Doing double duty in the early NBA

The Star Tribune's Sid Hartman, who has the rare distinction of once simultaneously running an NBA team and writing for a newspaper, was honored Tuesday night by the Timberwolves prior to their game with the Lakers.

Sid, of course, was instrumental not only in helping bring the Lakers to Minneapolis but also in putting together the roster that won five NBA championships in six seasons here between 1949 and 1954.

Though the Lakers have long since moved to Los Angeles, Sid also perhaps unwittingly set a strange precedent to be followed among the NBA personnel men in this town.

As you'll recall, David Kahn was a sports writer for several years before embarking on a career path that eventually led him to be the Wolves' boss. When asked, though, if he could ever imagine doing both of those jobs at the same time, Kahn wrote this in an e-mail: "No, I can't. Although there are many times when I wish I could call myself up to say I was misquoted."

Sid is fond of saying that in the past the term "conflict of interest" didn't exist. And, if you believe dictionary.com, he's pretty much right. The Lakers came to exist in 1947; that website says "conflict of interest" came to prominence somewhere between 1950 and 1955.

It was a different era, to be sure. Everyone in the arena back then -- players, coaches, fans -- had a good chance to be on the same financial plane. These days, marginal NBA players get bought out of their contracts for more money than a lot of us will make in our lifetimes.

When asked whether he would like to go back 60 years to see the NBA of Sid's heyday, Kahn wrote: "Absolutely. Not only to see what it was like to run a team, but just to be able to better appreciate how far our league has come since the early days."

It's safe to say that one man perhaps had the most unique perspective of the evolution. And that man was honored by two organizations Tuesday night.

MICHAEL RAND