Part 1: In 2013, after one season as a basketball-operations assistant with the [Atlanta Hawks](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/hawks/), Jeff Peterson’s NBA career tilted at a few crossroads. He had received an offer from University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller to come work for him.
Unsure of where he stood, Peterson went to Hawks general manager Danny Ferry with the news. Ferry asked if he wanted to work with the Hawks. Peterson was sure he did, but uncertain if there was an opportunity for him.
*So get out of here,* Ferry told him, *you have a job.*
“There are people who can have honest conversations, peer-to-peer — I could have a conversation with the GM, players can talk to players, coaches talk to coaches. Jeff is a rare breed that can talk across platforms,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said. “So he can have a very honest conversation with a player. He’s had that multiple times. Get the message across, he’s not afraid.
“He’ll have the same conversations with coaches. He’ll have the same conversation with the front office. He’ll have the same conversation with our ownership group. So when you’re able to like be true to who you are across all of that and not be afraid. That’s a talent.”
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Part 1: In 2013, after one season as a basketball-operations assistant with the [Atlanta Hawks](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/hawks/), Jeff Peterson’s NBA career tilted at a few crossroads. He had received an offer from University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller to come work for him.
Unsure of where he stood, Peterson went to Hawks general manager Danny Ferry with the news. Ferry asked if he wanted to work with the Hawks. Peterson was sure he did, but uncertain if there was an opportunity for him.
*So get out of here,* Ferry told him, *you have a job.*
Nearly a decade later, Peterson remains in the NBA, now as the [Brooklyn Nets](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/nets/) assistant general manager. He has climbed through the industry quickly. The 33-year-old was recruited to Brooklyn three years ago. In 2020, he interviewed for the [Pistons](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/pistons/) GM job. Peterson’s skill in the front office and his work with the Nets have made him one of the more promising young executives in the league. It’s also put him on *The Athletic*’s inaugural [NBA 40 under 40 list](https://theathletic.com/3138225/2022/03/07/nba-40-under-40-the-executives-coaches-and-agents-shaping-the-basketball-world-and-the-future/).
“There are people who can have honest conversations, peer-to-peer — I could have a conversation with the GM, players can talk to players, coaches talk to coaches. Jeff is a rare breed that can talk across platforms,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said. “So he can have a very honest conversation with a player. He’s had that multiple times. Get the message across, he’s not afraid.
“He’ll have the same conversations with coaches. He’ll have the same conversation with the front office. He’ll have the same conversation with our ownership group. So when you’re able to like be true to who you are across all of that and not be afraid. That’s a talent.”
You da real MVP