Getting To Know Steve Brandes, President Of Milwaukee Bucks D-League Operations

The Milwaukee Bucks announced the hire of Steve Brandes to serve as President of D-League Operations for their new Fox Valley affiliate on Mar. 11. Behind the Buck Pass sat down with Brandes to get to know him a little better.

Steve Brandes is the President of NBA D-League Operations for the Milwaukee Bucks, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t sell tickets anymore.

Brandes started his career as an account executive with the Idaho Stampede, back when that team was still a part of the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association. He went from account executive to having pretty much every job possible with the Stampede, aside from player and head coach.

Four years into his time with the team, the Stampede moved from the CBA to the NBA Development League, and Brandes became president and GM of the team. His experience working through different eras of the D-League involved Brandes working with all sorts of NBA clubs.

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"“Even before we had hybrids we would have two to three affiliates. So we were affiliated with the Sonics if you remember Seattle, affiliated with Denver, Toronto, so a lot of different NBA clubs I got to work with.”"

Eventually the D-League teams began working more closely with NBA clubs as hybrids, and the Stampede were involved with a pair of franchises in that sort of relationship.

"“So as the league evolved they started creating these hybrids, and the hybrids were where you had local ownership and you had the NBA parent club basically renting the basketball operations. So they’d pay those expenses and make those decisions. Portland was the first hybrid so I was there with them, then Utah, then the Jazz purchased us.”"

The Stampede were purchased by the Utah Jazz in 2015. After one year as the Jazz-controlled Stampede, the team was moved to Salt Lake City and became the Stars. Although Brandes helped the team with the transition, he did not serve as president of the Stars.

"“I also helped the Stars, basically helped the legal counsel for the Jazz, with their scheduling process and their lease agreement with the arena. I did some stuff on the back end with the Stars, but I was more a Utah Jazz employee than a Stars employee, if that makes sense.”"

That, essentially, is how Brandes got started with the NBA D-League and finished his time with the Idado Stampede and then the Salt Lake City Stars. But why did he pick Oshkosh for his next job?

Since the purchase of the Bucks by their current owners they’ve placed a strong emphasis on building a championship caliber culture. There has been evidence of this plan coming into effect with the progress made in the new arena plan and entertainment district, and now the D-League arm of the organization promises to be the latest extension of that vision.

That bigger picture was not lost on Brandes, who credits the vision of the owners and Greg Pierce of Fox Valley Pro Basketball as influencing his decision to take on this position.

"“The reason why I’m so excited to be here is the vision of the owners of the Bucks, their management is amazing. And then you throw that in a bag with the vision of Greg and the owners and their building here, the opportunity is just amazing, it was just too perfect to pass up.”"

Brandes said the process of forming the D-League team in Oshkosh from the ground up is an “extremely exciting” situation to find himself in.

"“Just being able to be a part of that process and seeing something going from a vision, a dream if you will–Greg Pierce’s dream–to come full circle to an actual finished product, I think, is going to be really neat. Just to be a part of that journey, I feel lucky to be a part of that.”"

Although Brandes’ title with the Stampede of president and general manager may sound like it carries player and personnel control, his actual duties focus more on the business side of things. Brandes explained his new position will be very similar to his old one in that regard, and why he was called a general manager in his Idaho days.

"“We, back then, felt that a lot of the basketball decisions were put on the coach, and that side, because it created less ability for them to have excuses. For us, that job, that’s an old CBA title: general manager of a business. So it wasn’t really basketball-driven.”"

Brandes worked with Justin Zanik, who the Bucks hired back in June, in his time with the Jazz and spoke highly of his new (and former) co-worker.

"“He was a guy who was hands-on. He was our GM, for the Jazz portion when they owned us, so he drove that bus tied to basketball decisions. So he was a guy that I was on the horn with, or he came down and I’d interact with him, and he’s a great guy. He’s super smart and knowledgeable. I think the Bucks are lucky to have him, he’s definitely an up-and-comer in that world and he’s done a great job already so it’s pretty exciting there.”"

Despite their relationship, Brandes said he did not have any significant conversation with Zanik in regards to the process of finding a president for the D-League team, although he’s excited to reunite with him.

The role of the D-League is becoming more and more important in the NBA because the teams can serve as breeding grounds for their NBA counterpart. Players and even coaches can play in a similar system to the NBA-level club and be ready to move up.

Brandes’ vision for the D-League team includes that concept both for the basketball side, and the business side of things, and to create a beneficial partnership between Oshkosh and Milwaukee.

"“So the goal in my world is to turn, I guess, the Oshkosh team into a bullpen as you will for the Bucks. Hopefully we can get some kids, young, up-and-coming kids that really want to excel. I say kids, but you know, younger professionals, to come in, intern, and then we develop them into a role with us, then they spit out to the Bucks. Then if they move up there, they eventually get the opportunity if they want to manage then we bring them back into a management role. We want to create like a synergy between the two.”"

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One aspect of the new team that’s been fun to speculate about is what it will be called. Brandes said he doesn’t know specifics about the name yet, although lots of suggestions came from the community and the Bucks legal team is doing searches on potential names to make sure they’re okay from a copyright standpoint.

One question many people who work with the D-League often run into is simple: why the D-League? Whether it be a reporter covering the D-League like our friend Chris Reichert, or personnel or even players involved in it, many fans might not understand the appeal of working in the minor league.

I posed that question to Brandes, and after lightheartedly reminding me that he does indeed work for the Milwaukee Bucks he went on to explain why he enjoys his work with the Development League so much.

"“I love it. I’m passionate for it, because the product is amazing. It’s the second-best basketball league in the world. The guys that you’re going to get to see play, it’s amazing.”"

Brandes went on to recount tales of seeing Danny Green, Jeremy Lin and Gerald Green come into Idaho and dazzle him before their NBA days. Brandes credited seeing players like those three come in and grow into what they are today as part of the reason why he loves the D-League.

"“It’s fun to watch these young athletes start, make their start and then grow. I feel like this level is so rewarding because everyday is different. It’s a challenge. I feel like I’m continually growing and learning.”"

An NBA team offered Brandes a sales position at one point, but he said he preferred getting to do a little bit of everything in his role in the D-League, although a move someday is not out of the question.

"“Being able to touch all different facets of the business is way more rewarding than going to that next level and being niched. I don’t want to sit here and say that I’m going to be in the D-League forever, but I certainly do enjoy it, and I find it very rewarding. I’m enjoying the ride while I have it.”"

In addition to getting to do all of those varying and fulfilling tasks at work, Brandes said one of his favorite parts about his job is when he gets to go out of the office and into the community.

Although working in sports is undeniably cool, Brandes said being involved with the community and giving back helps to motivates him.

"“The thing that really drives me a lot is the actual impact in the community. What we’re going to do with that team, is it’s going to be this resource and this asset that we’ll be able to actually philanthropically embed ourselves into the fabric of the community and impact schools, impact businesses and leverage the power of the athlete, leverage the power of our staff to give back to the community that we work and play in.”"

Brandes said the biggest challenge for him in constructing this new team will be finding candidates who are the right fits to work with him, and that somewhere around 12-15 full-time employees will be hired for the business side of the new team, in addition to the basketball side and some internship openings.

When it was suggested that Brandes having started out as an account executive must make it easy for him to pitch the job to potential employees, he agreed but was quick to credit the staff around him as well.

"“It helps. That’s a nice nugget to say, but we’re really lucky to have a really strong HR team there, hopefully they’ll work their magic and find the right candidates. That’s what I’m hoping for, is some resources to help. But you’re right, being able to paint that picture helps for sure.”"

Although Brandes will not be the one running the basketball operations of the team, he did offer a timetable for how the team will be assembled, with players coming from an expansion draft, the D-League Draft, and from the Bucks in various capacities.

"“There’s definitely an expansion draft, so that’ll happen I want to say in September or somewhere around then. The D-League Draft is in October. Everything’s moved up because, I think the NBA season starts early, so we’re starting earlier. Our regular season starts November 3, which historically it’s always started the middle of November, towards the end. So it’s moved up by two weeks or so. “"

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: More Information About The Coming D-League Team

From the half an hour I spent with Brandes, there doesn’t seem to be any doubt that his experience, enthusiasm and passion will be hugely beneficial to the Milwaukee Bucks as this new D-League team in Oshkosh comes to life.