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OPENING TIP
Spring is in the air, and in that timeless tradition, the skies are filled with middle aged white men flocking south, wearing mostly green. Yes, Masters week is upon us. To celebrate, we thought we would take a week to examine another industry (besides the PGA) historically dominated by white guys that has been massively disrupted by one black guy.
One player who didn’t move at the trade deadline despite being rumored in deals with several teams was Lonzo Ball, a client of power agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. Some commentators poo-pooed rumored destinations like Chicago and Atlanta as unworthy of a Klutch client given their long association with the Lakers and otherwise highfalutin aspirations for their clients.
We give Klutch more credit than that. In fact, they’ve long been underestimated. If you consider their priorities as an agency, it could make sense for them to try to establish “Klutch East” in Charlotte or Atlanta. Here’s why.
How agents add value for their clients depends both on the player and where that player is in their career. Early on, the agent’s job is to get its players drafted as high as possible, and into good situations if possible. Klutch has done a good job of hyping some of its guys beyond their “draft intrinsics,” (Darius Garland comes to mind) as well as getting them to favorable situations (like Lonzo to LA or LaMelo to Charlotte).
Later, the job becomes getting players a) as much money as possible, and b) to the team they want to join, and ideally both together. For stars, getting them the most money is actually not so important, since salary cap rules dictate the most a player can get, and an agent has limited degrees of freedom available to them (hooray, you got a 4th year player option!). Therefore, with stars, an agent’s main job is to get the player to the team they want. That’s what Klutch did with AD: it may not have been pretty, but it’s hard to argue with the results.
For role players, the amount of money they get is the most important thing. This is where having teams that want to do you favors can help and explains why the Lakers overpaid KCP back in 2017. But the Lakers are for all intents and purposes out of that business for the time being due to their cap situation. So having another team able to overpay mediocre Klutch free agents is likely high on Rich Paul’s agenda.
So what’s in it for the team? Simply put: access to stars.
As the Knicks have learned painfully over and over, merely having cap space is not enough to guarantee a star or two will show up. You need them to want to come. Access to stars is a premium commodity, and with LeBron, AD, Ben Simmons, LaMelo, and Trae Young, Klutch is accumulating stars. If Klutch can steer a star your way, that’s a massive advantage. Well worth overpaying a few role players along the way.
Interestingly, the value proposition is evolving from the point of view of the player. As Klutch has grown, they will (and have) inevitably represent multiple sides of a deal. Just as a union will sometimes sacrifice short term for the greater good (a strike is a perfect example of this), Klutch clients may find themselves pawns in a larger scheme and asked to “take one for the team.” This is exactly what happened when Lonzo found himself shipped to New Orleans to get AD where Klutch wanted him.
(As an aside, Klutch likely told Lonzo it will make it up to him later… and also probably was thinking it was somewhat just desserts, given he wasn’t able to play his way into “we’ll never move this guy” status. The Lakers chose Kuzma over him!)
Paul is a powerful advocate for his players. From getting Draymond paid without much leverage, to getting AD where he wanted to go, to salvaging a good contract for KCP, his track record speaks for itself. “Klutch East” is a logical next step in his chess game with the league.
So who may be a fit for that role? The competition is likely to be fairly limited: the Knicks are out, given Leon Rose’s affiliation with CAA, and we don’t see Daryl Morey or Masai Ujiri signing up for that type of relationship. Three possibilities who do make sense:
Charlotte. While not the coolest city, they have LaMelo and MJ, a good foundation for a star-based franchise.
Atlanta. Already the offseason home for many players, will players sign up to play with Trae Young? He is a Klutch client already…
Detroit (!). A historically successful franchise with a new Black GM, we could see this making a ton of sense.
In this era of player empowerment, Klutch is the rocket fuel, taking an existing trend and turning the volume to 11. It’s why they’ve been so successful at winning clients. But be warned: if you sign with them, make sure it’s your name in big font on the trade headline, or you may find yourself collateral damage in a bigger move, and headed to Siberia… or New Orleans.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Look out for the Mavs!
STL INVESTIGATES: WHO IS THE AGENT FOR YOU?
At Save the Lottery, we try to learn what we can from the leading journalistic voices out there. This week, we look to Cosmo. Which agent is right to make YOUR dreams come true? Take our quiz to find out.
Question 1: I get my hair cut…
Weekly
Monthly
Occasionally
Beavers cut my hair once
Question 2: I like to root for NBA teams that are...
Glamor teams, baby
Good at the moment
Struggling
I watch a lot of football
Question 3: I think of myself as a…
‘Disruptor’
‘Chill dude’
‘Smooth operator’
‘Jew’
Question 4: If I were an NBA player I would be...
All NBA first team
An All-Star
Someone you may have heard of
Not drafted yet
Okay, let’s tally the results. If you were
Mostly 1s - Rich Paul:
Congrats, you’re on board with the agent of King James himself! Here is Paul looking incredibly short with just a few of Klutch’s impressive stable of clients. Within the last year, Klutch has inked Anthony Edwards, Trae Young, Draymond Green, and OG Anunoby. There are plenty of people not entirely happy with Klutch’s rapid rise, which seems to bother him not at all.
Mostly 2s - Jeff Schwartz:
Schwartz is the number one agent in the NBA at the moment. With more than 35 players on his current roster, including Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Tyler Herro and Kemba Walker. Schwartz has been at the top of the biz for a minute, and while he keeps a low profile, he is known for getting his clients off teams they aren’t happy on.
Mostly 3s - Steven Heumann
Heumann is CAA’s lead basketball rep, and CAA is the biggest talent agency in the world. They rep, among many, many others, Beyoncé, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and of course Miley Cyrus. So it’s no surprise that Heumann is the number four agent in basketball, with 21 players under representation, including Chris Paul, Andrew Wiggins, and the Gasol brothers.
Mostly 3s - Mark Bartlestein
Although he got his start in football, representing the likes of Kurt Warner, Bartlestein is the third ranked agent in the NBA today, with a client list that includes Gordon Hayward, Bradley Beal, and Michael Porter Jr. But Bartlestein’s niche today is rookies. He has guided more players through the NBA draft than anyone ever, all without ever doing anything about his hair.
AT THE BUZZER
Chad Ford launches NBA Draft-focused newsletter (Substack)
Why Filipinos love Jordan Clarkson (NYT)
Paul Pierce leaves ESPN. Yeesh. (TMZ, semi-NSFW)
The new Space Jam trailer is out (Uncrate)
ESPN ranks the 25 best players under 25 (ESPN+, $)