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Nothing but net If the recent case of NBA superstar Kevin Durant can teach us anything, it’s that the recruitment of rare talent takes an equally rare effort.
T he NBA free agency period that recently unfolded was quite the spectacle. Even the most marginal of the league’s talents got huge paydays. But the biggest headline this offseason was the signing of forward Kevin Durant by the Golden State Warriors. His move to California helped crystallize the fact that good talent is hard to find, but when it is, it should be chased with reckless abandon. Plenty of teams did just that, but only one claimed the prize.
Randy Wilburn
it is not easy and requires a concerted effort by everyone involved in the recruitment process. Firms always have to put their best foot forward and know exactly what they want. Here are some key takeaways from the Durant “The Durant recruitment process is like what we see in the design industry all the time – a lot of firms going after a finite supply of great talent.”
Everyone put on their best presentation to persuade one of the most talented players on earth to join them. The Boston Celtics even had Tom Brady, the four-time Super Bowl QB of the New England Patriots, meet with Durant in an all-out effort to bring him to Beantown. Durant and his agent spent the July 4th weekend at a private home in the posh Hamptons, where they fielded several meetings and conference calls with a variety of teams. When the process was over, the Golden State Warriors emerged as the winner of the “Kevin Durant Sweepstakes.” The Durant recruitment process is like what we see in the design industry all the time – a lot of firms going after a finite supply of great talent. Finding
See RANDY WILBURN, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER August 15, 2016, ISSUE 1164
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