Agencies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

John Wall Changes Agents, Hires Rich Paul

January 26th, 2016 at 2:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

JANUARY 26TH, 2:17pm: Wall has officially hired Paul and the Klutch Sports Group, a spokesperson for Paul told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

2:21pm: Wall will sign with Paul, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer has been told, but Wall said to TNT’s David Aldridge that he hasn’t signed with anyone yet, calling his departure from Fegan a “long story” (Twitter links).

2:04pm: Wall is leaning toward signing with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the agent for LeBron James, as sources have indicated to Heitner (Twitter link).

JANUARY 12TH, 1:53pm: John Wall has fired agent Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports, as sources tell Darren Heitner of Forbes and the Sports Agent Blog, and as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post confirms (Twitter link). Wall is in the second season of a five-year, maximum-salary extension worth $84,789,500 that Fegan negotiated for him in 2013. The Wizards point guard seemed to express frustration this summer about having missed out on the projected escalations to the salary cap, pointing to the five-year, $80MM contract Reggie Jackson signed with the Pistons. Wall could have been an unrestricted free agent this summer if he had played out his rookie scale contract and signed a qualifying offer with the Wizards in 2014, but that would have meant a significant financial sacrifice last season, and players rarely turn down max extensions. Still, the deal doesn’t include a player option on the final season, a feature that many max extensions have.

Fegan is one of the NBA’s most powerful agents, though his client list took a hit over the offseason in the wake of the DeAndre Jordan saga. Jordan dropped him and fellow agent Jarinn Akana in August, more than a month after his about-face on his decision to sign with the Mavericks. Fegan has close ties to Mavs owner Mark Cuban. Austin Rivers, the son of Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, also left Relativity in 2015 after a brief time with the agency, and Relativity lost Ed Davis, too, as Heitner points out (on Twitter). However, Jordan, Rivers and Davis all departed after signing free agent deals, so Fegan and his partners are still getting their percentages.

Happy Walters, another prominent Relativity agent, left the agency this past fall. Fegan still has a long list of NBA clients, including DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons.

Pau Gasol Hires Creative Artists Agency

January 21st, 2016 at 10:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pau Gasol has signed the Creative Artists Agency to represent him, the agency announced via Twitter. The news confirms that the likely soon-to-be free agent has left the Wasserman Media Group and agent Jason Ranne. Gasol and brother Marc Gasol had been looking for new representation following the departure of former Wasserman super agent Arn Tellem. Each of the Gasols was conducting his own search, so they weren’t necessarily a package deal, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, who reported that the pair were in the market for agents. It’s unclear whom Marc will choose.

The months ahead will be key for Pau, who turns 36 in July. He told Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago last month that he’s “very likely” to turn down his player option for next season, which is no surprise, since it’s worth only about $7.7MM. The Bulls big man remains nearly as productive as ever, and hitting free agency this summer will give him the chance to command major money, with the salary cap rising to a projected $89MM and relatively few impact players in the 2016 free agent class. He just narrowly missed a starting nod in this year’s All-Star Game, falling just 360 votes shy of the third and final frontcourt spot.

Chicago also gauged trade interest in Gasol at one point recently, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, though that was before Joakim Noah suffered a shoulder injury last week that’s knocked him out for four to six months. Agents don’t have quite as much influence on trades as they do on free agency, but they still have the power to steer their clients to favored destinations, especially when they’re on expiring contracts, as Gasol essentially is.

The Creative Artists Agency boasts a deep stable of clients, from established stars Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade to rookies Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell, the top two picks in the 2015 draft. CAA’s Leon Rose jointly represents Kevin Durant along with Roc Nation Sports. It’s not immediately clear which CAA representative will be the primary agent for Gasol. In any case, it’s ostensibly another tie between Gasol and the Knicks, where former Lakers coach Phil Jackson is team president, though New York’s once-cozy relationship with the agency hasn’t appeared quite as strong since Jackson took over.

Gasol has become the latest notable former Wasserman client to leave the agency, which has lost LaMarcus Aldridge, Jabari Parker, Danilo Gallinari and Joe Johnson, among others, since Tellem walked away to take a job in the Pistons organization.

Where do you think Gasol will play next season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Pacific Notes: Smith, Stephenson, Hibbert, Crawford

January 19th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers feel as though they’d be better in the long run if they could trade offseason acquisitions Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson, who are dissatisfied with their respective roles on the team, Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher says in a video dispatch (scroll to three-minute mark) that echoes his report from December. The team apparently gauged their value on the trade market as far back as November, though coach/executive Doc Rivers denied it. In any case, Bucher and Bleacher Report colleague Howard Beck identify the Clippers, Bulls and Lakers as likely sellers, with the Kings and Rockets set to become buyers at the trade deadline. Sacramento has been “active and aggressive,” according to Bucher. See more from the Pacific Division:

Roy Hibbert likes L.A. and has maintained a professional demeanor throughout a losing season, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The Lakers are reportedly trying to find a trade that would send Hibbert to a playoff team. The center acknowledges that it hasn’t been easy this year after playing on much more successful teams in Indiana. “It’s rough,” Hibbert said. “The skeletons are there to be a really good team. It’s just not going the way we want it to be. You see glimpses but it’s been rough.”
Jamal Crawford cited familiarity and the desire for a “pit bull” negotiator for his recent decision to rehire agent Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management, having moved on from a brief time with the Wasserman Media Group, the agency he hired in the offseason. TNT’s David Aldridge has the details in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Clippers sixth man is poised for free agency in the summer.
Draymond Green has far surpassed expectations, and in addition to his own effort, he’s been fortunate to arrive in the NBA just as small-ball truly took off and to land with a Warriors franchise that believes in him, as Steve Aschburner of NBA.com examines. “Obviously I’m blessed to be here in a situation with Golden State where what I brought to the team was needed,” Green said. “And appreciated. I know that’s important. Sometimes going to a certain franchise can ruin a career if you’re not with the right team. I was blessed to come to a great situation. A great franchise that appreciated the way that I do. So I’ve been able to become the player I’ve become.”

Avery Bradley Hires Rob Pelinka As New Agent

January 19th, 2016 at 1:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Avery Bradley has hired Landmark Sports agent Rob Pelinka, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Celtics combo guard had been with former NBA player Mitchell Butler of the Vanguard Sports Group and Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports. The move appears to have more to do with Bradley’s off-court career than his playing contract, since he isn’t scheduled to hit free agency again until 2018 after signing a four-year, $32MM deal with Boston in the summer of 2014.

The 25-year-old is averaging a career high 32.5 minutes per game this season, his sixth in the NBA, though he’s running slightly behind his career-best average of 14.9 points per game, which he delivered the season before he signed his contract. He’s made his reputation as a stout defender, though some numbers don’t back that up this season. ESPN’s Real Plus Minus categorizes Bradley as a point guard and places him as the 40th-best defender at that position, while he’s the 64th-best guard overall in Basketball-Reference’s Defensive Box Plus Minus metric.

Pelinka boasts a star-studded list of clients that includes James Harden, the soon-to-retire Kobe Bryant, 2016 free agent Eric Gordon, and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. Preliminary projections show the salary cap shrinking from $108MM in 2017/18 to $100MM in 2018/19, so Bradley is poised to enter a relatively tough market. Much can change between now and then, however. The Celtics continue to look for a star, so Bradley, like just about everyone else on the roster, isn’t immune from inclusion in a trade.

Enes Kanter Splits With Agent Max Ergul

January 15th, 2016 at 2:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Enes Kanter has left agent Max Ergul, who helped the Thunder center land a maximum-salary offer sheet this past summer, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt hears (Twitter link). Kanter is Ergul’s only NBA client. It’s uncertain whom Kanter will hire to replace him, though Ergul will continue to receive his commission on the deal. Standard commission would give him a 4% cut of Kanter’s $70,060,025 contract.

The Thunder matched the offer sheet that Portland gave Kanter, keeping the center they traded for at the deadline last February. The big man made it clear shortly before the swap that he wanted the Jazz to deal him away, though Ergul denied a report that he had been asking the Jazz to trade his client for years.

In any case, Utah has flourished since the departure of Kanter freed up more playing time for Rudy Gobert. The Thunder have done well, too, compiling a record of 28-12 this season, fourth-best in the NBA. Kanter is seeing only 20.1 minutes per game in 2015/16, down drastically from the 31.1 minutes per contest he saw down the stretch with Oklahoma City last year.

Greivis Vasquez Changes Agents

January 15th, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Chuck Myron

Soon-to-be free agent Greivis Vasquez has signed with Octagon agent Alex Saratsis after leaving the Wasserman Media Group, reports Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). Darren Matsubara had been the representative for the Bucks backup point guard, and for Joel Embiid, who also recently left Wasserman and is reportedly expected to sign with Leon Rose. The departure of Vasquez represents another hit for an agency in transition following the departure of Arn Tellem for a job in the Pistons organization last year.

Vasquez is recovering from right ankle surgery in December that’s poised to keep him out for most of the rest of the season. He was averaging his fewest points per game since his rookie season in 16 contests before the injury, so Saratsis seems likely to face a difficult challenge to equal or better the two-year, $13MM deal Vasquez signed in 2014. Saturday is Vasquez’s 29th birthday, and the memory of his 9.0 assists per game for New Orleans in 2012/13 is receding farther into the past.

Saratsis represents many clients from outside the U.S., including fellow Buck Giannis Antetokounmpo, so he’s a fit for the Venezuelan-born Vasquez in that regard. The four-year, $8MM deal for Kendall Marshall that Saratsis and fellow Octagon agent Jeff Austin helped him find is the largest free agent contract the Sixers have handed out since GM Sam Hinkie came aboard in 2013, and it came after Marshall suffered a torn ACL while playing for the Bucks last season. Vasquez might be loath to settle for $2MM a year, but the Marshall precedent nonetheless seems encouraging.

Joel Embiid Changing Agents

January 13th, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Injured former No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid is expected to sign with Leon Rose of the Creative Artists Agency, sources told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, after parting ways with the Wasserman Media Group, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported (Twitter links). Wasserman agent Darren Matsubara had been the representative for the Sixers big man. Philadelphia picked up its team option for next season on Embiid’s rookie scale contract this past fall even though he didn’t play last season and is likely to miss all of this season, too, with a lingering right foot injury.

The earliest he can negotiate an extension would be the summer of 2017, and he isn’t due for restricted free agency until the summer of 2018, casting doubt on whether Embiid’s change in representation has to do with his playing contract. Philadelphia has another team option on the final year of his deal, worth slightly more than $6.1MM for the 2017/18 season, and a decision is due on that in the fall.

Sixers coach Brett Brown recently touted improvements to Embiid’s mental approach to his recovery, and he’s displaying greater maturity and seriousness than in the past, as TNT’s David Aldridge wrote in November. Questions arose in October after Brian Geltzeiler of SI.com’s The Cauldron blog reported that Embiid was paying little attention to his rehabilitation and physical condition and that the Sixers were frustrated about it.

It’s the latest defection in a tough stretch for Wasserman, which has lost LaMarcus Aldridge, Jabari Parker, Danilo Gallinari and Joe Johnson since power agent Arn Tellem left to take a job in the Pistons organization this past offseason. Embiid is another prominent name on Rose’s client list, which includes Carmelo Anthony, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jonas Valanciunas. Rose is also a co-agent for Kevin Durant.

Al Horford Returns To Wasserman Agency

December 18th, 2015 at 10:21am CST by Chuck Myron

10:21am: Horford has rehired Wasserman, the agency he dismissed to sign Duffy earlier this year, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

9:56am: Soon-to-be free agent Al Horford has fired agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports just months after hiring him, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Horford was one of a stream of players to leave the Wasserman Media Group following the departure of high-powered agent Arn Tellem for a job with the Pistons organization. It’s unclear whom the Hawks center will turn to for representation with his contract set to expire at the end of June.

Horford, who’ll be 30 years old next summer, has put up numbers remarkably similar to last year so far this season, averaging 15.2 points and 7.1 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game. However, the Hawks haven’t been nearly as impressive as they were during their 60-win campaign a year ago, with Atlanta tied only for eighth place in the much-improved Eastern Conference with a record of 15-12.

The former University of Florida standout is No. 5 in our latest 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings. He’ll be eligible for a maximum salary of a projected $24.9MM next summer, when he’ll be a nine-year veteran.

Duffy remains a strong force with several other marquee clients, including reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson, whose four-year extension worth more than $68.979MM kicked in this season.

Central Notes: Parker, Jackson, Bulls

November 26th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Will Joseph

Jabari Parker chose Dr. Charles Tucker as his new agent after leaving the Wasserman Media Group and agent B.J. Armstrong earlier this month for familiarity and trust reasons, Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times details. Parker, according to Woelfel, got to know Tucker and his son, Charles Jr., while playing basketball on the AAU circuit as a kid. Both the younger Tucker and Parker, whom the Bucks chose with the second overall selection in the 2014 draft, have remained friends and religion is a big reason why, Woelfel writes.

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

Reggie Jackson does not anticipate a warm reception when he returns to Oklahoma City Friday for the first time since the February trade that brought him to the Pistons, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Jackson, as Mayo adds, grew tired of his backup role under Russell Westbrook while with the Thunder. The Pistons acquired Jackson last season after Brandon Jennings was lost to a season-ending injury. The Pistons re-signed Jackson to a five-year, $80MM contract over the summer. “I know what to expect,” Jackson said, per Mayo. “I know how it was. I was booed when I came out there to start there last year. So I expect some of the same treatment. It’s like every other arena. I get booed in other arenas when I come out, so I’m just ready to go out there and play.”
With Pau Gasol wanting more touches and Joakim Noah struggling, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has a problem regarding his big men, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com explains. Hoiberg, in his first year with the team, is still trying to figure out what works best, Friedell writes. Noah is a 2016 free agent while Gasol has a player option on the final season of a three-year, $22.3MM contract that brought him to Chicago in 2014.

Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Smith, Lawson

November 14th, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t made up his mind about when he’ll retire from the game, but he isn’t shutting the door on the possibility that he may play beyond 2016/17, which is the final year on his current deal, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. “I always said that when the body is hurting every day, and when you’ve got to do all this extra stuff to just play, I think that’s when it’s time to go,” said Nowitzki. “But I feel good. I feel good right now and I felt good this summer. I mean, we had a five-games-in-six-days for the [Eurobasket], and I got through that just fine. … I felt good. I don’t need to pop a thousand pills to play or practice. So as long as that’s still good, and it’s still fun to go. I’m going to definitely ride this contract out [this season and next]. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens after that.”

Here’s more from out of the Southwest Division:

Ish Smith, who was claimed off waivers from the Wizards back in October, has been forced to play major minutes because of injuries to Norris Cole and Tyreke Evans, and he has impressed the Pelicans‘ coaching staff with how quickly he has acclimated to the team’s system, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune. ”It’s really tough, especially just coming in,” coach Alvin Gentry said. ”It would have been different if he had been in training camp and had gone through the whole situation. But you just pick a guy up and then throw him out there, I thought he responded great. I just think it’s a situation and [GM] Dell [Demps] and I talked about it and we just got to keep our head above water. We just got to keep playing hard and competing.”
Ty Lawson made his return to Denver Friday night, which was his first game back in the city after being dealt to the Rockets during the offseason. While his tenure with the Nuggets didn’t necessarily end well, the point guard had nothing negative to say about his former team, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “It was pretty great,” said Lawson of his time with the Nuggets. “I had a good couple of years here. This team gave me my first opportunity and chance. So I have nothing bad to say.” When asked if he wished things had turned out differently for him in Denver, Lawson responded, “Things happen for a reason. God has a plan, so I’m going to follow it.”
Mavericks point guard Raymond Felton has signed with agent Jim Tanner of Tandem Sports and Entertainment, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link). Felton was previously represented by Wasserman Media Group.