Booth Named NBA Vice President Basketball Operations

CHICAGO – It's pretty remarkable that a Blue Demon has taken his place in the upper echelon of NBA leadership.

David Booth, the No. 2 scorer all-time in DePaul basketball history, was named Vice President, Basketball Operations by the league last week along with two-time NBA champion Malik Rose.

Booth and Rose are responsible for interfacing directly with teams and players regarding league programs, rules, new initiatives and competitive elements. Their roles are intended to further enhance and build upon the strong working relationship between NBA League Operations and its teams under the Respect for the Game umbrella as well as more broadly on all game-focused topics.

"We are delighted to add Malik and David to our talented staff in NBA League Operations," said Byron Spruell NBA President of League Operations. "Their collective wisdom, expertise and experience at all levels of the game make them ideal choices to expand our connectivity with teams and players and provide valuable input and perspective on a host of basketball-related projects."

Booth began his NBA executive career on June 22 after serving as Director of Player Personnel for the New Orleans Pelicans from 2014-19. Prior to that, he worked as a scout for New Orleans and the Memphis Grizzlies.

The 1992 DePaul graduate (Communications) played professionally overseas from 1992-2005 and was a Blue Demon assistant coach in 2009-10. He was hired by New Orleans in 2010.

"This has been a blessing, and the timing is perfect," said an enthusiastic Booth. "It's been an ongoing process as the NBA had been reaching out to the Pelicans for the last year about me. I flew to New York twice in September to meet with NBA executives and personnel. I received the job offer at the end of May and signed the paperwork.

"Oh yeah, everybody is excited because they think so highly of the NBA. I've heard from so many people that I love and respect.

"There have been phone calls, texts and emails from folks in my Peoria hometown, family, friends, guys I played ball with---all the love they are showing me just blows my mind. It's like everyone's spirit is with me, and on my road to success, I can feel their love and spirit."

Booth joins another former Blue Demon in the league's front office---NBA G League Program Manager Rod Strickland who was a great resource for him during the interview process.

"This shows how well respected DePaul is and that good things come from DePaul," Booth said. "So much that is good about our world has come from Belden and Sheffield.

"Man, I wear my DePaul T-shirt everywhere I go. That place has been so great for me, especially in networking and meeting new people. I am so happy to be a part of the DePaul family.

"DePaul is such a diverse university that helped me learn how to get along with different people. That campus is so close-knit, it has a strong influence on me even today. I keep in touch with Jeanne (athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto), Mike Lenti and others. Our team trainer back then Mike McCormick reached out to congratulate me. My former teammates, everyone, I just have such a strong sense of family."

Ponsetto was delighted that the NBA recognized Booth's potential.

"Our congratulations to David, Melissa and his family," Ponsetto said. "David has always been a source of great pride for DePaul and our men's basketball program. And once again, his star continues to shine bright as he begins his new role as an NBA Vice President for Operations.

"David is a polished leader with terrific communication and problem-solving skills. His basketball experience as a thought leader and innovator will serve the NBA well."

An easygoing, down-to-earth personality paired with a naturally outgoing demeanor enables Booth to relate equally well to NBA and team executives as well as the league's players and coaches. What he brings to his new position is an innate ability to gracefully transition between two worlds---the executive office suite/corporate boardroom and the locker room environment of players and coaches.

"It comes natural for me," Booth said. "It's from my upbringing and what my mom and dad taught me growing up in Peoria. I interacted with all kinds of people and everybody got along. There was an acceptance of everybody across the board no matter your racial or socioeconomic background. It was the same on the basketball court."

Booth is a self-aware Black American rising up to an influential position of power at an historic time in our country's history as the Black Lives Matter movement and nationwide protesting about racial injustice march towards addressing prejudice and effecting dramatic change in our society.

"It's like the time has come for people to be heard," Booth said. "People need to be educated and to communicate. Find out about other people's lives. Be a communicator by listening and not always speaking.

"The NBA is a wonderful platform for just this kind of issue. I'm sure I will be dealing with and talking to players and coaches who want to participate in this national conversation."

DePaul basketball coach Dave Leitao knows exactly what Booth means to the university and his program.

"Our message to recruits when they come on visits is that in addition to a college education and basketball, we want to prepare you for life," Leitao said. "David is a great example of that.

"The NBA understands that along with all the skill and expertise David developed working in the New Orleans Pelicans' front office, it also values his wonderful communication skills and his self-awareness as a person, as a man.

"This is a very prestigious position being in charge of operations for the entire NBA along with Malik Rose. They can put their trust in David because of what he stands for as a man."

Any conversation with the loquacious Booth always comes back around to his halcyon days in Lincoln Park.

"We went to the NCAA tournament my freshman, junior and senior years," said the 6-foot, 7-inch forward. "We expected to make the tournament, and we set the bar at advancing pretty far. My sophomore year when we didn't make it was a real downer.

"When I scored 40 points against UCLA, it was one of those games. You make your first couple of shots, then a few more and your confidence keeps growing. Now, the basket seems bigger than the ocean. Everything I threw up went in. I felt like I couldn't miss.

"The guys could sense what was going on. Credit to coach Joey Meyer and my teammates as they kept running plays for me. It was fun, but the only thing is we lost a close one. UCLA had a great nationally ranked squad with future NBA players."

Booth was tight with teammate and TV announcer Stephen Howard, and they have remained good friends to this day. Curtis Price, Chuckie Murphy and Melvin Foster were the guys who came to Lincoln Park with him and were part of the crew. He keeps in touch with Stanley Brundy on social media and talked to Terence Greene the other day. Booth called him the big brother of our time at DePaul.

"For me to be the No. 2 scorer all-time is very humbling when you think about the historic basketball tradition and all the great players who came through there like George Mikan, Rod Strickland, Dave Corzine, Dallas Comegys and Kevin Edwards," Booth said.

"Think about Mark Aguirre, the all-time leading scorer. He did that in only three years with no three-point line. That lets you know how great a player he was at DePaul."

And now, current and future basketball players have another goal to shoot for, another role model to emulate---perhaps one day following Booth's path to a leadership role at the game's highest level.

Booth Named NBA Vice President Basketball Operations

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