2019 NBA Draft Prep

[King Ken]

That's on Rich then. Articles I had back then said Happy was his agent at the time of the offer from Dallas. Then again, Nerlens probably fired Happy wanting more money and if Rich is still his agent, that tells you who dropped the ball. It wasn't Rich. It was Nerlens.

So his previous agent got him a life-changing $70 million contract offer.

But his current agent has him playing on a veteran's minimum deal.

Sounds like Rich Paul isn't very effective when LeBron isn't around to strong arm the team.

Spoiler:

On July 1, the official first day of the NBA's 2017-18 free-agency season, the Mavericks came to Nerlens Noel, a restricted free agent at the time, with a contract offer: a four-year deal worth around $70 million, according to a league source.

Except Noel rejected the deal. Then in August, he fired his agent, Happy Walters, and replaced him with Rich Paul, whose playbook is to push for larger deals, and to hold off on signing long-term extensions until the player has the leverage, especially with guys as young as Noel (23). Noel wound up signing a one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer instead.

Bleacher Report

On Saturday, Noel signed a one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer, a deal that will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2018. It comes four days after firing Walters and signing Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.

Paul declined comment since he was not part of the previous negotiations.

Noel never revisited the initial four-year deal that was declined in early July, according to Cuban, which the Mavericks may have still honored if Noel had a change of heart.

“[It’s] hard to say,” Cuban told SB Nation. “We never got there.”

SB Nation

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If Rich did such a bad job, why hasn't Nerlens fired him yet? IT0 fired his agent as did Boogie Cousins once the bag disappeared.

[King Ken]

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Caldwell-Pope was able to sign a sizable one-year deal worth $17.8 million with the Lakers because he bet on himself in restricted free agency and turned down a five-year, $80 million extension from the Pistons. Detroit later renounced their rights on him...

Most players would have taken the long-term deal. Caldwell-Pope, with [agent Rich] Paul’s blessing, refused to settle for that.

Spoiler:

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[marco102]

King Ken,

I think you are arguing a separate point. I don't think Rich Paul is a bad agent for his clients. He's good at getting them the maximum money even though some don't deserve it. If you are a Hawks fan, you hope any agent will give your team a reasonable deal. Let's say we get Cam and in his 4th Year he's averaging 17 pts 5 assists and 5 rebounds a game on 44% shooting and 37% from three. Rich may strong arm the Hawks into giving Cam the max, which is good for Cam, but not for the Hawks. That's what any good agent will do.
I'm saying he's not the best agent for the Hawks to deal with in the future if that's his approach. It may be a moot point anyway because in four years LBJ will be well past his prime and I just hope Rich is not trying to send any of his other clients to team up in a big market. That's my worry with Klutch Sports.

[King Ken]

King Ken,

I think you are arguing a separate point. I don't think Rich Paul is a bad agent for his clients. He's good at getting them the maximum money even though some don't deserve it. If you are a Hawks fan, you hope any agent will give your team a reasonable deal. Let's say we get Cam and in his 4th Year he's averaging 17 pts 5 assists and 5 rebounds a game on 44% shooting and 37% from three. Rich may strong arm the Hawks into giving Cam the max, which is good for Cam, but not for the Hawks. That's what any good agent will do.
I'm saying he's not the best agent for the Hawks to deal with in the future if that's his approach. It may be a moot point anyway because in four years LBJ will be well past his prime and I just hope Rich is not trying to send any of his other clients to team up in a big market. That's my worry with Klutch Sports.

Bledsoe is his most recent contact. That was seen as a great market value deal for a less than stellar PG FA class. Let's not bash the agent when some of these players want the max and they were no where near worth it. Rich is not Rodney Hood agent and he signed his tender. KP was going to sign it with the Knicks if they didn't trade him, was Rich his agent? I think we have to be practical which we aren't being.

All agents seek as much money as possible for their client depending on the wants of their client. The issue is some clients are stubborn. As Happy said:

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Bledsoe signed one hell of a quality deal with Milwaukee. MILWAUKEE! Come on man, Milwaukee.

[Jamaaliver]

So the argument in defense of Rich Paul is that Nerlens Noel chose to play for the vet minimum and Rich Paul, as his agent, helped him to do just that? BYpassing tens of millions of dollars in the process.



That...makes complete sense.




I'm guessing Ben Mclemore chose to be unemployed, too. And Rich Paul helped to make that dream come true.



And for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to turn down a long term contract avg $16 million a year so that he could make less money with no long term security as a backup on a bad team.


I look forward to seeing the wonderful guidance Rich Paul provides to Cam Reddish in the years to come.

[King Ken]

So the argument in defense of Rich Paul is that Nerlens Noel chose to play for the vet minimum and Rich Paul, as his agent, helped him to do just that?



That...makes complete sense.

He didn't get any offers for more than the vet min. He wanted to go where he fit and would play well and go back into FA. He played well with OKC till his injury. Part of the reason why OKC was so good at one point. Let's not mention, he wanted to rebuild his image which was bad since his time with Philly. He had to reshape his image. Why are you doing this right now? It's like you basically trying to blame Rich when that just isn't accurate.

If you followed the Noel saga, you would realize it is years deep

[King Ken]

So the argument in defense of Rich Paul is that Nerlens Noel chose to play for the vet minimum and Rich Paul, as his agent, helped him to do just that? BYpassing tens of millions of dollars in the process.



That...makes complete sense.




I'm guessing Ben Mclemore chose to be unemployed, too. And Rich Paul helped to make that dream come true.



And for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to turn down a long term contract avg $16 million a year so that he could make less money with no long term security as a backup on a bad team.


I look forward to seeing the wonderful guidance Rich Paul provides to Cam Reddish in the years to come.

Your trolling now. Ben was **** waived. That had nothing to do with the agent. What, we gotta blame Melo agent for the Rockets waiving him now?

KCP bet on himself. He felt he was underrated and wanted a shot at the max. I promise you Rich won't do that again with a client as he realizes teams dont see non stars as bet on themselves types. They see them as replaceable. You gonna blame Rich for that? Most agents wouldn't want to be your agent if you want to turn down 80 mil. They would be livid. Rich did what his client wanted.

This is stupid, you aren't even making sense. Agents work for their clients. If they were really mad, they would have fired his ass by now.

[jayu70]

When you have LeBron tweeting that a team should pay a player when they are Klutch clients it's a strong arm tactic particularly when said team is trying to hold unto him.
When Lebron jumps into the fray because he owns the agency. He's the power player behingd Klutch

By now, you've seen the simple instagram post from LeBron James imploring the Phoenix Suns to be reasonable, sit down and talk it over to get his buddy a new contract. Poor Eric Bledsoe is still without an NBA contract, and LeBron feels badly for him.

[jayu70]

When you have LeBron tweeting that a team should pay a player when they are Klutch clients it's a strong arm tactic particularly when said team is trying to hold unto him.
When Lebron jumps into the fray because he owns the agency. He's the power player behingd Klutch

By now, you've seen the simple instagram post from LeBron James imploring the Phoenix Suns to be reasonable, sit down and talk it over to get his buddy a new contract. Poor Eric Bledsoe is still without an NBA contract, and LeBron feels badly for him.

On Tristan Thompson

For the most part, LeBron James has stayed out of the contract stalemate between Tristan Thompson and the Cavaliers. He's opted to essentially no comment his way through the negotiations, despite the fact James and Thompson have the same agent. That changed late Saturday night when James made his strongest statement yet.....Get it done

[marco102]

King Ken,

I think you are arguing a separate point. I don't think Rich Paul is a bad agent for his clients. He's good at getting them the maximum money even though some don't deserve it. If you are a Hawks fan, you hope any agent will give your team a reasonable deal. Let's say we get Cam and in his 4th Year he's averaging 17 pts 5 assists and 5 rebounds a game on 44% shooting and 37% from three. Rich may strong arm the Hawks into giving Cam the max, which is good for Cam, but not for the Hawks. That's what any good agent will do.
I'm saying he's not the best agent for the Hawks to deal with in the future if that's his approach. It may be a moot point anyway because in four years LBJ will be well past his prime and I just hope Rich is not trying to send any of his other clients to team up in a big market. That's my worry with Klutch Sports.

Bledsoe is his most recent contact. That was seen as a great market value deal for a less than stellar PG FA class. Let's not bash the agent when some of these players want the max and they were no where near worth it. Rich is not Rodney Hood agent and he signed his tender. KP was going to sign it with the Knicks if they didn't trade him, was Rich his agent? I think we have to be practical which we aren't being.

All agents seek as much money as possible for their client depending on the wants of their client. The issue is some clients are stubborn. As Happy said:

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Bledsoe signed one hell of a quality deal with Milwaukee. MILWAUKEE! Come on man, Milwaukee.

Again, not bashing the agent. I think you need read where I said that's his job to get his clients the most money.

Just saying if Rich Paul pulled that Anthony Davis mess with the Hawks you wouldn't be speaking so glowingly of him. That's the only problem I have with him. Who's to say that AD didn't want to go to the Lakers. If he did as an agent, it should have been kept in house between the team and the agency until a suitable trade partner could have been found. No agent is perfect. It's okay to say that Rich is not the perfect agent.

[personanongrata]

I'll say this much. No way should Cleveland have given JR Smith that deal. What other team was going to offer him that? No one. Paying a guy just to make LeBron happy is not fair to the team. I understand he had tremendous leverage over the Cavs at the time, but that was just laughable.

[Geaux_Hawks]

Can we focus more on the specs and not an overrated agent?!?!

I will say this, Nerlens and KCP had their chances at getting life changing money, but bet on themselves. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. With that said, I don't foresee Paul and Klutch becoming a nuisance. As I mentioned earlier, Nerlens and KCP turned those offers down themselves. AD wants out. Some things are just of the agent's control. If those guys had said they would rather take the deals given or truly want o stay where they are, and Paul is encouraging them not to do so, then we're talking a different language, but that's not the case.

AD rightfully wants out of NO, and moving the market for 50k is like giving a buck to a homeless person in terms of financial setbacks. Let's be real, if they kept that in house, the Pelicans would have sat on it as long they wanted to and not made a real effort to trade him.

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They could always use this as a way of turning teams away, and AD would have to just sit there disgruntled over the fact. No one would dare shoot their shot, as NO essentially holds all leverage with the ability to say he wants to be here, and he's worth a ton as is. NO then gets to keep their prized star player, and not receive backlash for holding out until they're ready actively move him in hopes of being able to attract star players down there to compete before they finally give up and settle for a suitable offer they like.

With the recent knowing that AD wants out, the pressure is really on NO to make a move as by not doing so makes it more harder to bring in top players later. The news creates a hostage situation that NO can't afford to wait to long on. AD would still be held for a king's ransom, but NO can't just pass on deals as if they have the luxury to do so anymore.

Sometimes your agent is suppose to be there to force the issue, and stir the pot a little. Sometimes that result to backlash of the agent, but if AD ended up in LA wearing purple and gold with Lebron(which we all know was the plan anyway), or Nerlens/KCP bet right and they're all happy, Paul just gains more appeal for facilitating a move to make his player happy. That's not to say he still wouldn't have gained backlash for it, but that kinda comes with the territory of being an agent anyway. People aren't going to like what you do to make your players happy, but still has to be done as you're responsible for putting them in a position to make them happy.

[Jamaaliver]

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[King Ken]

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I saw this last night on ESPN. I know no one will pass on him but does Ja Morant make more sense than Zion at #1 considering the way the game is played today? Opinions?

[Jamaaliver]

^Yes. Particularly in Phoenix.

[Jamaaliver]

Biggest 2019 NBA Draft Questions for Every Lottery Team

Atlanta Hawks




Biggest Question: How do they best support Trae Young?

This'll be the question guiding much of Atlanta's thinking for the foreseeable future.

In Young, the Hawks have the center of their basketball solar system. He shook off alarming shooting woes early in his rookie season and has been an offense unto himself since the All-Star break, averaging over 23 points and nine assists in both February and March. Since the mid-season hiatus, he's hit 37.7 percent of his triples while flashing ridiculous passing vision.

Young still remains deeply flawed, particularly on defense. He grades out as the worst stopper in the league by ESPN's defensive real plus-minus, and Jacob Goldstein's defensive player impact plus-minus has him ahead of only Devin Booker.

That means Atlanta must find ways to shore things up behind him, which could take the form of a wing stopper who could slide over to wrangle point guards when a particularly tough matchup shows up on the schedule—much like Klay Thompson often did for Stephen Curry earlier in his career. Of course, if we're going to stick with the Golden State Warriors comparison, what the Hawks really need is their own Draymond Green.

It'll take a miracle to find another second-round tweener who blossoms into the league's most versatile defender, but Atlanta should jump at anyone who approximates Green's do-it-all profile.

As long as Young's around, the Hawks will be exciting. If they build a defense around their blossoming star, they might also be pretty good.

Bleacher Report

[Spud2nique]

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I saw this last night on ESPN. I know no one will pass on him but does Ja Morant make more sense than Zion at #1 considering the way the game is played today? Opinions?

Absolutely not. If fact I take RJ over Ja.

Make no mistake Zion is the first pick and should be for every team out there including the Suns. I understand they need a point guard but you take Zion and restructure with him in mind.

[Jamaaliver]

Could this explain his shooting woes all season?

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[Geaux_Hawks]

Could this explain his shooting woes all season?

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Well yeah. I think it was known before now that he had a thumb injury most of the year. Not sold on him being much anyway unless he can improve dramatically on his shooting form. Kid looks like he's throwing his entire shot off by knocking knees with himself.

[King Ken]

I agree with Guaux Hawks. Not sold on him. Too raw and while he had a lot of potential in a DeMar DeRozan role, it's not really conducive to winning in the modern NBA but #1 options aren't easy to come by