Kings to Hire Martin's Agent as Assistant GM
Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:21 pm
Kings expected to hire agent Levien as assistant GM
The Kings could add a piece to their front office next month, when attorney and agent Jason Levien is expected to be named assistant general manager.
The move, which sources within the organization and close to the team say should be official in the coming weeks, marks a rare addition to the Kings' management team that Geoff Petrie has headed for 15 years. And with an on-court rebuilding and youth movement already in effect, the franchise also is taking the same approach upstairs.
Levien, 37, has earned a reputation as a versatile talent, having negotiated hundreds of millions of dollars in NBA contracts while showing an ability to find little-known players who come up big. Although Levien no longer will be an agent, Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin was chief among his clientele.
A graduate of Pomona College in Claremont who earned his law degree and master's in public policy from Michigan, Levien played basketball at Pomona and considered a career as a coach. According to the biography on his agency's Web site, he has a "comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement."
This is certainly an unexpected move and one that is fairly unusual (agents and front offices just don't swap personnel that often). It sounds like Petrie is very high on this guy, though.
While I may be reading too much into this, the move is making part of me think about whether Petrie is getting ready to pack it in and step away from the Kings. Petrie's contract runs through next season. This could be a way for him to get a replacement groomed so he can retire or move on when his contract runs out. As I said, I may be reading too much into this. But you can't deny that this is a possibility.
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