Report: Kevin Johnson no longer part of search for new NBPA executive director as candidates emerge

The search for the National Basketball Players' Association's next executive director is finally nearing completion, but the man who was hired to lead the search is reportedly no longer part of the hiring process.

Johnson, who was brought on in April to lead a search committee for Billy Hunter's replacement, wrote an email to player agents on Friday that outlined his reasoning. 

Per USA Today:

We would not have been able to reach this point without our esteemed search committee guiding us. As many of you know, (Sacramento) Mayor Kevin Johnson agreed to serve as Chair of our Advisory Search Committee in April. He, along with six other committee members – Junior Bridgeman, Troy Carter, David Drummond, Sonja Henning, James Quinn, and Charles Tribbett, III – worked tirelessly to not just evaluate and meet with candidates themselves, but to regularly communicate with players, agents and other stakeholders to ensure that the search process was inclusive and transparent. After an exhaustive process, the Advisory Search Committee provided us with their recommendations on finalists, which we will present to you on Monday.

Wojnarowski goes on to state that Johnson's search committee felt "cast aside" as the NBPA executive committee wanted to lead the hiring process, while USA Today also mentions "a philosophical difference in how the search was handled in its later stages."

Monday will see the three executive director candidates make 45-minute presentations to players at a NBPA meeting in Las Vegas. A vote will then take place to elect a winner.

The first two candidates are reportedly Dallas Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery and Washington, D.C. attorney Michele Roberts. The third candidate remains unknown.

Over a year has now passed since Hunter was removed as the NBPA's executive director due to controversy following the latest collective bargaining agreement negotiations.