Before Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman decided to pursue a career in basketball, he spent three years working in real estate investment sales. While many people would likely struggle to see any connection whatsoever between real estate and being a general manager of a professional basketball team, Altman sees one pretty clearly.
Koby Altman told Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon how he believes the negotiation skills he learned in that previous profession have been able to help him in his current job running the Cavs.
“I think you’re dealing with principals on both sides. Even though you’re the general manager, you have to make a deal that both sides want and both sides feel good about. In real estate you’re the same way, there’s a seller and a buyer and each one has their own motivations and each deal has a different cast of characters. So in each deal, even in sports, it’s the same way. There’s a deal to be made and there’s principals on both sides and the characters are different and you want them all to feel good about the transaction. Obviously you’re dealing with human beings here and not buildings or assets. So you have to add that to the mix, the emotion of that.”
Altman had little time to prepare for his current position as Cavs GM after David Griffin was let go this summer. But he was up to the challenge, and was able to close the massive deal that sent the disgruntled Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first round pick, and a future second rounder. It was definitely a deal that both sides feel good about.
Altman would have to do some more wheeling and dealing in the coming months, especially with LeBron James’ future still up in the air. But if he can continue to broker deals like he did this offseason, the Cavs should be in good hands going forward.
