Rick Welts to run the Golden State Warriors' business operations

Rick Welts to run the Golden State Warriors' business operations

The Golden State Warriors spent their summer conducting a national search for a new president and chief operating officer.

Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver called this month to tell them who they should hire -- his outgoing president and CEO.

Eleven days after his nine-year stint of running the Suns' business ended, Rick Welts accepted a job to run the Warriors' business operations. The hire came a week after his first conversation with new Golden State owner Joe Lacob.

"He (Sarver) really was the one who initiated the conversation on my behalf," Welts said after the hiring was announced Monday night. "I had been looking forward to doing different things but the opportunity with this team and this market worked so well for me geographically. I was not able to pass that up and I couldn't be more ecstatic."

Welts, 58, announced he was leaving the Suns on Sept. 9 to get his professional and personal lives aligned. He said he was asking out of his Suns contract 10 months early in order to be closer to his partner, who has joint custody of two children in Sacramento.

In May, Welts became the highest-ranking executive in men's sports to announce that he is gay.

Upon announcing he was resigning from the Suns, Welts said he planned to do speaking engagements and was considering offers to write a book about his life.

"Robert called to let me know Rick was going to be available and wanted, for personal reasons, to move to the Bay Area," Warriors CEO Joe Lacob said. "We jumped all over it. When you talk to people in the league, he was one of the top two executives."

Welts spent 17 years of his career as NBA executive and was known best for creating All-Star Weekend. He left the league office as the third-ranking executive with titles of executive vice president, chief marketing officer and president of NBA Properties.

Welts oversaw business operations and management of US Airways Center and the Phoenix Mercury since 2002. He said he had no prior relationship with Lacob or his Warriors co-Managing Partner, Peter Guber.

Lacob commended Sarver for recommending Welts to a Pacific Division rival and said Sarver also had called the Sacramento Kings on Welts' behalf.

"I think it's a great fit for Rick," Sarver said. "I'm happy for him. Given his geographical desires, in my opinion, it's a perfect job for him."

BRANDAN WRIGHT one of the fastest rising stars in the basketball scene.