DES MOINES, Iowa — There are only 30 general manager jobs in the NBA and one of those positions is filled by an Iowan — Chad Buchanan.
Buchanan attended Valley High School before going to Simpson College, where he played basketball and baseball. After graduating from Simpson in 1995, he got his masters at the University of Iowa and was a graduate assistant for the basketball team. In 1997, he returned to Simpson and was the assistant basketball coach, a golf coach, an adjust professor, an academic advisor and a hall director.
"I kind of had five different roles at one time," Buchanan said.
After five years back at Simpson, he got an offer to be the assistant coach for the Kansas City Knights, a minor league team in the ABA.
"(I) felt like it was time to kind of number one move out of the dorm," he said. "My wife, I think, was ready to move on to something different."
Buchanan spent one year in Kansas and then joined Tom Davis' staff at Drake as an assistant. From there, he got an offer to be a scout for the Portland Trailblazers.
"All along, I thought I was gonna be a college basketball coach is what my goal was. And then this opportunity to scout came along. And it sounded interesting," he said.
Buchanan was with the Trailblazers for 10 years, then he was the assistant general manager for the Charlotte Hornets for three seasons before getting hired by the Indiana Pacers.
His first day on the job, he made a splash and traded superstar forward Paul George.
"There's always risk in any decision you make, and, you know, part of sports is taking a risk. And, you know, sometimes you feel more confident about a decision than others, you know, there's more risk involved in certain decisions," he said.
Another major move that Buchanan made was trading all-star center Domontas Sabonis for former Cyclone guard Tyrese Haliburton. The Pacers and Haliburton recently agreed to a max contract.
"(He's) a cornerstone of our team is the point guard, for our team is the leader of our team and trying to build on his talents and his strengths is what we're trying to do moving forward," Buchanan said.
The goal moving forward for Buchanan is bringing Indiana a first-ever championship.
"I like the idea of being with a team has never won before, because that's a, you know, a prize isn't always experienced around here," he said.
And Buchanan has some advice for those looking to break into professional sports.
"If you put the team first and you're a good person, you're gonna have a job, you know, whether it's basketball or, you know, whatever fashion you go into," he said. "if you're unselfish and people like to be around you and you work hard, you're going to be successful."