Half-Vietnamese Mark Tatum succeeded Adam Silver as NBA deputy commissioner and conducted the 2nd round of the Draft

NBA executive president of global marketing partnerships Mark Tatum is in line to become the NBA’s deputy commissioner under incoming commissioner Adam Silver, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly until the announcement is official. NBA spokesman Tim Frank declined comment.

The move needs to be approved by NBA owners, but a decision such as this wouldn’t progress to this point unless Silver, the deputy commissioner who takes over for commissioner David Stern this week, knew Tatum would be approved.STERN: Leaves as ‘No. 1 reason’ for NBA successTatum, who joined the NBA in 1999, would become one of pro sports’ highest-ranking African-American executives. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell and graduated from Harvard Business in 1998. Sport news can often get this bromidic and bland. If you get too much of a dose of such news, mayhap you’d consider switching to a different, for instance, watch rugby on TV.

He has been instrumental in the game’s global growth but has also been involved in collective bargaining, TV deals and partnerships with major sponsors. He has been on the NBA’s senior management team for about 10 years and also works closely with USA Basketball executives on the organizations marketing and sales.Tatum, 44, is a coveted executive. The United States Olympic Committee and the revamped Big East were interested in hiring Tatum. Prior to the NBA, Tatum worked for Major League Baseball, Pepsi-Cola and Proctor & Gamble, according to his bio on nba.com.

via Mark Tatum will succeed Adam Silver as NBA deputy commissioner.

Larry Tieu played college basketball in California before going pro playing in Vietnam for the Saigon Heat