Josh Childress Rumors

Marc Stein: Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios is in advanced talks to join the @SEMelbPhoenix as a co-owner in Australia’s @NBL, sources tell me. Kyrgios would join a Romie Chaudhari-led ownership group that includes John Wall, Zach Randolph, Al Harrington, Josh Childress and Dante Exum.

Former NBA lottery pick Josh Childress always knew he had the potential to be more than just an athlete. Over the next 10 to 15 years, Childress hopes to build a sizable real estate and investment portfolio that eventually surpasses the tens of millions of dollars he earned playing in the NBA and in the EuroLeague. “That’s my goal,” Childress said. “I said that was a big part of my motivation in starting the company and really creating a business that I own and operate is (because) I want to make more off the court than I made on the court. … Not that it’s all about money, it’s about building but it’s always nice to have financial goals in what you’re doing and that is my goal.”

In addition to real estate development, he’s also a budding investor who co-owns a professional basketball team in Australia, the South East Melbourne Phoenix, in the same Australian National Basketball League that he played in toward the end of his career. “I played in Australia for three years so I know the landscape over there a bit,” Childress said. “When the opportunity presented itself, the entire ownership group is pretty much based here in LA, guys that I know. Some real estate guys, myself, Al Harrington, Zach Randolph, John Wall, some NBA connectivity, it was a great opportunity for us to take that next step.”

Childress and his former Stanford teammate, Justin Davis, opted in 2018 to start their real estate fund, LandSpire Group, with the mission of revitalizing underserved communities of color. The Compton, Calif., native looks to expand his company’s portfolio of multimillion-dollar projects, ranging from apartments in Las Vegas to movie studios in Chicago, thanks to some added horsepower and the expansive network at private equity firm TPG.

With TPG as its anchor investor, Childress says LandSpire plans to launch a fund in the second half of this year with a target of raising $500 million. The CEO is taking the challenge of recreating himself in this next phase of life—leveraging his black-owned fund to impact the lives of minorities. Childress runs a for-profit company but says placing more capital in the hands of diverse allocators is at the forefront.