By Andrew Lawrence The NBA’s front office pioneer hopes to guide the Phoenix Suns through controversy and over the championship hump. Sports Illustratedand Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports. It’s been a week since the official start of the NBA offseason, and the race to land Kevin Durant is in full swing. Every day brings new rumors of one team or another offering a king’s ransom in exchange fo…