8:52am: The Pacers have made it official, formally announcing the hiring of Krauskopf in a press release.
“As the architect of one of the WNBA’s most successful franchises, Kelly is a true pioneer in our sport,” Pacers owner Herb Simon said in a statement. “I’ve worked with Kelly over the past two decades, so I know her tremendous basketball mind, strong work ethic and proven leadership skills will continue to be of great benefit to our organization.”
8:23am: The Pacers are hiring veteran WNBA executive Kelly Krauskopf to their front office, making her the first female assistant general manager in NBA history, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.
According to Wojnarowski, Krauskopf will work in Indiana with a basketball operations staff that includes president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, GM Chad Buchanan, and assistant GM Peter Dinwiddie.
Krauskopf has strong local ties, having served as the president and general manager of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever for 17 years, up until 2017. Last year, she moved into a role overseeing the Pacers’ entry in the NBA2K eSports league. In joining the Pacers’ basketball operations department, she’ll relinquish her WNBA and eSports duties, sources tell Wojnarowski.
While Krauskopf will become the first woman to secure an assistant GM title for an NBA franchise, a growing number of teams are employing female executives, Wojnarowski notes. Longtime WNBA star Sue Bird joined the Nuggets in a front office role last month, while the Magic, Thunder, Raptors, Hawks, Rockets, and Nets also have female execs.
Great first step! People might be like “why did it take so long”?? Well remember the NBA made the investment in the WNBA like 20 years ago. It takes sometimes 5 decades of time for leagues to get established and popularity. So it would also take time for coaches, scouts, and FO personnel to establish the background necessary to dictate coaching or personnel decisions in the NBA.