The makeover of the National Basketball Players Association continued Wednesday evening with the announcement of Chris Paul being named as the group's president.
Paul replaces Derek Fisher, who along with previous executive director Billy Hunter led the union through the previous lockout and also left it in turmoil as Hunter has sued both the union and Fisher after he was fired by the union back in February.
He also becomes the first star player to run the union since Patrick Ewing's tenure as union president expired in 2001.
"I have a lot of experience, just being around knowing what's going on," said Paul, who has been a player representative since his rookie year before becoming a member of the executive committee four years ago. "It's not about the president or the first vice president or about any one person, it's about the players as a whole and as a body. That's what it has been about the past two days, in what we can do moving forward to grow the game and build the game."
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Chris Paul is the first star player to lead the National Basketball Players Association since Patrick Ewing in 2001.
Paul was elected at the end of two days of meetings in Las Vegas for the union. His election came as a bit of a surprise, given that the only name that had surfaced in recent days publicly for the job was that of veteran free agent Roger Mason, Jr., who was elected first vice president Wednesday.
The only other player to publicly consider running for the job was Paul's close friend LeBron James, who eventually decided the time constraints would be too great for him to devote the time and attention he would need to the position.
"I've been thinking about it for awhile," said Paul, who added he had talked to Mason before running. "I've had a lot of dialogue about it with [the executive] committee members. I wouldn't have taken this job on if it was me doing it alone."
The union also announced that Lakers guard Steve Blake and Bobcats forward Anthony Tolliver were voted to the executive committee to replace the spots vacated by Paul and Mason when they ascended to president and first vice president, respectively. The other players on the executive committee are Heat forward James Jones, Warriors guard Stephen Curry and forward Andre Iguodala, Spurs forward Matt Bonner and Clippers guard Willie Green.
In addition, Jerry Stackhouse stepped down from the first vice president position he'd been elected to in February at the union's meeting during All-Star Weekend, but is expected to take a job in an advisory position within the union.
The next step for the union is naming an executive director to succeed Hunter, something that both Paul and Stackhouse said on the call that the group was in "no rush" to do. It is expected, however, that the union would like to have their choice made in time to be ratified at the union meeting during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans next February.
In between now and then, Paul said he wants to try to get more involvement from players around the league.
"One of top priorities is to get as much involvement as possible from our players," he said. "That's what it was supposed to be about from the beginning, and that's what it's about going forward."
tbontemps@nypost.com
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