- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Robert Pera and Jason Levien, first day on the job.
At 2:30 on Monday afternoon, only hours after being introduced as the new Chairman and controlling owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, 34-year-old Robert Pera was ready for game time. Not his new team’s home opener against the Utah Jazz later that night, but his own. Pera, wearing full Griz workout gear, was exiting the Westin Hotel across the street from FedExForum, entourage in tow, on his way to the arena’s practice court to put up some shots. Not ten feet away, departing Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley — not invited to the public press conference and recently disinvited to speak to fans before the game — was having a “last supper” of sorts, alongside his wife, right-hand man Stan Meadows, and other confidants. Heisley was not aware of Pera’s presence — the two had only spoken twice and not since the sale closed — and Pera seemed similarly oblivious. An hour later, while Pera was still on the practice court, hoisting up halfcourt shots and working on his turnaround jumper, Heisley was quietly saying goodbye to team employees.
The contrast between the two men on a day of head-spinning change for the Grizzlies organization seemed profound, much more so than just their 41-year age difference. It was also an exchange of excitable for calm. Logorrheic for terse. (After Pera’s one-liner statement to fans before tipoff, NBA commissioner David Stern reclaimed the microphone to speak for us all: “That’s it?”) Assertive for deferential.
It’s been said — Stern echoed the sentiment in his pre-game press conference and I believe it to be true — that ownership sets the tone for an entire organization. That, in addition to luck and still-relevant market advantages, the NBA is about management. If fans want a good reason to be hopeful about the Grizzlies’ future in the “Pera era,” the significant increase in local participation is at the top of the list, but the prospect of better management is next in line.
