I've always wanted to do something for myself: Afraro wants to become an NBA boss through his own efforts

It only takes lasting faith to achieve bold dreams. Here our example is Aaron Afraro — a front-guard with a solid 11-year NBA career — during which time he earned a hefty salary, though not at the top, and he was soon able to achieve a seemingly out-of-reach dream: to assemble a team to acquire an NBA team.

Afraro, 35, has spent a lot of time doing this over the past year, working with multiple key financial investors to try to buy up the Minnesota Timberwolves. The bid was unsuccessful; however, Aflaro did meet several times with Wolves owner Glenn Taylor, who last month signed letters of intent with a team led by former Walmart CEO Mark Lowe and retired baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez, who plans to buy Wolves for $1.5 billion.

Lore and Rodriguez are currently in the exclusive 30-day deal window for the deal to finalize a takeover from Taylor. Until the NBA Board of Governors could approve it, there was no sign that the agreement would fall short.

If, for some reason, the acquisition really fails, Afraro and his team will want to get back involved. Otherwise, he will continue his unlikely path of the past 10 months – finding those with financial connections and working with them. A newly retired player like him usually doesn't have that kind of financial relationship to pursue the next team to enter the market.

Since retiring in 2019, Afralo has been growing rapidly. Moving between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, he is working to enter las Vegas's gambling and hospitality programs, looking for a hotel brand with a shared vision that caters to both sports and African-American culture.

His acquisition of an NBA team would mark a dramatic change in the league's ownership group. Hornets owner Michael Jordan remains the only former black player with a majority stake.

Afraro is not a superstar player, and he doesn't earn a superstar salary. He seems to have followed the pattern of Yuniol Bridgeman, a Player for the Bucks in the 1970s and early '80s who had a very similar trajectory — no flash attention, just an NBA worker — but after retiring, he turned to another career, which made him one of the richest former players on record, reportedly at $600 million. Bridgeman made his fortune by buying and franchising Wendy's and Chili's restaurants across the country before expanding into other businesses like Coca-Cola; in 2016, he became a bottling partner for the soft drink giant. Bridgeman bought the black magazine Ebony for $14 million earlier this year, saving the famous magazine from the brink of bankruptcy.

Afraro's path was different, and while he proved early on that he knew how to make money, he bought donuts on his way to school and made money selling donuts at junior high school in Compton, California. (One of his classmates followed Afraro from junior high school to UCLA, where he reached the final four consecutively, including the 2006 Finals, before moving into the NBA, where Avraro was drafted in the first round of the Pistons in 2007.) The classmate soon took his name from Kendrick Duckworth with his middle name as his last name. Kendrick Lamar quickly became a superstar. In 2012, Lamar sang the song "Black Boy Fly" on his triple platinum album good Kid, m.A.A.d. city, making Affraro's achievements immortal. )

Afralo believes his presence could help save Minneapolis if he becomes an African-American director of Wolves, a city that has been in disarray over the past 12 months over the past 12 months over the killing of George Floyd by officer on duty, Drake Shawan: there have been year-long protests against police brutality against African-American citizens, Shawan's trial last month and subsequent convictions for all charges. Shawan faces up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder, and up to 10 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter.

Afraro felt intimate with the team because of his relationship with the late Philip Sanders, his coach in Detroit and, better known, his longtime coach and general manager at Minnesota. Afraro also knows Philippe's son, Ryan Sanders, who was also Wolves' head coach before he was sacked earlier this year. But Avraro will also be chasing other teams for years to come, looking for a partner who will be able to fulfill his dream of becoming a power broker in the league.

(This interview was edited for the sake of length and clarity.) ）

Where did your entrepreneurial spirit come from?

My personality is unique. I did have a sister, but I grew up as an only child because we never really lived together – I moved to Compton with my father after she was born. I think it's just a matter of character. I've always wanted to do things for myself. I love math. I've always enjoyed math as a subject. Just let yourself be a thinker about how to get along with people. That's how I met Lamar. I started selling donuts, selling discs, and I've been like that since I was about 11 years old. I would get up at 6 a.m. and do something to achieve my goals.

How did you start selling donuts at school?

I want a piece of jewelry worth $80 in the mall. It's an old-school herringbone chain. I saw Chris Tucker wearing this herringbone chain from the movie "Friday." But it costs $80. I thought, damn, I'll never get it. That's not okay. So I started pre-ordering donuts in the morning and spent me 60 cents at a local donut shop in Compton that many people couldn't buy. But they love donuts. I'll stop. I would have gotten a dollar from the kids the day before. So I have to earn their trust. The day before at school they would give me $1 and the donuts would cost me 60 cents. I will make a profit of 40 cents. I probably sell a dozen donuts a day, so I make $4 a day. And so, at the end of the month I got my necklace.

When you're playing, are you focused on it?

I am a traditional person. I'm really just focused on playing. I wouldn't say I had a strong entrepreneurial spirit when I was playing. But my first contract, my first major contract, was in 2011 when it was shut down. I really wanted to talk to Ron Clempner (then General Counsel of the National Basketball Players Association) and Billy Hunter (then executive director of the NBPA). As a young man, I was involved a lot. I'm motivated.

So when you stop playing, does the idea of starting a business come back, or has the idea been ingrained in your head?

In 19 years, I was still trying to play the ball. Then I left. Then it became clear that a global pandemic was coming. I started a business and took advantage of all kinds of relationships, and then I realized that I had come this far. There aren't too many stories in between.

And why go big — trying to buy an NBA team — instead of taking the more traditional business path that many retired players take, buying or franchised restaurants, apartments, real estate, etc.?

I want to achieve something and I just do the best I can. That's the spirit that inspires me... It's a perfect match for my leadership and helping me do my best together. I don't want to be a coach or a general manager, I just want to have the ultimate social impact and role. And then there are events —we'll talk about Kobe Bryant and the era of social justice we're in. [Wanting to buy a team] seems to be a mindset that wants to be the best.

Why chase the Timberwolves?

The answer is simple. If this were other teams I don't think I would have the same fighting spirit. I know very well the sanders father and son, as well as Freud. And then when you combine that with the work at the hotel I'm in, dealing with some billionaire companies and billionaires, that creates a natural synergy for Minnesota. I just thought I could help and be inspiring at the same time. I want to praise the Sanders father and son, and what the city has been through, and in this regard, Mr. Taylor is aware of this.

What was it like to give a talk to Taylor in the room?

What I can tell you is: Mr. Taylor is very shrewd. For an 80-year-old, he's really smart. Over the course of his career, he has run more than 80 businesses. He knows people well. As a person, I learned a lot from him. What I appreciate most is that when I encounter a failed investor or an opportunity to fail, he constantly gives me opportunities. He really worked with me for nine months. His approachability was just right for me. So, he's also an ordinary person. I didn't feel pressured to talk to the team owner. The first time we talked, he said, "Listen, Afralo, I don't know you, but I've heard of you. You have an incredible will to fight. If you need my help when talking to investors, please call me. "He was very accommodating.

What was your elevator talk with your team?

Elevator Presentation: A short description of an idea, product, or company

I would state three factors. I think I've had some good initiative for the league, in terms of minority ownership, giving the former players a real chance. As we know, most of the players in our league are African American, but that's not reflected in management, let alone ownership. Here are some obvious things. The ability to heal the city. As you know, the NBA is the parent company of other teams. We need all the teams to do well. We don't need four or five teams that lack support, or run out of money in the league. My point is to make it a successful team, a successful city. I'm 35 years old and unlike Jordan, I'm a former player with over 11 years of experience and I can resonate with today's players because I share the dressing room with them. Mr. Taylor always asked me, "Listen, Afraro, if we're done with this, can you help me get this?" Can you help me get that?" It's the last thing I'm worried about, it's finding the players we need. Because I'm the kind of guy in every team, like you mentioned, like a grinder, from substitute player to top scorer, to understand what players really go through at all levels.

It's one thing to deal with basketball. But the city of Minneapolis is a completely different problem. Freud's murder, trial and sentencing. And dart-wright, who was recently killed by police at the Brooklyn center, and the protests this year, there are a lot of problems that need to be addressed. In addition, there are many different groups in the city that need to discuss at the negotiating table how to heal the scars of the city. The city is in extreme difficulty. Anyone who comes in and says, "I want to save this city," has to have a written word. Why do people in Minneapolis want to listen to you?

Personally, it depends on the person who can do these things. I went back to some insiders who knew the city, they had all sorts of relationships, and I relied heavily on them for that. It's always been my plan, starting with people I know, starting with management because they understand the basketball business, how what you do on the pitch affects the city, and how you represent the city. It won't be my fault alone. I must not take credit. I may be far-sighted, as you said, but it's fueled by the excitement of a variety of interests. It's really about people — it's about people working together to get there. But there was one thing that couldn't be stripped from me: I had worked so hard to get to that position, and I was black. If you respect those two points, then we can get started.

What is the process of bringing a group of people together and seriously bidding for an NBA team with plenty of money?

I don't want to mention motives or beliefs again, but that's what I have to rely on. It is very difficult to accomplish such a thing. Unless you're a billionaire and you only need to write a check, and it's your own money, and you don't have to deal with other people, this kind of thing is very difficult. Because you have to manage other people. You have to manage yourself. You have to manage the future of work, the problems that people leave behind. You have to manage your time. It's much more than just trading and understanding nuances. You have to do all of this and there's no omission. The only thing that allowed me to stand in this position and fight against it was that I believed it was for me. This kind of thing suits my personality and the people around me. Without this belief... I now understand why there aren't more people like me. It takes too much to pay. If you don't have any money yourself, what about your upbringing will allow you to use flexibly? What would you do if you weren't LeBron James? How can people who don't rely on the body, have so much wealth and business acumen trust you or build a relationship with you? This is the most difficult thing in the whole process, not to mention dealing with scammers who say they have money but don't. Aware of it, I've done better over time. Seeing people can only be experienced by yourself, you can't teach. You have to go through it all. Most people have no energy, no money, or no desire to reach such business heights.

Surely you know the difference between rich and rich now, right?

I know now. Even the rich are divided into many different classes. We often see assets flowing through the various networks that people have. But whose bank really had so much money to facilitate the deal? That's when you start to constantly discern who's a liar, who's really rich, and who's really rich. It takes a lot of luck and humility to get into that class.