Other than a couple kids from Kentucky (Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins), the following is a comprehensive list of players selected along with their agents of record.  Do not pay too much attention to the teams listed, as a lot will change based on trades.  Based on the information that is listed below, BDA Sports, Octagon, and Creative Artists Agency each had 5 clients selected.  Priority Sports and ASM Sports each had 4 clients selected.  The real winner was Wasserman Media Group, with involvement in the representation of 7 player selected.  30 players were selected from the 6 agencies listed above, accounting for exactly half of the entire draft.

First Round

1. Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) – Jeff Wechsler (24-7 Sports Management) – This is the first client of Wechsler’s to be drafted #1 overall.  However, Wechsler is no stranger to having 1st round clients.  He represents Larry Hughes, D.J. White, Quentin Richardson, Mike Sweetney, and used to represent Penny Hardaway – all of whom were selected in the 1st round.
2. Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves) – Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency) – Pelinka has a lot of talented clients, none larger than Kobe Bryant.  However, he also represents names like Carlos Boozer, Wesley Johnson, James Harden, Derek Fisher, and Andre Iguodala.
3. Enes Kanter (Utah Jazz) – Max Ergul – Not much info on Max Ergul; however, he does represent former Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova.
4. Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers) – Leon Rose (Creative Artist Agency) – Leon Rose and CAA happen to represent another former #4 overall pick named Chris Paul.  The agency also represents LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade.
5. Jonas Valanciunas (Toronto Raptors) – Sarunas Broga (East Players) w/CAA – All of Broga’s clients listed on his FIBA page were born in Lithuania.
6. Jan Veseley (Washington Wizards) - Aleksandar Raskovic w/Arn Tellem – Raskovic is said to be working with Wasserman Media Group to represent Veseley in negotiations.
7. Bismack Biyombo (Charlotte Bobcats via trade) – Igor Crespo (Xpheres Basketball Management) – 6th international player taken in the 1st 7 picks of the draft.
8. Brandon Knight (Detroit Pistons) – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group) – I wonder if Knight will get along with Tracy McGrady, who is also a Tellem client.
9. Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats) – Jeff Schwartz (Excel Sports Management) – This is the same company that recently hired Casey Close and is quickly developing a very powerful baseball division.
10. Jimmer Fredette (Sacramento Kings via trade) - Jeff Austin (Octagon) – The crew at Octagon did a tremendous job boosting the marketability of an already marketable Fredette.  Let’s see what they can do with him once he is in the NBA.
11. Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports) – I had heard back in march that Thompson was a priority for BDA Sports.
12. Alec Burks (Utah Jazz) – Andy Miller (ASM Sports) – Along with Andy Miller, Justin Zanik and Andrew Vye represent players at ASM Sports.
13. Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns) – Tony Dutt (Rival Sports Group LLC) – I covered the interesting story about Markieff and his brother signing with Dutt and how a man named Jason Martin may have played a big role.
14. Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets) - Tony Dutt (Rival Sports Group LLC) – Just read the linked story above.
15. Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs via trade) – Brian Elfus (Impact Sports Management) - Late 2010, Elfus became a part of Impact Sports Management, which has a history of representing a multitude of football players.
16. Nikola Vucevic (Philadelphia 76ers) - Rade Filipovich (BDA Sports)
17. Iman Shumpert (New York Knicks) – Happy Walters (Rogue Sports) – Shumpert joins another Happy Walters client in New York - Amar’e Stoudemire.
    
18. Chris Singleton (Washington Wizards) – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports) – 3 BDA Sports clients taken in the top 18 picks of the draft.
19. Tobias Harris (Milwaukee Bucks via trade) – Henry Thomas (Creative Artists Agency)
20. Donatas Motiejunas (Houston Rockets via trade) – Herb Rudoy (Interperformances) – The agency also represents Manu Ginobili and other foreign born players in the NBA.
21. Nolan Smith (Portland Trailblazers) – Joel Bell (Bell Management International)
22. Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets) - Thad Foucher (Wasserman Media Group)
23. Nikola Mirotic (Chicago Bulls via trade) – Igor Crespo (Xpheres Basketball Management)
24. Reggie Jackson (Oklahoma City Thunder) - Aaron Mintz (Priority Sports)
25. MarShon Brooks (New Jersey Nets via trade) – Seth Cohen (Original Creative Representation)
26. Jordan Hamilton (Portland Trailblazers via trade) - Lee Melchionni (Wasserman Media Group)
27. JaJuan Johnson (Boston Celtics via trade) - Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sports)
28. Norris Cole (Miami Heat via trade) – Joel Bell (Bell Management International)
29. Cory Joseph (San Antonio Spurs) – Leon Rose (Creative Artists Agency)
30. Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls) - Happy Walters (Rogue Sports)

Second Round

1. Bojan Bogdanovic (Minnesota Timberwolves via trade) – Marc Cornstein (Pinnacle Management)
2. Justin Harper (Orlando Magic via trade) – Lance Young (Octagon)
3. Kyle Singler (Detroit Pistons) - Greg Lawrence (Wasserman Media Group)
4. Shelvin Mack (Washington Wizards) - Doug Neustadt (The Neustadt Group)
5. Tyler Honeycutt (Sacramento Kings) - Tony Dutt (Rival Sports Group LLC)
6. Jordan Williams (New Jersey Nets) - Andy Miller (ASM Sports)
7. Trey Thompkins (Los Angeles Clippers) - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
8. Chandler Parsons (Houston Rockets) – Mark Bartelstein (Priority Sports) – Go Gators!
9. Jeremy Tyler (Charlotte Bobcats) - Makhtar Ndiaye (Wasserman Media Group)
10. Jon Leuer (Milwaukee Bucks) – Mark Bartelstein (Priority Sports)
11. Darius Morris (Los Angeles Lakers) – Brian Dyke (Shibumi Sports)
12. Davis Bertans (San Antonio Spurs via trade) - Marc Fleisher (Entersport)
    
13. Malcolm Lee (Chicago Bulls) - Brian Elfus (Impact Sports Management)
14. Charles Jenkins (Golden State Warriors) – Michael Lindeman (Excel Sports Management)
15. Josh Harrellson (New York Knicks via trade) – Unknown
16. Andrew Goudelock (Los Angeles Lakers) – Austin Walton (Walton Sports Management Group)
17. Travis Leslie (Los Angeles Clippers) - Andrew Vye (ASM Sports)
18. Keith Benson (Atlanta Hawks) – Leon Rose (Creative Artists Agency)
19. Josh Selby (Memphis Grizzlies) – Andy Miller (ASM Sports)
20. Lavoy Allen (Philadelphia 76ers) – Happy Walters (Rogue Sports)
21. Jon Diebler (Portland Trailblazers) –  Lance Young (Octagon)
22. Vernon Macklin (Detroit Piston) – Lance Young (Octagon)
23. DeAndre Liggins (Orlando Magic) - Unknown
24. Milan Macvan (Cleveland Cavaliers) - David Bauman (DB Hoops)
25. E’Twaun Moore (Boston Celtics) – Mark Bartelstein (Priority Sports)
26. Chukwudiebere Maduabum (Los Angeles Lakers) - Ugo Udezue (BDA Sports)
27. Tanguy Ngombo (Dallas Mavericks) - Bill McCandless (Court Side)
28. Ater Majok (Los Angeles Lakers) - Michael Lelchitski (SIG Sports)
29. Adam Hanga (San Antonio Spurs) - Alex Saratsis (Octagon)
30. Isaiah Thomas (Sacramento Kings) – Byron Irvin/Dan Fegan (Lagardere Unlimited)
    

2011 NBA Draft Listing Of Players Selected And Their Agents from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The initial set of blogs brought both praise and backlash from varying fields.  “Trainer” can have so many definitions.  Just as I had provoked thought, the feedback had provided great challenge and conversation.  That is the thing I have loved about my career as a basketball “skills trainer and career consultant” and mostly about working at IMG Academies.  Learning from and meshing disciplines for more results.  This takes me to my topic for this week:  Does extended time off from normal seasonal activities increase a 1%er’s ability to perform?

While grinding it out on the court with our players, I have had the professional pleasure of watching the IMG Madden Football Academy Director Coach Chris Weinke prepare Cam Newton for the upcoming rigors of his rookie campaign.  Weinke is the best; just like I love being in the gym all day and night, this guy will doesn’t sleep when his clients have a bad day on the field.

Cam is a 1%er, and not because he was the 1^st pick or won a national championship.  He has bigger than prototypical size, athleticism, and skill at his position.  Another major factor in the 1%er theory is early identification.  This is where a kid 13-18 does not lead a normal teenage life, because of his success on a national level in his sport and constant long term potential conversations.

Cam is a beast with his workout routine and I am not impressed by anyone who considers 50 hours a week work.  I have seen Kobe and KG put in work, and that look in Cam’s eye is the same (of course my favorite part was watching him shoot around with our international campers in the night time).  This dedication to the classroom, field, and performance training is one thing, but getting the tag team expertise of different disciplines is fun to watch and learn from.

Last summer I had two 1%er projects that we used similar systems to develop.  Shawne Williams, who had been out of the NBA for over a year and Derek Caracter, whose high school phenom straight to the NBA plans were curtailed by David Stern’s “one and done” mandate.  We were lucky enough to have them for nearly 5 straight months.  On court skill training, performance work, film study, vision training, motivation work and number one priority, nutritional education.  The results were great.  Shawne had a great year with the New York Knicks and Derek was drafted by the repeating champ Los Angeles Lakers.  More importantly, it was a change from the norm and a time for them to focus on exactly what they needed.

This school year we had the pleasure of working with another 1%er, Deandre Daniels, a highly ranked academically qualified player who decided not to enter college and work on his game and body.  This prep year was much different than the Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler overseas experiments.  The two-a-day skills and weightlifting sessions were much more than the 20 hours per week he would have got had he gone to school this year.

His recent commitment UCONN is a great fit and Coach Loren Jackson and Stephen Visk did an unbelievable job of getting Deandre’s mind and body ready to be an impact player for the National Champs.  Another example of a 1%er taking time off from the norms to work at different disciplines to come out way ahead before entering his next challenge.

As I think about Terrell Pryor’s next move, I think he should take a step back to take a step forward.  My Pittsburgh roots have me rooting for him to overcome all this adversity.  Not work on his off-field issues, but with his skills, mind and body.  Improve and learn what it takes to be the best at the next level.  The best at reading defensive schemes, 5 step drops, and working with personnel 3-10 years older.

Though college can help immensely, a personal “pro plan” might have you more ready for impact regardless of where you land and what your bonuses are.  Pryor has flaws as a quarterback, and 6 months of working with a dedicated develop program, watching film, enhancing his body and footwork is a lot better than being a 4^th string QB that they are talking about moving positions after the supplemental draft.  Worst case, his transition to the NFL is much easier.

Time off, mixing disciplines with experts, and personal attention with a plan might be what every 1%er athlete needs to make that next step a sure thing.  I would love to hear other stories and thoughts about this.

Trainer Take: Time Off To Take Off from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

In the past year, I have had the pleasant opportunity of representing talented basketball players, finding them playing opportunities overseas, negotiating the terms of their contracts, making sure that they get overseas safely, continuing to monitor their progress, and staying in touch with them constantly through Skype.  I love the fact that there is a global market in the sport of basketball; it opens up a variety of opportunities for players who would be left working low paying jobs back in America if those leagues overseas did not exist.  Or if they are talented enough to play in the NBA’s D-League, most of them still would be making less than what they are bringing in overseas.  But the overseas game is not for everybody, especially those who are not mature enough to handle it, have a strong potential in the NBA, and are not aligned with the right people to take care and nurture them in their time in a foreign country.

Case in point: Jeremy Tyler.  Everyone was talking about Jeremy Tyler in April 2009.  Before that month, I had never even heard of the kid.  He saw what Brandon Jennings did by playing overseas instead of going to school for a year (Jennings was also ruled academically ineligible to play), and raised it by leaving high school a year early to go play for Maccabi Haifa.  Daring, trailblazing…stupid?  In hindsight, maybe.  I can’t say yes or no, but for right now I’ll go with yes, pretty stupid.

I wrote the following statement on April 29, 2009,

If you think college is a shock to someone who has grown up with his parents doing the laundry and cooking dinner, jumping overseas alone would have the potential of seriously threatening a young kid’s psyche.

Tyler wanted a high level of competition more than the amount of money he would get paid (supposedly).  Little did he know that the competition would actually be too high for him.  Sure, he could pull a Brandon Jennings (unsuccessful overseas, yet successful in the NBA), but Tyler is also different in Jennings in that Tyler could not even complete the terms of his overseas contract.  Last week, Tyler left Maccabi Haifa and came back to the United States.  He was through with playing in Israel.  I’m sure his average of 2.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 7.6 minutes will be sorely missed.

And then what about his agent?  Even if you didn’t know that Tyler was leaving Israel early to return home, can’t you at least play it off like you knew all along?  This was all a part of a larger strategy, no? No..

Tyler’s agent said he wasn’t aware of his client’s plans to leave the team.

“I’m as surprised as you are. We had no idea he was coming home,” Makhtar Ndiaye of the Wasserman Media Group told ESPN’s William Weinbaum. “I’m speechless at this point and look forward to speaking with Jeremy. A contract, a learning process — things weren’t great — but it was part of growing up. I’m disappointed and frustrated.”

Definitely not how I would have handled the media.  But to each his own.  The one thing that passage reminded me of is what Seth Davis said few months ago.

I did a triple take when I read that Tyler’s agents at Wasserman Media Group had the brilliant idea to send Makhtar Ndiaye, who is one of their agents, over to Israel to, as Thamel put it, “help [Tyler] focus.” Ndiaye, you may recall, is the former North Carolina forward who accused Utah freshman Britton Johnsen of calling him the N-word during the Tar Heels’ loss to the Utes at the 1998 Final Four. When the accusation rightly caused a major stir, Ndiaye was forced to admit he had totally made it up. Ndiaye played very briefly in the NBA and also spent some time in the NBDL, where he once drew a five-second call on an inbounds play because he was waving at a friend in the stands. This, my friends, is Jeremy Tyler’s lodestar.

Can Arn Tellem please come in for the rescue?

Shalom, Jeremy Tyler from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

You have heard of Brandon Jennings.  He had problems attaining the requisite scores to go to a D1 school and decided to play his first year out of high school overseas.  His struggles were documented, but he was still a lottery pick of the Milwaukee Bucks.  There were many doubters.  He has shut them up thus far.  Through five games, Jennings is leading the Bucks in points-per-game (18.4), assists-per-game (4.4), and minutes-per-game (31.6).  Doubters have become believers, and it has made the NCAA nervous that young players will read up on the Brandon Jennings Experiment, deciding to play overseas for a year, pocket that money, and then hopefully be a lottery pick in a future draft.  Not so fast..

While Brandon Jennings may have “cheated the system”, there are those that believe he will be a rare exception.  They look at someone like Jeremy Tyler, who has not yet tested his luck in the NBA or its draft, but has been struggling mightily overseas in Israel.  Tyler left the states a year younger than when Jennings left; he left before he completed his senior year of high school.  His coach in Haifa is not too fond of him thus far, calling him lazy, out of shape, naïve, and immature. I find it interesting that after only two games, Pete Thamel of the New York Times can already confidently say,

The Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings skipped college and had rocky moments while playing last season in Rome. But they were nothing compared with Tyler’s.

What does this tell us?  Not much, yet.  Tyler still has a lot of time to prove himself overseas.  And let us not forget how much criticism Jennings received before becoming a solid player in the NBA.  It seems like some of our memories are very short.  I think it is way too early to call Tyler a bust.  However, if Tyler is unable to thrive in Israel and does not pan out in the NBA, then perhaps Jennings will be looked at as a fluke success story, and Tyler’s story may dissuade others from following his path.

One thing that is certain is that there are a lot of important people paying particular attention to how Tyler fairs in the long run.  Those entities include advisors like Sonny Vaccaro, agencies like Wasserman Media Group, executives within the NCAA, David Stern, shoe companies, and many others.  Personally, I hope that Tyler wakes up and gets his mind right, because as an agent, I love having more options for potential clients.  If a future Jennings or Tyler came to me asking for guidance on what to do, I’d like to have confidence that playing overseas instead of NCAA basketball will not kill his future.

Jeremy Tyler Already Has His Doubters from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules