The NBA is losing another one of its very best on-court officials in Monty McCutchen as he shifts positions and makes his way into the league office. With more than 1400 regular season games officiated to his name, McCutchen is moving on from the hardwood.
Per the New York Times, McCutchen will take on the role of Vice President, Head of Referee Development and Training as of Friday. The 25-year veteran official says he’s excited about the new job ahead.
Following from Marc Stein of the New York Times,
“Anytime you so passionately love what you do — and I do deeply love this profession — there’s definitely some mixed emotions about coming off the floor,” McCutchen said in a phone interview. “But the excitement of this opportunity is such that it fills in those gaps of wonder about whether you’ve made the right choice or not.”
Under commissioner Adam Silver, the league has continually sought out ways to improve the efficiency of its officiating crew. Placing a referee the caliber of McCutchen in such an influential role is only another step in that process.
McCutchen will be taking over the position from longtime VP Bob Delany who previously served in the role for 24 years before retiring in 2011.
Refereeing is continuously critiqued league-wide and by fans, but McCutchen, while making sure to back the work his colleagues have done, knows there’s always room to improve.
“I’m really looking forward to working with the staff and I have a lot of faith that members of our staff who will step into new roles will fulfill them with great aplomb,” McCutchen said. “Our profession that I’ve chosen to be a part of is one that is focused on the 4 percent that we don’t get right on a nightly basis, but I don’t want us to forget the 96 percent we are doing very well on a nightly basis.”
