammad@mksportsadvisory.com
TV Recommendation: Silo (Apple TV +)
Reason: If You Want to Think More Thoughtfully and Contextually about Mind Control and Government Overreach, Silo is Worth Your Time.