When Bryson Graham began his professional career in the NBA 12 years ago, he was just an intern. New Orleans’ basketball team was still called the Hornets. But in the time since, Graham has made a steady rise through the Pelicans front office, gaining more responsibility and learning from the various colleagues he had along the way.
Now, as assistant general manager, he is a key person in a front office led by executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin and general manager Trajan Langdon, especially when it comes to the draft, where the Pelicans have found some gems in recent years like Herb Jones.

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“I think he’s really good,” one NBA executive said. “He’s smart, he works hard and he knows his shit. (He) will be a GM in the next five years.”

Graham took some time to discuss his career as part of The Athletic’s 40 under 40 series.

You started as an intern with the Pelicans, right? What’s it been like spending your whole career with one organization and just making that journey up through the ranks?

Man, it has been awesome. I would have never thought I would be entering my 12th season with one organization. The Pelicans — at the time, the Hornets when I first got the job — but being here in New Orleans. Obviously, I have a family now. I’ve seen so much change, for good, and I’ve never experienced anything else. I know a lot of people have bounced around but I’ve been fortunate, man. I have really been fortunate to be in one place. In all honesty, I’ve really enjoyed working here. Obviously, I know how this business works but I couldn’t imagine myself being anywhere else. I don’t know much of anything else, man. This is where I’ve been and I’ve loved it. And I’m just very thankful, to be honest.

In that time, what do you think you’ve kind of learned working in different parts of the front office, in different roles?

I started out, obviously, as an intern, like you mentioned. Dell Demps hired me out of Texas A&M, where I played college ball. I did two years, literally, of all the grunt work. I was doing coffee runs. I had to make sure the snack room was put together. You know, we had certain snacks in there. I was shuttling free agents to and from the airport. I was the primary note-taker in all the meetings and things of that nature. I did that for two years. After that, I went to the coaching side and Monty Williams — who is a mentor, a big brother, a friend of mine – brought me on. That, I believe, was essential for me coming back to the front office. Because when I took the head video coordinator position, now you’re in all the coaches’ meetings. You’re on the floor with the guys and you see basketball from a totally different perspective. I truly believe that working on the coaching side and being in the video room is really, really important when it comes to just player evaluation and personnel.

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It’s not like a must, but it was really, really important and I think that really helped me in my growth as a scout and as a player personnel evaluator. I did that for two years and then I went back to the front office. I got to see things from both sides and I have worn quite a few hats. Also, we had a player development liaison from the players to the business side; I did that job as well for a year. So in terms of embodying all those different aspects, I’ve gotten a really good opportunity to kind of see what, one, the day-to-day is on the coaching side and what matters the most. And also having that long-term view from a front office perspective. So that’s kind of been my path to this point. And then when Dell got let go and we had a new regime, obviously with Griffin and Trajan coming in. I think that kind of helped. With Griff, with him being even more comfortable with me and my role right now.

It seems like being exposed to a bunch of different people and maybe even ideas is the best way to kind of learn about how things work.

Absolutely. My first few years, Tim Connolly was with us. And I learned a ton from Tim. We had Brian Hagen, who is with Chicago. Obviously, JJ Polk who’s in Chicago now. We had a great staff. We had Gerald Madkins, who worked with the Clippers and with the Knicks; he was our director of player personnel. So not only is it important to check a lot of boxes in terms of your roles and responsibilities, but also working with really good people in this business. And people that have had longevity. They were always very, very open and honest and give me feedback on things that I can do better or things I need to do more of. The one thing I remember Tim Connolly used to always say: never have a bad day. Every day in the office, he was always preaching that. Because there’s 1,000 people trying to get your job. To answer your question, not only is it very important, obviously from a responsibility standpoint, but who are those people that you are fortunate to work with? And I can say that the list that I’ve been able to work with — that’s just on the front office side — I also got a chance to work with Mike Malone and Randy Ayers and Monty Williams, and that staff that came through before Alvin (Gentry) took over. There’s been a ton of really good people that I’ve got a chance to work with and I’ve just been fortunate.

Where do you ultimately want to go in this industry and have you thought about it? What would you like to do if you ever got a chance to run a team?

Yeah, man. Obviously, I think not everybody’s goal, but it is ultimately my goal to run a team. I would love to be a general manager. I would love to be a vice president. And take everything that I’ve learned over the years and the experiences that I’ve had, and take those experiences and run an organization. I think that’s ultimately my end goal. But if I don’t get there, I just love basketball. I love being a part of team building. I love being around the game. I mean, I’m winning right now, just being in the door. But for me to sit here and say that ‘Oh, I don’t care about being the GM one day or being the vice president.’ Eh, that’s a bunch of bull. I want that opportunity. And I think everybody that’s in my shoes ultimately should strive, as long as it’s coming from a good place.

(Photo of Bryson Graham by Jonathan Bachman/NBAE via Getty Images)