The Rodney Guillory debacle has sounded an alarm for the O.J. Mayo’s of the future. Summer is the time of the year where future NBA stars are found and many of tomorrow’s talented players rise to the top in camps or training. The summer time is also when NBA stars (Steve Nash, for example) and college coaches all over the country hold camps for these athletes to get exposure. The camps attract many agents and individuals associated with basketball, like Rodney Guillory. Mayo claims to have met Guillory at one of these summer camps in 8^th grade.

Many amazing athletes now have to look out for people who want to take advantage of them (Helping You Lose Your Money Effectively). After O.J’s recent mistakes, many athletes are now aware of the damage it can cause to let one bad apple into their entourage. “If you let one person into your circle, they can mess everything up,” John Wall, a junior point guard from Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh (NC) said. Wall is considered one of the top players in this year’s class, and is in the same shoes that Mayo was in last year.

This is a horrible position for Mayo and others to be placed in and the one-year-out of high school NBA will only make this story more frequent. However, not all middlemen and agents are bad people, trying to take advantage of young athletes. There are always going to be Rodney Guillory’s somewhere out there, and there always have been. The  Guillory story shows us the dark side of the industry. Not all people are as mischievous as Guillory.

The Rodney Guillory effect should not cause individuals to blame agents, as BDA did not do anything illegal with Mayo (as far as we currently know). This sad story should focus on the need for more regulations and checks to be made in high school and college basketball, and amongst agents. As I said earlier, not all agents and “runners” are bad people. AAU and summer basketball attracts a lot of America’s best basketball stars, yet it is highly unregulated. Almost any Joe Shmo can walk into a gym and watch these events. That is where it all starts. The rest comes when these “runners” violate NCAA rules and give athletes money or other benefits.

Basketball camps should be arenas were athletes can show off their talent to all. They do not need to be worrying about who is watching them, especially if these individuals can get them in trouble. The athletes should focus on their game and let everything else fall in place. They get into trouble when they start finding friends like Guillory and talking to people in the industry that claim they will make them rich.

Brandon Jennings was the best high school prospect in the class of 2008. He was flirting with the idea of going professional after high school, only to hear the NBA once again strongly reinforce its one-year-out of high school requirement.  His dream of playing professional ball out of high school did not end as Jennings searched for another alternative: playing professionally overseas.  After weighing the two options for some time, Brandon Jennings has now decided to forgo a year at Arizona and play overseas, further enforcing Darren’s and many others point that the NBA age requirements should be lifted.

On Tuesday July 8^th, Jennings released a statement through his attorney Jeff Valle regarding the issue.  Jennings said, “Over the course of the last two months I have consulted a number of people in basketball before coming to this decision.  I would like to thank the University of Arizona for their interest and support through this process.”

Valle went on to say that Jennings will not even wait to see his third SAT score, after his second test was questioned by the NCAA. The results from the third test are due later this week, but whatever the magic number is, he will not be playing basketball on this continent next season.

Jennings’s decision to play in Europe is a first amongst young potential NBA athletes. These athletes for the past three years have simply attended college for a year, met the NBA requirements and then ditched school for the pros.  As Darren pointed out, this is a benefit for the institutions as they get to feed off these players individual success and what they do for the schools programs.  The kids probably only attend class during the season and most don’t even care about their grades.  Why would they, if they go into college only planning to stay a year?  Some college coaches have commented that it hurts the institutions because the players only stay for a year, thus forcing the coach and the team to lose cohesiveness and rebuild each year. However, these one-and-dones can put a program on the map as well (Kansas State, USC, Ohio State).

On the other hand, playing one year in college could benefit the young talented players.  They would get a chance to be “the man” at any institution they chose for basically no cost (assuming they have the grades and SAT score).  They would also have the chance to be seen by a lot more NBA GMs and NBA scouts than they would overseas.  Not to mention the ability to get acquainted to the style of the international game versus the faster paced NBA that focuses more on individual play rather than the team. Staying in college could be a benefit to these players, as they get to build their stock for a year in front of an American audience.

This year’s draft was the first time we saw three freshmen get picked 1,2, and 3. Five out of the top seven chosen had only played college ball for one year.  A total of 12 freshmen got picked in day one, annihilating last years total of 8 as the most freshman taken in round one.  I think this is yet another reason for David Stern to change the minimum age requirement.

Look at the O.J. Mayo situation this year.  If the one-year rule were not instituted in the NBA he most likely would not have gone to college.  As it turns out, O.J. turns USC into a good team for one year, at the same time he “allegedly” violated NCAA rules by receiving anywhere from $30,000-100,000 from an associate of BDA.  Mayo switched agents several times and still has not had any sanctions placed on him. O.J.’s ordeal has made a mockery of the one-year-out-of high school requirement and only further strengthens the argument to drop the rule.

Many foreign drafted players (Fran Vasquez, Rudy Fernandez and Tiago Splitter) have even chosen to stay overseas after being drafted by NBA teams because of the high salaries and lack of regulations (age and salary) in foreign leagues.  NHL marvel Jaromir Jagr recently left the New York Rangers to sign a big contract in the Russian league.  Playing in high priced foreign leagues is starting to become a trend for many athletes in a variety of sports (Is Becky Hammon Russian?).

This is a trend that Brandon Jennings might have just set for many young ballers in the U.S.A.  He is the first player to officially play overseas instead of college.  Although I can see both sides of the debate, the underlying factor still comes down to the money.  The NBA is a business just like the NCAA is, and both are looking to benefit off of these athletes.  They claim to be “educating student athletes” but that doesn’t appear to be happening.  The colleges are benefiting immensely from these one and done players at the expense of these athletes.  It has now come to the point that an amazingly talented point guard like Brandon Jennings is headed overseas (Check out this youtube video). Sonny Vaccaro recently commented about the Jennings situation saying it is “the best possible way to stick it to the NCAA and the NBA’s rule banning players straight from high school.”

If this rule was put into affect a year earlier, we would have seen LeBron James play for Ohio State instead of learning the ropes of the NBA.  It’s time for David Stern to do a real cost-benefit analysis and change this controversial requirement.

1. Wasserman Media Group (Arn Tellem, BJ Armstrong, Dan Tobin, Greg Lawrence, Thad Foucher, Bob Myers) – The WMG team had an unprecidented draft.  BJ Armstrong stole the show by representing the #1 overall pick, Derrick Rose.  Because BJ was always mentioned with Rose, many looked over the fact that he is also the primary agent for #14 pick, Anthony Randolph.  Quite a first year for the one-time Chicago Bull.  Arn Tellem did not do too poorly himself.  Danillo Gallinari went higher than many had anticipated during the week.  While Tellem may not be “listed” as the primary agent for many of WMG’s 7 first round picks, you have to believe he had a heavy hand in persuading the players to go Wasserman’s way.  Add to the stable Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Maarty Leunen, D.J. Augustin…yeah, this one is easy…Grade = A+
2. Priority Sports (Mark Bartelstein, Aaron Mintz, Brad Ames) – Forget A-Rod vs. Canseco, T.O. vs. the media, and Shawn Chacon vs. the Astros GM.  I want to see Tellem vs. Bartelstein.  If you had to ask me which two names currently dominate the NBPA agent landscape, it would have to be these two fellows.  If your last name starts with a “B”, chances are, Bartelstein represents you.  His company got J.R. Giddons drafted in the first round, way above where I thought he would go.  At the same time, Trent Plaisted slipped a little further than Bartelstein probably hoped he would.  The company definitely jumped for joy when Brandon Rush became a lottery pick.  Overall, Priority had another solid showing.  Grade = A
3. BDA Sports (Billy Duffy, Calvin Andrews, Rade Filipovich) – The biggest news leading up to the NBA Draft had maintained the spotlight for quite some time: O.J. Mayo fired Calvin Andrews and BDA Sports after NCAA violations came to light regarding Mayo’s acceptance of money through a runner for the agency.  In my mind, BDA had to do quite a lot to rebound from that devastating news, which may continue to get worse if further sanctions are placed on the agency.  I do not feel like they ended up very happy.  Besides losing Mayo, James Gist was picked later than expected, but Goran Dragic was taken right about where he was predicted to go.  Overall, 2008 was a disappointing year for a company that used to be right up alongside Priorty.  Grade = C-
4. Excel Sports Management (Jeff Schwartz, Sam Goldfeder) – For a long time, mock drafts had Jerryd Bayless projected as a top-4 pick.  It is not Schwartz’s fault that Bayless slipped as draft day approached; Bayless was probably being hyped a little bit too much beforehand.  Having a lottery pick is always a win for a sports agency, and Excel must be happy that Bayless went in the top 14.  Having two lottery picks is even nicer…Kevin Love is also a client.  The true icing on the cake is that Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was taken at the beginning of the second round.  Mbah a Moute was not even a lock to be picked at all.  Grade = A
5. Montgomery Sports Group (Roger Montgomery) – Not a bad draft for a man who only represented four guys going into last Thursday.  Sonny Weems was taken higher than expected and Darrell Jackson went right about where he was predicted to land…and to a team that desperately needs some help.  I have no criticism for Roger, but until he breaks into the first round, I am unable to give him an A.  Grade = B+
6. Creative Artists Agency (Leon Rose, Andre Buck) – It was looking like CAA was going to be left out of the first round shuffle until the aforementioned O.J. Mayo affair went down.  But even more surprising is that CAA ended up with two lottery picks.  The second is Jason Thompson, who has Andre Buck as his primary advisor.  Who could have predicted that the Rider forward would be selected twelfth overall?  The only thing holding me back from giving CAA an A+ is the slipping of CDR (Chris Douglas-Roberts).  Tenth pick in the second round?  Something went wrong there.  Grade = A-
7. ASM Sports (Andy Miller, Justin Zanik) – Serge Ibaka, Sasha Kaun, Omer Asik, J.J. Hickson, Marreese Speights, Deron Washington, and Richard Hendrix all got drafted.  It seems like ASM has not gotten its due praise because WMG has been taking all of the headlines.  Someone hire a PR expert for this company, ASAP!  Between WMG and ASM, how does anyone else compete?  Sure, James Mays and David Padgett were not selected, but I am sure that they will find a team to play for.  Grade = A+

But after seeing those 10 kids get drafted, it really makes you second guess this rule that states players must be one year removed from high school before entering the draft. It has made a complete mockery of college basketball, and the student-athlete concept.

High school seniors are now going to college with no intention of being students, just athletes. While it may help these athletes with marketing themselves, it severely ruins the intriguing nature of college basketball. I would love to see how many classes this freshmen class attended, or at least their final freshmen year GPA.

It’s time that David Stern realizes his imposed age restriction does nothing but harm college basketball. The NBA should follow the NCAA football model, that requires players to be three years removed from high school.

Prior to last Thursday, and even on draft day, there was little spoken of a potential slip in Arthur’s draft stock.  In fact, very few people would have ever believed that Arthur would not be the first Jayhawk selected.  Brandon Rush is a stud, but there was no way that his name would be read before Arthur’s, right?  Wrong.  Brandon Rush was picked earlier than many analysts had predicted (at #13 overall), and Darrell Arthur slipped…very…far.

Kansas Men’s Basketball Coach, Bill Self, believed that Arthur had a chance of being picked right around #15 overall.  He was more than a little displeased when his former forward was selected at #27.  The difference between the slotted value of a #15 pick and #27 pick over the first two years of the contract is $1,118,060 (hence the title of this article), but that disparity grows even larger if a third and fourth year option is accepted by Arthur’s team.

Let the finger pointing begin!  Bill Self did everything that he could for his former student-athlete when he noticed that Darrell Arthur was getting passed over for what he felt was absolutely no reason.  He made calls to NBA team management and knew immediately that somebody dropped the ball.  When Self found out that teams were ignoring Arthur’s name because “doctors wouldn’t let them take him” over a mysterious “kidney problem”, frustration and disappointment set in.

So, the question remains, who is to blame?  Who dropped the ball?  My first inclination was to point my finger at Darrell Arthur’s agent, Jerry Hicks.  Darrell was recently tested by the Wizards, when nothing was found to be wrong with his kidney.  The first thing that his agent should have done is make sure that every single NBA GM, President, scout, coach, and floor sweeper knew that Darrell was healthy and ready to wreck havoc in the paint.  Here is Hicks’s story:

“We did the bloodwork on the morning of the 25th, and by noon, [Arthur's kidneys] were determined to be completely normal. I received a message from Washington — which is still saved in my voice mail in my office — that everything was normal. Philadelphia received word that things were normal. How this became an issue around the league is puzzling, to say the least.”

Why is it so puzzling?  Rumor had spread that your client had potential issues with his kidneys, which was later dispelled for two out of thirty teams.  What made you think that the other twenty-eight got the same information?  I give permission to Arthur to believe that the other twenty-eight teams would get the word.  He does not know enough about the basketball industry and hired an agent to cross every t and dot every i.  There is absolutely no excuse that Arthur’s information was not disseminated to every club, just in case.

Jason Whitlock got it wrong.  This is not about a young player making the mistake of leaving early for the draft.  Darrell Arthur was projected as a late lottery pick and probably would have been had teams been properly informed that his “kidney problems” were unfounded rumors.  Instead, the lesson that should be learned is that players and their advisors should take ultimate care in handling all situations and events leading up to the draft.  If there is even an inkling that a rumor might be seen as true by only a single team, everything must be done to erase such ideas from others minds.  When you are a potential lottery pick, in most cases you should not go back to school for another year.  There is no insurance policy that will reward you enough money for a career-ending injury.  I think that we are making a mistake by blaming Darrell’s fall on his early entry into the draft.

The Knickerbockers already have the sixth pick in the draft and would love to be able to pick back to back so early in the draft.  The Knicks are looking to go young and get new faces in the City.  After bringing in Coach D’Antoni and with the many high priced contracts the Knicks have on the team, the loss of Lee and Rose could be beneficial to the Knicks in the future.  The Knicks are looking for a fresh team with new faces to make a new start and to allow fans to forget about the past four seasons.  With a new coach and a new president, Donny Walsh, the Knicks are hoping the new faces can mesh with the old faces to combine for some more wins.

Mock draft boards have Freshman phenom Kevin Love, as the #5 pick, going to the Grizzlies.  The Knicks are looking at either K-Love, Danilo Gallinari, Eric Gordon, or Russell Westbrook as probable #5 and 6 picks.  They would love to see O.J. Mayo drop in the draft, and with the most recent allegations about him receiving money (apparently over $30,000) from Rodney Guillory, anything is possible.

If the Knicks do trade Lee to the Grizzlies, Kevin Love is certainly a serious candidate to replace him.  They both have similar games and would fit into the Knicks new style with D’Antoni.  Both can shoot from the outside and play close to the bucket.  The Knicks have such a high team salary that the loss of Lee this year could be good for them.  The former Florida Gator has one year left on his contract worth around $8 million. He has been playing well for the Knicks and with his experience in the league, will likely demand more money than that next year as a free agent.  The past several years, the player going #5 has made less than $8 million which will certainly help the Knicks with their salary situation, however the addition of Brian Cardinal’s $13 million dollar salary would definitely make the deal seem less sweet.  The difference in contracts between Cardinal and a #5 pick rookie, and Rose and Lee comes out to around $5 million dollars. As we all know, spending more money is something New York is used to and not afraid of doing.

These are only rumors, and no formal trades have been offered yet, but Knicks fans can only speculate and look forward to a new season with a lot of new faces.

• When: June 26th: 7 p.m. EST on ESPN.
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York

Want some helpful links to guide you up to draft day?  See below:

1. Find out exactly where your team is slotted to pick in each of the two rounds and get Austin Walton’s take on who they will pick (with no commentary): NBA Mock Draft
2. Get familiar with the names of NCAA freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who have kept their name in the draft along with the international studs who may be looking to turn red, white, and blue: Early-Entry Withdrawal Deadline: Final List
3. Take a trip down memory lane and re-live the first round of the NBA Draft all the way back to 1957: Complete First Round Results

My main focus on the draft will be following the success of the WMG team which includes agents Arn Tellem and B.J. Armstrong.  I interviewed B.J. a little less than a month ago (click here), and may be following up with him again for another special feature on this blog.  Yeah, Arn is the man…he apparently had much to do with WMG’s signing of Rose.  B.J. is also showing that he is fit for the job.  One guy getting left out of the discussion so far is Lee Melchionni.  We covered his signing with WMG last October, when he was shacking at the Tellem household.  Melchionni does not serve as a primary agent for any of WMG’s clients, but he is getting some hands-on experience.  His tasks include having a client’s dogs shipped to him on a plane and ordering a player 82 custom suits, so that said player would never have to wear the same suit to a game twice.

WMG hopes to hear these clients’ names called on Thursday: Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Randolph, Marty Leunen, Danilo Gallinari, D.J. Augustin, Jason Rich, Davon Jefferson.  That list is unprecidented.  I cannot personally remember any agency have the potential to dominate a draft in any sport quite like WMG has positioned itself.  Actually, Darren Gill has done a decent job putting his name in the mix when it comes to the CFL Draft.

Dynasty does not have any players in the 2008 NBA Draft, but we are in discussions with a few players that have put in some time in lower professional leagues like the NBDL and IBL.  We hope to make a splash in 2009’s draft, but for now, we are content with getting our feet wet representing players who are right on the cusp of joining an NBA team.  Look for an update on this front very shortly.

Also, I will be the subject of a couple of interviews this week.  Make sure to check out the podcast on HoopsAddict.com that should be posted early in the week, which you can download by clicking here.  And also be sure to tune in to my live appearance on the Region Buzz Sports Show.  If you are in the Chicago area, you can listen to it live by listening to 1230 AM on your radio from 6:00-7:00 p.m. CST on Thursday.  If not, it will be posted here for download.

Believing that the 6′9 J.J. Hickson of N.C. State would probably end up an 18-24 overall pick (which is higher than most draft boards have him slotted), Austin felt that he would stay in the draft. It ends up that he sealed that deal by hiring Andy Miller of ASM Sports.

As Austin expected, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington decided to return to UNC for at least another year. What he did not expect was that their buddy, Ty Lawson, would return as well. Remember what happened when UF brought back Noah, Brewer, Horford, and Green when everyone thought at least some of them would be leaving? Yeah…NCAA Championship part 2. For UNC, this could be the first championship ring for the trio.

The shorty, A.J. Abrams, will predictably be back at UTexas next year, but Chase Budinger, who Austin felt would definitely stay in the draft, retracted his name at the last moment and will return to Arizona.

Others that took Austin’s advice to go back to school include Robert Dozier, Robert Vaden, and Jeremy Pargo.

Some that did not take Austin’s word and will instead keep their names in the draft are: Richard Hendrix, Ryan Anderson, and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute.

For the full listing of who is in and who is out, stop by the always trusty DraftExpress.com.

Both Keith and I would agree that the NBA and basketball, in general, are great. Even though Keith is a fan of the game, he discusses how he cannot stand the $100+ tickets to see two teams play backups and the way that the NBA has prioritized marketing its product above everything else. His style of writing is witty and sarcastic, making Taking Shots a pleasure to read. The rich content helps, too. Topics include: Negotiating Scott Skiles’ contract with the Orlando Magic on paper napkins at a spring training baseball game, the disgusting looking 2004 Olympic Basketball Team, Keith’s natural ability to represent players above 7 feet tall, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (the only guy who wouldn’t stand for the national anthem), Keith’s man-crush on Larry Brown, and a bunch about why agents are necessary for basketball players. While Keith believes that agents are necessary, he feels that they should go back to being solely advocates and representatives for their clients and quit creating new roles for themselves.

Keith sets the stage strong with his Forward. When you kick off your book with a short piece by Tony Kornheiser, you instantly get my approval. He follows up Tony on the first page by telling you exactly what he will go on a tirade about throughout Taking Shots:

The NBA is too powerful. Players make too much money. Teams charge too much money. The league sells too many products. Many coaches and administrators seem to have all the answers, and yet the game itself has become a selfish, tedious, and colossal bore.

You may be thinking to yourself, Is this guy trying to commit professional suicide? The first time I read that excerpt, I could not believe that it came from the pen of an agent. Keith does not beat around the bush in Taking Shots; he gives you his dry opinions on the state of basketball and the NBA and does not hold back sharing his feelings on any issue.

I believe that right now is a particularly good time to pick up Taking Shots. We are less than three weeks away from the 2008 NBA Draft and right in the middle of the 2008 NBA Finals. You could say that it is NBA Season. Keith gives some insightful information regarding this “season”. He opines that a player who is projected to be a top 20 pick should not play in an NBA pre-draft camp and that by September or October, most of your clients should be signed either in the NBA or overseas. Also, remember the recent discussion about the NBPA claiming it would take a stronger stance on enforcing its rule against an agent representing players and coaches? Keith’s father is a rare example of an agent who was suspended prior to the recent edict.

If you are a loyal reader of this blog, I give you my personal guarantee that you will enjoy this read. I leave you with a final excerpt from Taking Shots that put a smile on my face:

I actually believe that one hundred years from now when they study our culture, future generations will have two basic questions: The first will be what did men do to the women back then that prompted the courts to force them to pay sums of money to get away from them, and second, what was up with the salary cap?

• Gilbert Arenas denies rumor that he will be signing with Leon Rose/CAA [Agent Zero sticking to plan].
• Biggest sleeper in the 2008 NBA Draft [Draft Zach Feinstein].
• Or you could pick a guy that won a national championship [Kaun chooses sports agency].
• Troy Smith must be loving this.. [Ravens First-Round Pick QB Joe Flacco Signs Three-Year Deal With Reebok].
• David Diehl proved he was the real deal…nuff said [Giants pay Diehl for successfully tackling new role].
• Tom Condon carries a large stick [New Deal For Chargers’ Gates In Sight With Hiring Of Agent Condon].
• The MLB Amateur Draft is right around the corner. Start learning these names [RivalsHIGH.com TOP 50 Draft Prospects].
• I would have been surprised if Big Brown was not sponsored by UPS [UPS In Derby Winner's Circle With Big Brown].
• Advertising on SportsAgentBlog.com is much cheaper than advertising during the Super Bowl…I promise [Jump Off Point for Super Bowl Ads? $3 Million Dollars].
• Been a while since SportsAgentBlog.com has been featured in a Carnival of the NBA. Nice to be back [Carnival of the NBA #56].
• CHAMP Spikes will have an eBay charity auction with items like autographed shoes from Tiger Woods. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation [Pink On The Links].

Lots of goodness this week. We received a lot of inbound links and even got some love from Sports Illustrated. I will go with where the page views have been heavy and make the post on 11-year-old, Jashaun Agosto, the featured post of the week. Check it out on the right sidebar by clicking Featured.