Rockets CEO Tad Brown says he will step down at end of season.
Longtime executive’s departure effective at the end of the season
The Rockets’ front office transformation will undergo another major change. Longtime Rockets CEO Tad Brown announced Friday that he will step down at the end of the season.
Brown said he does not know what he will do next but that he was not pushed out and chose to make the change after months weighing his future.
“It’s time to move on, and it’s time to take on other adventures that we’re looking forward to,” Brown said. “It’s been the greatest honor of my life, my professional life, to lead this organization.
“I’ve been here 20 years. I’ve been the CEO for 15. It’s
been the ride of a lifetime. It has been so special to me, to my family, the friends that I’ve made, the employees, our staff, our players, our coaches, everybody who we’ve been able to bring on as part of our lives, as part of our family. It’s been just an amazing ride.”
Brown was hired as a vice president by former Rockets owner Leslie Alexander in 2002 as the team prepared to move into Toyota Center and promoted to CEO in 2006. In 2017, he brokered the sale of the Rockets to Tilman Fertitta, whom Brown called “an amazing friend” for 20 years and a mentor. Fertitta kept Brown as CEO.
“It’s very emotional,” Brown said. “This is my heart and soul; this is my
life. And anybody who knows me, and anybody who knows this organization knows that this is a 24/7 job. Some of my best friends have been our partners, have been our players, and our former players. This is something that is going to be a part of my heart and soul for the rest of my life. It’s very difficult to transition out but I do believe it’s the right thing to do.”
Brown said a successor would be named “soon” and that he began putting together a succession plan in the past 18 months. He specifically mentioned longtime chief revenue officer Gretchen Sheirr, whom he called “my right hand,” and Toyota Center general manager Doug Hall.
Though he had led the business side of the organization, Brown had been involved in basketball decision making and had become close with many players, most notably Yao Ming, who started with the Rockets in the same week, and James Harden, who called Brown a father figure.
“Tad is an extraordinarily smart and savvy team operator and we will miss his counsel and leadership on league and team matters,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said via text.
Brown said the latest wave of changes, including Harden’s desire to be traded and Daryl Morey’s departure as general manager, along with the challenges related to the coronavirus shutdown of live events throughout the entertainment industry, has made the past year the “most challenging” of his career.
“I wouldn’t say the general day-to-day has been much of an issue in my decision,” Brown said. “Clearly, I’ve had special relationships with some of the guys over the years. It was a really challenging fall for me personally. The people who left meant a lot to me.”
Brown said he had considered his future with the team through the past two years and began speaking with Fertitta more seriously about the move since December. Brown said he had no issues with Fertitta.
“This has nothing to with ownership,” Brown said. “This is one of the most uniquely selfish things I’ve ever done. This isn’t about Tillman. Tillman has been fantastic about everything we needed. I would hope people would not go there.”
In a statement, Fertitta said, “On behalf of the entire Rockets organization and my family, I want to thank Tad for his stellar and tireless service to the Houston Rockets franchise. I could not have asked for a better leader to work with since becoming owner.”
Brown departs with the Rockets as they were when he arrived, struggling and in the lottery. But he said he believed the team will bounce back. He’ll depart having overseen an organization that in his tenure had become among the NBA’s most significant franchises.
“We had an unbelievable run early and then we had almost a historic upheaval during the pandemic which was a very challenging time,” Brown said. “And then we reset. We have a good young core. We’re going through it right now. We’ve got a great young coach (Stephen Silas.) We have a great young GM (Rafael Stone.) I feel good about where the organization is heading. Everything about my situation here, and the experiences that I’ve had here, have made me the person that I am today and made my kids and my family who we are today.
“So yeah, it’s been a heck of a run.”