Agent X is an active and certified NBA agent and regular contributor to Sportsnet.
I recently read an article that discussed an “issue” in the NBA: the practice of agents representing NBA coaches and players simultaneously. After meeting during All-Star Weekend in Toronto, the National Basketball Players Association decided this was a problem worth addressing. In the article, CBS Sports’ Ken Berger explains the union’s rationale:
The conflict of interest inherent in agents representing both players and those with direct say over playing time and personnel moves has rankled some members of the agent community who only represent one side or the other. It has also raised concerns about individual agents gaining inordinate power within teams because they are on both sides of trades and signings, as well as the hiring and firing of coaches and GMs.
The rule has been part of the NBPA’s agentregulations for years, but has rarely, if ever been enforced.
There will be a six-month grace period, through Aug. 22, 2016, to allow players in such a circumstance to transition to new representation, the memo said.
As an agent who represents both NBA players and coaches, I couldn’t disagree more with the NBPA’s premise.
For the majority of my career I have always had multiple clients; from a business standpoint this is the only way I can remain sustainable and, frankly, it is the only way I can feel productive. To tell me I cannot represent both management and players is akin to saying that I’m no longer allowed to represent multiple clients, or clients that play the same position, or clients that play on the same team, or… you get the point.
Fact is, in a contract system like the NBA’s, it’s next to impossible to completely avoid any kind of conflicts of interest altogether. But this blanket rule the NBPA would like to apply is built on falsehoods and assumptions. When you look at some real world examples of this practice in play it’s not hard to see that a player stands to benefit.
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Take the Milwaukee Bucks, for instance, a team referenced in the CBS article. The same agent who represents head coach Jason Kidd also represents four or five Bucks players. One of those players is Brampton, ON native Tyler Ennis. Prior to this season, Ennis had his 3rd year option picked up despite a very underwhelming rookie season. Most likely in a lot of other situations around the NBA, the team would let him walk. But with a strong and clear line of communication to management, both sides were able to see more of a long-term picture and partner together to try to give an opportunity for a young player to reach his potential.
You can argue that this hurts those players looking for jobs, and it would be a valid point, but ultimately the Union is more concerned with the 450 players under contract and increasing their collective value more so than the external battle over whom, exactly, those 450 players will be.
Given the current landscape of the league this is simply not a core issue. What is most alarming to me is that the players union is taking significant time to address this over far more pressing matters. The NBPA meeting in Toronto was one of just two more times they will be able to have a majority of players in the same location for a face-to-face meeting this year. With crucial decisions regarding the most important Collective Bargaining Agreement in the history of the league (certainly at least from the players perspective) still looming, I have to wonder if taking focus away from that is a smart use of time and resources.
The fact remains that representing both players and coaches allows me to arm myself with more information—the ultimate currency for an agent in negotiations—and use it to help them get the most out of a situation.
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Over time I have come to learn that each client I represent exists in their own vacuum. My relationships and the business we conduct happen on a one-to-one basis and, despite the conspiracy theories that may be out there, in a real world application it would never even occur to me to get cute with the process and try to somehow leverage one clients situation to benefit another.
If I have learned anything over my career it’s that NBA players are some of the most observant people on this planet. The second I do something out of the norm it would be noticed right away.
Similarly, I would never presume that a coach is willing to accommodate a roster spot for a client of mine. I have one coaching client who I understand there are certain types of players he wants and, once I have clients that fit this category, I’ll call him up and suggest names. He either he accepts my opinion, or he tells me a really quick: “No, that isn’t going to work.” There is no dance, no manipulation.
My say in the matter is far more limited than the average fan, or evidently the NBPA, would imagine. I don’t want to pull back the curtain too far on myself or those in my industry but in this matter we agents simply do not have the power you may think we do.
Needless to say, I’ll be monitoring this situation closely as it develops.