Rockets Assistant 'Smartest Front Office Figure' in NBA?

Houston Rockets assistant general manager Eli Witus has been with the team since 2008. Now, he's regarded as one of the smartest front office personnel in the league.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 30, 2023

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The NBA is home to some of the world's greatest athletes, and the league is their stage to showcase that. But behind the scenes, a host of people put their heads together to create winning combinations and bring championships to their respective cities.

Among the unsung heroes in these front offices is Houston Rockets assistant general manager Eli Witus, who is highly regarded as one of the league's smartest minds.

"And despite the Rockets’ bumpy rebuild, Houston assistant general manager Eli Witus also registered strong support among various league personnel to pilot his own program, with several league figures pinning Witus as their choice for the smartest front-office figure in the league," Yahoo! Sports insider Jake Fischer writes.

According to his LinkedIn, Witus graduated from The University of Chicago in 2003 and Harvard Law School in 2006 before joining the Rockets as an intern in 2008.

He has risen up the ranks and became an assistant general manager under Daryl Morey in 2018. Now, he works under Rafael Stone, who had a similar trajectory with the Rockets on his way towards becoming the team's general manager.

Perhaps Witus will soon take that final step towards becoming a general manager ... it just may be with a different team if Stone sticks around and if teams want a smart person around like Witus.

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Published Jul 30, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.