Have you ever wanted to learn how to make a deal from one of the worst sports executives in recent memory?
Well, you're in luck! NYU is offering a course called "What's the Deal? Deal-Making in the 21st Century," instructed by former Minnesota Timberwolves president David Kahn.
From May of 2009 to May of 2013, Kahn tried his darnedest to ruin the Wolves. Well, not tried, but he made some...questionable calls, to be polite. "Baffling" was how ESPN's Chad Ford and John Hollinger described his tenure.
Lesson One: Keep 'em guessing
Three first round picks in the same draft? Kahn will take three point guards, thanks. As Bill Simmons of Grantland remembered in 2013:
The Timberwolves turned a potential Rubio/Curry/Lawson windfall into just Rubio (who didn’t come to Minnesota for two extra years); two years of Flynn (played in Australia last year); backup guard Malcolm Lee; three injury-plagued years and more than $15 million of damaged goods (Webster and Roy); and nearly $6 million of Webster/Milicic buyouts. They also briefly had and lost Motiejunas (a promising rotation guy for Houston), Parsons (no. 48 on the trade value list), Mirotic (Chicago’s best prospect overseas) and Cole (a rotation guy for a 66-win team); and they have Memphis’s 2013 first-rounder (near the bottom of a dreadful draft) and Brooklyn’s 2013 second-rounder to show for their troubles.
Lesson Two: Assets are overrated
To make matters worse, on his way out, Kahn blamed the team's owner and made himself out to be a martyr.
Lesson Three: If the deal goes south, leave no bridge unburned
Of course, Kahn was more a businessman than a sports executive before being hired. While he worked for the Indiana Pacers for a decade, he did so on the business side of things, later heading to Portland to try and lure the Montreal Expos there. Instead, he bought a bunch of D-League teams (although, jest aside, that now looks like a prudent move).
Lesson Four: Diversify
Anyway, if you want to learn from the Kahn-man, it will only cost you $750 and sessions begin on April 4.
