Rockets’ rising son
Patrick Fertitta, a sports junkie with business savvy, has his dad’s ear on club decisions
At 24, Patrick Fertitta has become a key liaison between his father, Tilman, and the rest of the Rockets organization.
At 24, Patrick Fertitta is a liaison between his father and the rest of the Rockets organization, but he also wields influence.
“I’m not afraid to tell him I disagree with him or I think we should go in a different direction.”
Patrick Fertitta, son of Rockets owner
The Rockets had planned their uniform reveal event down to the minute with Patrick Fertitta scheduled to spend 10 minutes showing off the team’s new look. He wanted to do it, too. He was proud of the work put in and the result, happy to represent the family on that draft night stage.
But he never made it downstairs to the Toyota Center floor. The Rockets were in talks about trading into the first round of the draft that night. Fertitta, in his familiar spot in the third-floor conference room, could not leave. His role in the work to be done was far from ceremonial.
In the management meetings that led to that night, there was a constant foursome; Fertitta, his father and team owner Tilman Fertitta, team president Tad Brown and general manager Daryl Morey.
When the Rockets begin freeagent recruiting on Sunday, Fertitta again will be in the middle of every conversation, negotiation and even pitch.
In less than two years since Tilman Fertitta spent a record $2.2 billion to buy the Rockets from Leslie Alexander, Patrick Fertitta has become such a fixture in decision-making that when longtime Rockets executive Gersson Rosas was introduced as Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations, he began by giving thanks to “Leslie Alexander, Tilman and Patrick Fertitta …”
“I don’t know if I could put it into words,” Patrick Fertitta said. “I’m living a dream. I feel like the luckiest person in the world.”
Fertitta describes himself as “born addicted to sports,” as likely to tune in for breakfast at Wimbledon as to rush to every NBA transaction alert. But at age 24, he is in the middle of all forms of Rockets decision-making, from upgrades to the arena to who will play in it.
“The best way to sum it up is it’s important that ownership has a presence with the Houston Rockets in bigger, macro things as well as the smaller things; draft nights, making decisions on arena upgrades, uniforms, directions on social media,” Fertitta said. “We have an owner, my dad, who is a very busy person. He operates two other massive companies outside of the Houston Rockets.
“That allows me to have a presence in certain areas within the organization that he’s not able to always focus on. Being able to be his eyes and ears and a resource to him that he trusts and he knows is loyal and is thinking about not only what is best for the organization but what is best for our family is a void I’ve been able to fill.”
Smart beyond his years
Fertitta is a liaison between his father and the rest of the organization, but he also has influence. Beyond even that, when it is time for an owner to sign off on a decision, though Tilman Fertitta often will be front and center, there are times that role is left to Patrick, especially on the basketball operations side.
“Patrick is there representing Tilman and the family, and he is given authority up to a certain point,” Brown said. “That is the operational authority we need. When you get to that one discussion or decision you need, then we get Tilman on the phone and it’s the four of us talking it through.”
On basketball issues, even before Morey needs ownership approval, he has gone from including Patrick Fertitta in conversations to seeking his input.
“He’s smart, knows basketball, great mind,” Morey said. “Really, really, really surprising for someone his age. I don’t even understand it. I don’t understand how he is so level-headed. He seems 35 when I work with him. It’s crazy.
“It’s really helpful he knows basketball. He’s a total hoop head. Obviously Tilman is the final call on everything. But he has 60,000 employees. He’s running a lot of stuff. It’s a learning process for us all to know what things Tilman wants to know and what he does not. Patrick is a huge advocate there that helps a lot.”
Fertitta is not literally his father’s right hand, but he is close. It is well known through the organization that if Tilman Fertitta is needed but cannot be immediately reached, call Patrick. He’s probably standing a few feet away.
His style and position within the organization allows him to do something many don’t feel comfortable doing. He will tell the billionaire boss when he is wrong. He will argue his case. He will not always win the argument, but Tillman Fertitta knows his son is on his side, even when on the other side of an issue.
“One of the great things about my dad’s and my relationship is that he does value my opinion and, even though it may frustrate him at times, one of the reasons why he does allow me to have influence is I do tell him the truth,” Patrick Fertitta said. “I’m not afraid to tell him I disagree with him or I think we should go in a different direction.
“Tad and Daryl have seen my dad and me disagree passionately and vehemently many, many times. But … we agree with the common goal of creating the best organization possible, one that not only wins but is respected and has the right type of culture.”
As with siblings Blayne, Michael and Blake, there is a sense that every position is taken with an understanding that the Rockets are now a family business.
“Tilman’s operating a lot of different things,” Brown said. “Tilman wants this to be is a family property. Patrick’s not just the conduit to his dad. He’s the conduit to the overall understanding of where this organization can go. The harder discussions relative to making the immediate decisions … Patrick does have a unique relationship with his dad.”
Patrick Fertitta emphasizes that his siblings also are a part of the business of the Rockets; that he just has a more visible role in decision-making. But he is in the middle of nearly all decisions that reach the owner’s Post Oak office, especially on basketball matters.
“I think it’s something we all talk about a lot when we make decisions about the team, the arena, the organization,” Fertitta said. “It’s definitely a ‘we’ thing. It’s a family thing. We are blessed to come into this situation where we are fans and have been for a long time. The Rockets are something we deeply care about. But everything is a collective decision.”
The Rockets hope that the combination of Tilman and Patrick Fertitta will offer free agents access to Tilman Fertitta’s business acumen with a chance to relate to someone in ownership that is younger than the players the Rockets recruit. That sort of mix has been known to work in the NBA, most notably with Miami Heat owner Mickey Arison and his son Nick, the Heat CEO.
“I look forward to getting to know any draft picks, free agents,” Patrick Fertitta said. “If I can be more parallel because I am the same age, maybe we’re going through some of the same things at the same time, I welcome that. They probably view me as someone easier to … communicate with. The conversations I have with James (Harden) or P.J. (Tucker) are different from conversations my dad has.”
Fertitta said players have called for everything from tips and even reservations when traveling to “just talking about life.”
There is an understanding that anything Fertitta learns, while valuable for immediate decisionmaking, is also training for the role he will assume. He is not just at the table when discussing player acquisitions, meetings that can be fun for a lifelong sports fan. He will subject himself to the most mundane of middle management meetings and fire off questions about parts of the business he would not have given a thought two years ago.
Fertitta said his education — he has a business degree from USC — does not impact his daily work at all, other than the basics of reading a financial statement and balance sheet. His training comes from his father, access to daily flash reports from Landry’s businesses and his work with the Rockets where he has to balance contributing and learning.
“It varies day to day,” Fertitta said. “I like to think the most important thing I can do on a day-today basis is absorbing as much as possible so in the future I can be the best version of myself with my siblings, not just for this organization, but for the Fertitta Entertainment company in general. I do believe on a day-to-day basis, I do help my dad in a lot of ways make important decisions.
“My dad could easily have me in the corner doing busy work. He always says experience is everything and so much more valuable than even intelligence. He allows me to be a part of these big discussions and decisions to the point I actually have influence. He is doing a great deal to set me up for success.”
There are few typical days in a franchise. As an example, the first half of Tuesday was devoted to Landry’s business. By midday, Fertitta and Brown were addressing the social media “mistake” the night before when the Rockets’ twitter account lamented Harden’s second-place finish in the MVP voting. (The tweets were addressed in house and deleted.)
Aids communication lines
Meetings were held about finalizing shows for Toyota Center before moving on to Rockets budgets, including payroll and luxury taxes before discussing potential arena expenditures. He then moved back to several hours of Landry’s business.
“Not only is he learning and helping and being a part of what we do on a day-to-day basis … he is able to cut through the fog directly to Tilman and make sure communication lines are open,” Brown said. “When you look at how usually ownership transitions could go badly in professional sports, it’s all about communication between management and ownership. He’s really helped both of us get to the right place.
“Every big meeting we have that talks strategic direction with the organization, Patrick is there with his father. Every single one, not only to have a great influencer on the decisions that are on the table, but to have historical understanding as he continues to grow in his role. Ten years from now, Patrick is going to remember back in ’18-19, these things happened with these players and coaches.”
If Fertitta seems remarkably young for the role, that first impression tends to pass quickly, as with any other member of the front office. But he more often cites how his father, mother (Paige) and siblings felt about acquiring the Rockets. And he doesn’t consider this a job.
“I know how blessed I am,” Fertitta said. “It’s been everything we thought it would be.”