According to ESPN.com, it seems as if Allen Iverson’s chances of making a difference in this year’s NBA season are dwindling even further than they had already. The New York Knicks announced this morning that they will not be signing the 10-time all star. The former MVP and scoring champion was waived on Tuesday after taking a leave of absence for family issues, or for what most believe to be, unhappiness with coming off the bench.

This past summer (when Iverson was an unrestricted free agent) marked a pivotal point in his career. He had two options: 1) Change his attitude and playing habits, or 2) Continue to act like the immature player we have all come to know.

Teams have been scared of what they were getting when singing Iverson, and they had every right to be. Very rarely in Iverson’s career has he helped a TEAM to succeed. He has always been a player with the ability to score at will, and be a great passer as well, but rarely has he displayed the ability to work as a team player for the greater good of the team. There was that one 2001 finals run, coached by Larry Brown, which brings many people to speculate that in this time of turmoil in Iverson’s career, Brown may take a chance on him.

The real issue in signing Iverson comes back to the same point every time: Can he sacrifice his love for having the ball in his hands to create a winning atmosphere? At the end of last season, knowing his time with the Detroit Pistons was coming to and end, he said that he was willing to do anything to win a championship. He wanted nothing more than to be happy and win. But like always, things are much easier said than done. He eventually signed with the one team that showed enough interest, and yet again, displayed his displeasure with a supporting role.

Allen Iverson has always been, and will most likely always be, a cancer to the teams he plays on. He will go in and ruin any type of team chemistry that team may have had. He was able to be successful on the Sixers for many years because they would give him the ball, and let him do his thing, but after 10 years, they grew tired of his selfish attitude. From there, he went to the Nuggets, a team with great potential, and a seemingly great situation for Iverson as he would be paired with a great scorer in Carmelo Anthony, but like in Philadelphia, the Nuggets just could not develop the type of chemistry needed to go deep into the playoffs. He then traveled to Detroit, where the team grew so tired of him so quickly, they milked his back injury for everything it was worth, and basically paid him to sit on the bench for the remainder of the year. And, most recently Iverson and the Grizzlies had to part ways after only 3 games, due to his unhappiness with coming off the bench.

In today’s NBA, chemistry means everything, and Iverson is the antithesis of a player with the ability to develop chemistry. Many analysts suspected that if his stint with the Grizzlies did not go well, that contract would be his last, and in my opinion, it most likely should be. If I were in charge of putting together a team, I don’t think I would want to take the risk of having him disrupt what chemistry has already been put together. Iverson now has two choices: 1) Mean what you say and play as a TEAM player, or 2) Leave the NBA on somebody else’s terms, but please, if you do leave AI, leave with dignity and class.

Just a few days after an impressive 32 point, 9 assist performance against Chauncey Billups and the Nuggets, Brandon Jennings dropped an insane stat line. 55 points on 21/34 from the field (62%), 7/8 from 3pt range (88%), 5 rebounds and 5 assists with 4 turnovers. What makes his 55 point performance even more impressive is that he failed to score a point in the first quarter, went for 29 in the third, and most important of all, led his team to a victory.

Jennings’ difficult time in Europe has been well documented. From getting kicked out of practice for not working hard enough, to meager playing time and scoring output, many skeptics deemed his choice a failure very early on. However, Jennings apparently learned a great deal in his year abroad. While his flashy style and controversial public comments have painted one picture of Jennings, his actions and performance in the NBA have displayed something very different thus far.

When top scorer Michael Redd went down with yet another knee injury, many said “here we go again” for the woeful Bucks. However, Jennings apparently was not one of them. He has picked up the scoring load, shown poise and leadership, helping to guide his team to a 5-2 record with a 4 game win streak. He is also leading his team in points (25.6) and assists (5.1). Jennings is also adding over 4 rebounds a game, 1 steal and shooting nearly 50% from the floor and 57% on 3pt.

There is no question that we surely will see players choose the path of Brandon Jennings by going to Europe as opposed to their requisite year of college. There also certainly will be those who are not fit to make that jump. Hopefully we do not see a rash of “advisors” steering players who should be playing college basketball, towards the overseas payday for their own monetary gain; however, it may in fact be a good move for some players.

Maybe it takes a year of sitting on a bench in Europe, getting treated like any other professional player and having to work hard, rather than walking around a college campus like a celebrity for a year. Maybe it is too stressful for some to be labeled the next Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, etc. every night on ESPN during March Madness. Maybe, for some, this really is a successful path to choose.

While it is still too early to grade the Jennings experiment a complete success, I would venture to say that he is off to an exceptional start and proving a lot of doubters wrong. Somewhere Sonny Vaccaro is smiling.

Agent Mark Stevens is in the news again. Back in 2006 he was compared to Drew Rosenhaus when he and another high profile client, Ron Artest, were in a strikingly similar situation. Well he seems to be attempting to follow the same playbook in his most recent attempt to get Stephen Jackson traded out of Golden State.

After publicly stating a desire to be traded back in August and some initial backlash with coach Don Nelson resulting in Jackson being absolved of his duties as captain, things have seemed to quiet down in Golden State. Jackson has been playing without incident and has put up numbers in line with his career averages. Jackson even had a 15 assist night just a few days ago. Golden State is said to have been in talks with up to 10 teams with interest in Jackson and has been attempting to weigh offers and find a reasonable trade. It seemed as if an amiable end is possible after this falling out.

Then Jackson’s agent, Mark Stevens, decided to publicly insult Coach Don Nelson in an obvious effort to speed up the process of getting his client traded. Whether or not Stephen Jackson had known Stevens was going to publicly insult his coach, we will never know, but this seems all too familiar territory for Stevens and seems to be a well thought out plan (or not so well thought out depending on your point of view). Could this be Stevens’ way of speeding up the trade process, while attempting to deflect some of the blame from Jackson, who already has character issues and a bit of a troubled history in the league?

Where I take issue with the strategy is that now GMs are not only concerned with dealing for a player who is going to publicly bad mouth them or the team, they are going to be dealing for a player whose agent will publicly bad mouth the organization. That is certainly not the type of thing an agent would like to develop a reputation for. Maintaining a positive dialogue with the organization would certainly increase the odds of a mutually beneficial resolution. Stevens’ strategy may result in Golden State choosing to eliminate the headache and the contract by trading Jackson for little in return, which could result in Jackson ending up with another non-contender…which is why he originally wanted out of GS.

It remains to be seen how the whole situation will play out; however, the bigger question is when, if ever, as an agent, is it beneficial to make inflammatory comments about a client’s coach, team or management? While this may be the strategy that some choose to use, in the long run respectable, private negotiations seem to be the best avenue for accomplishing the goals of all parties involved. We have seen many a case in which an unhappy player and agent try to force their way out of a situation, but they very seldom work out positively for all sides.

*Note: Ron Artest is no longer represented by Mark Stevens and Stevens does not have any other NBA clients.

Rajon Rondo, the six-foot point guard for the Boston Celtics, has captured the worlds attention. The publicity he is getting is both positive and negative. The positive side being his performance with the Celts. In four seasons with Boston, Rondo has played in 239 games and has a .481 FG%, .271 3PT%, and a .635 FT%. However, he has recently been the target of criticism for being late to practice and for his overly physical play.

Whether troubled or not, the Celtics have decided that they want Rondo in their future and have signed him to a 5-year, $55 million extension. Rondo is often compared to San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker. Here is how Rondo stacks up to Parker:

Rajon Rondo (2006-Present) – 239 G, .481 FG%, .271 3P%, .635 FT%, 1396 Assists, 416 Steals, 32 Blocks, and 2294 Points

Tony Parker (2006-Present) - 221 Games, .519 FG%, .315  3P%, .795 FT%, 1343 Assists, 206 Steals, 19 Blocks, and 4354 Points

Parker is slated to make $12.6 million this season and $13.5 million next season.

The young Celtics PG has improved his regular season averages significantly each year in the NBA and in his third year averaged 11.9ppg, 5.3rpg and 8.2apg. However, Rondo truly proved his worth when it counts most, in the playoffs. With Kevin Garnett sidelined, Rondo stepped up and almost averaged a triple double in the Celtics series with the Bulls and Magic, by posting 17.6 points per game, 9.7 rebounds per game and 9.8 assists per game, and adding 2.5 steals per game.

After such a stellar playoff performance, Rondo seemed to be a cornerstone of the Celtics franchise, however some in the organization questioned his leadership as well as his attitude. It was then rumored that Rondo was being shopped around in potential off-season trades by Celtics GM Danny Ainge. Without the extension, Rondo would have became a restricted free agent this summer.

As the deadline approached, it looked as if there was a chance that the extension would not get done in time. The Celtics and Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, were afforded an extra few days to hash out this deal due to the fact that the Oct. 31st deadline fell on a Saturday, and therefore was moved to midnight of the next business day. Fortunately for Celtics fans, the organization improved their offer and Rondo signed hours before the deadline on Monday.

With the state of the economy today, organizations across the board are forced to come up with innovative promotions and marketing ideas to help generate revenue. The NBA is feeling the downturn like anyone else, and some teams are feeling it more than others. The New Jersey Nets are one team that is actively promoting their season ticket packages through unconventional means. Their two more innovative packages include both offering reversible jerseys with other team’s players opposite their own, and personal player appearances as a part of season ticket packages.

The Nets are embracing the fans who unfortunately may be coming out to see their opponents more so than Nets players with their “Match-Up Plan.”  The “Match-Up Plan” includes tickets to 10 games against popular teams, and more importantly, popular visiting players. Also included in the package is five reversible jerseys with a Nets player on one side and the jersey of LeBron James, Kobe Bryan, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade and Kevin Garnett on the opposite side.

The second interesting season ticket package is certainly geared for the fans with deeper pockets. The Nets will offer a discounted floor seat package for $25,000 that will include four courtside seats for 10 games (at $750 each per ticket it would be $30,000 value). More importantly, this package will offer the fan the opportunity to have a Nets player make a one hour appearance of their choosing. That’s right, Devin Harris at your wedding, child’s birthday party or just over for dinner.

According to Nets Chief Executive Brett Yormark, the players will not be compensated for the appearances. Under the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, players are required to make seven individual personal appearances, with at least two of those seven in connection with season ticket holder events. Clearly these appearances will be applied to the player’s required promotional appearances as opposed to the traditional meet and greet type of events. As a result, fans will be limited in their player options as we can expect Devin Harris’ obligations to be filled quickly, him being their most popular player.

These promotions are certainly innovative and are excellent examples of recognizing the demographic and using it to your advantage. As Brett Yormark explained, there were a number of courtside seats still available, and he often gets calls from season ticket holders about player appearances. With the allotted player appearances required by the CBA they were able to package them in such a way that will likely enable them to sell more premium priced floor seats. One can only be curious too see what the Nets next big promotion is.

There is often the misconception that an agent simply negotiates contracts and that is it. It seems that Beasley had apparently felt similarly, being that he had fired his previous agent shortly following signing with the Heat. He then stated publicly that he would only hire a new agent when his rookie contract expired. Now, he will certainly see that an agent like Schwartz and an organization like Excel Sports Management will function as much more than just a contractual advisor.

With Beasley’s well publicized turmoil this off-season, a well rounded agency like Excel to assist in getting his career back on track from both an on and off the court perspective is essential. They will likely immediately launch an extensive public relations re-branding effort to repair Beasley’s image and attempt to open up some doors from a marketing and endorsements point of view.

The fact of the matter is that Beasley is an immensely talented player and has huge potential. We can only wish Beasley the best in this upcoming season as the rigors of an NBA season and intense scrutiny that follow a 20 year old, second overall draft pick are obviously intense. But now, with the help of an experienced agent and organization helping to guide this player’s career, he surely will be better positioned to realize that potential.

With the lack of big name free agents, the conservative salary cap projections for next year, and the well publicized salary cap cutting for the summer of 2010, this NBA off-season has not been the most exciting. However, one of the more intriguing free agent stories of the summer has been that of the New York Knicks and their restricted free agents David Lee and Nate Robinson.

In any negotiation, it is all about leverage. As an agent you need leverage mostly in the form of a player’s productivity, his overall value to the team and interest from other teams. This off-season’s climate has made Mark Bartelstein and Aaron Goodwin’s (Lee and Robinson’s respective agents), job significantly more difficult. Both players had the most productive season of their careers, with Robinson averaging 17ppg, winning his second dunk title and finishing third in Sixth Man voting, and Lee averaging 16ppg and 11.7rpg and finishing the year with an NBA best 66 double-doubles. Interestingly enough, neither player received an offer sheet from any other NBA team.

With the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, etc. hitting the open market next summer, NBA GM’s are simply not willing to offer players long term deals and tie up valuable cap space. Players like Lee and Robinson, who in other circumstances may have cashed in on the free agent market after a productive year, are now being forced into accepting one year deals.

So with no other offers on the table for their players and no acceptable sign-and-trade agreements to be had, both agents were left with few options. It looked as if the Knicks would be able to get away with giving both players one year deals for their “qualifying offer”, $2.6 million for Lee and $2.9 million for Robinson. However, Donnie Walsh signed Lee for $7 million and Robinson for $4 million. Bartlestein himself even seemed surprised and deemed the deals “unprecedented”.  We can only speculate on the nature of the negotiations, but Walsh a 20 year NBA front office veteran, certainly would not have overpaid out of generosity.

While they were unable to secure the long term deals that they hoped for, both agents were able to land their clients one year deals exceeding their qualifying offers, and they will be eligible for the significantly more lucrative free-agent market next year. The Knicks also were able to retain two of their most productive players from last year, who are familiar with the system and will help them stay competitive, without having to cut into next year’s cap space.

Perhaps more importantly, they are also able to retain their two most marketable stars, both of whom are fan favorites and significant sources of revenue. Robinson and Lee’s jerseys were the # 10 and 14 best selling for the 2008-2009 season according to an NBA press release in January. Their marketability certainly must have helped make Mr. Walsh feel a little more generous with the Knicks checkbook. After all, someone has to help sell season tickets before LeBron and/or D-Wade arrive.

My reading of Matthew’s piece is at a very apropos time.  I just placed my first basketball client overseas, and earlier today, discussed a possible NCAA rule change that would allow high school graduates to play professionally overseas and retain their student-athlete eligibility.  I believe that the rule change would open the NBA up to even more competition against the international market; athletes will be more comfortable with traveling across the ocean to play in a foreign country if they have previous experience playing there before college.

Matthew’s premise is that basketball competition overseas is now credible, which serves as a big threat to the NBA under its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA).  The The Union of European Leagues of Basketball (ULEB) and its exclusive Euroleague have been able to acquire strong talent from the United States in the past few years.  While the NBA does not allow any athletes under the age of 19 to play its game, FIBA (the entity in charge of creating rules and regulations in Europe), allows 18-year-olds to play in the ULEB.  FIBA does not regulate player contracts or salary caps, but teams may be bound by their country’s or European Union’s labor laws.  No salary cap means that players will be valued properly…remember rumors of Kobe Bryant considering going overseas…purely because the NBA’s salary cap restricts his ceiling.

Other benefits of playing overseas include the creativity that owners are able to use to secure players.  They often offer cars, residences, rent, and flights in their contracts.  Sometimes, players are even given the right to become partial owners of their team and can sell advertising space on their uniforms.  And then compare the Euro to the U.S. Dollar.

Meanwhile, the NBA implements a salary cap, allows owners the possibility to have restricted free agents, and tells 18-year-olds ready to play after high school, that they have to wait a year.

Epps says that a free agent transfer agreement with Euroleague is not plausible.  It would be challenged in U.S. and EU courts.  Instead, Commissioner Stern might want to consider expanding into Europe now, and create a few NBA teams across the Atlantic Ocean to compete in an NBA Europe.  I believe that an NBA Europe is an interesting idea, but it would have to be totally distinct from the NBA in the U.S.  Although there could be a “World Championship” between the winner of the NBA Finals and NBA Europe Finals.  That would make for some good T.V.

Another solution: Get rid of this one-and-done rule!

O.J. Mayo’s search for a new agent may have un-officially come to a close.  Mayo cannot actually sign a new NBPA licensed advisor until fifteen days after his firing of Leon Rose and CAA.  But the rumor is that the search party is over and that as soon as he is able to sign a new contractual agent, O.J. Mayo will hire LaPoe “Smitty” Smith Jr.

Smitty is a basketball agent who works out of an office in San Antonio, Texas.  HoopsHype and DraftExpress list LaPoe on their sites, but neither resource shows him as representing any active players.  So did O.J. really fire one of the biggest agencies for a small time agent?  Not quite.

While LaPoe Smith does not have any current NBA clients, he used to have his hands full representing Penny Hardaway through the injuries and the team changes.  Smith has also been coaching a team, the aptly named L. Smith & Associates, in the Southern California Summer Pro League for quite some time.  In fact, he had the privilege of coaching New England Patriots wide-receiver, Randy Moss, back in 2000.  Bo Outlaw has been playing with Smith’s teams, as well.

So why the sudden change for O.J.?  I am sure that someone was in his ear.  When you are a professional athlete in any sport making decent money, people are going to start talking.  But another concern for Mayo might have been that he would get lost in the CAA shuffle.  Remember that CAA recently acquired Henry Thomas’s basketball practice at CSMG.  Mayo had to know that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade would take preference over his own affairs.  Perhaps he wanted to make sure he was #1 on his agent’s list.  By becoming the only client of LaPoe Smith, he knows he will be the top concern at the agency.