When agents operate with conflicts of interest

Pins and needles?

Well, no.

It’s not exactly LeBron James or anything like that, and there’s no deadline in place to get the hype machine roiling towards some make or break moment so maybe that’s why the Peyton Manning Saga hasn’t become bigger than it has up here.

You know the drill, right: Injured quarterback due all kinds of money is cut adrift by only team he’s played for (a decision that karma suggest the Indianapolis Colts will rue) and is now doing some circuit of NFL teams looking for a job.

Been to Miami and that’s a non-starter; visited Tennessee and that remains a possibility; was seen by Denver and the Teboists are aghast.

But the one that’s most interesting to me is Manning thinking about the San Francisco 49ers and not because it would pair a great quarterback with an apparently good coach and a solid defence and likely create an early NFC Super Bowl favourite.

No, what bugs me about that one, and the thing that brings all kinds of questions of conflict of interest into play is that Manning has the same agent as Alex Smith, the guy he’d replace should Manning take his talents to Northern California.

(I would doubt we’d get The Decision, Football Style, given the blowback on LeBron, right?)

Anyway, I’ve always thought that agents in pro sports, particularly in the NBA because that’s what I know best but also in the NFL and, I presume, the NHL and MLB, hold far too much power and manipulate teams and players and situations far too greatly.

I understand the need for agents to have multiple clients – they have to make a living – but doesn’t it kind of stink that the guy who is doing his best to get Manning a job in San Francisco is doing it at the expense of another client whose best interests he’s also trying to protect. Or rather whose best interests he should be trying to protect, because in this instance that is not happening.

I guess what should happen, and I have not idea if this is workable, is for the agent working for Manning recuse himself of all things involving Smith, or vice versa. Set up some kind of Ethical Wall as they do in law firms, where people operate entirely independent of each other.

Agents are, in my opinion, far too powerful far too often, they manipulate the system too easily; representing one guy who is going to take money out of another client’s pocket just strikes me as wrong.

And if I’m Alex Smith and the guy who is supposed to be looking out for my interest is trying to bring someone in who’ll cost me my job, I’m looking for alternative representation.

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Hmm.

Seven of the Sweet 16 left and only two Final Four picks left?

Yeah, my college basketball knowledge is indeed suspect.

How’s your bracket?

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So Derek Fisher is now a free agent, having reached a buyout agreement with the Houston Rockets for the rest of his contract – he had this year and next left on his deal when he was traded last week – and, thankfully, the NBA has closed up one of the gaping loopholes in the CBA that created all kinds of problems.

While I have no problem with traded players working with teams that acquire them to get out of the rest of their deals (“Life is a negotiation,” as David Stern said during the Sacramento arena talks) I’m quite glad that the ability to manipulate the system so a player gets free go back from whence he came is gone.

Fisher is now free to make a deal with any team in the league as he pursues a sixth NBA title but he can’t – thankfully – go back to the Lakers until July.

Players getting out of deals so they could go back home was awful; this way seems much more fair or something.

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Oh yeah, it’s London-Halifax in the NBL Canada final – fitting, I suppose, since they were to the two best teams in the regular season, I understand – and the Lightning win Game 1 by three on Sunday afternoon.

Game 2 in the best-of-five series is tonight, Games 3 and 4, if necessary, go Wednesday-Thursday in Halifax and if they need Game 5, it’s back in London next Sunday.

One of the big concerns about a new league is the competitive nature of the inaugural season, the last thing anyone needs is to have one team so far above the rest that the championship is something of a given.

Hasn’t happened here, that’s for sure. Halifax and Quebec went all three games in their semifinal, London swept Saint John but both games went to the final minute, and Lightning-Rainmen is a compelling and close final.

Kind of hope it goes five games, and I can change a flight up so I can get back from Chicago on Sunday to see this one play to a dramatic finish.

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It’s Windsor and UBC in the CIS women’s basketball final tonight, tape delayed on NBA TV Canada at 9 p.m. and it’s probably worth a look, don’t you think.

I’ll check some out but, have to tell you, there’s at least a bit of interest in DWTS, which kicks off tonight.

I’d love Gladys Knight if she had the Pips but that’s not going to happen; if I had to go with an early favourite, I’m thinking Martina Navratilova might have some moves.

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Raptors?

Dead quiet yesterday after a rather zany couple of weekend days with the crazy game in Memphis, the plane trouble, the collapse in Charlotte and a somewhat fitting end with a little trouble at Pearson that forced them to wind up at a different terminal than usual and added about 75 minutes to the flight home because they had to wait for taxis to get them to their cars at the charter terminal on the north end of the airport.

Probably deserved a day off after that end to four games in five nights and with another four in five starting tomorrow.

They’re back at it today, I presume we’ll find out that Jose will practice and try to go tomorrow night in New York and that’ll be about it.

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Comments

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:

I thought I saw something yesterday or the day before that Alex Smith was considering a different agent; this seems to back that up:
http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2012/03/18/smith-wants-agent-whos-not-mannings/

Blogger's note: Good call by him

[SPR]

FYI, Doug, they are now called "ethical walls" in law firms in our PC world.

Blogger's note: Thank you

[LeeZ]

Doug, like you, I haven't seen Bayless as a starting point guard in this league. But when he has been given the reins as a starter, he has shown JUST ENOUGH to give me a glimmer of hope that maybe he could grow into a role as a starting pg for the Raptors. He is attacking the basket relentlessly, and is STARTING to look to dish off once the defence breaks down to cover him. Still not doing a great job of it, but there are signs he just might be starting to get it. Question: once José comes back, do you think DC flips their roles and has JB receive starter minutes at the PG for the rest of the season to really see whether JB might have the right stuff?

Blogger's note: Don't know; I wouldn't. I'd move Bayless into the Barbosa role

[Penny]

@LeeZ - hopefully, what you suggested doesn't happen. DC at least has to give Jose and Andrea some time to play together. Andrea's numbers have not come back at all since he has returned, mainly because JB is the PG and simply does not do a good job of giving Andrea the ball where he is most comfortable. The same can be said of DD. DC has said that AB and DD are his first 2 options on offense which means that the most points on the team should not be scored by the PG which has been the case for almost all (if not all) of the games with JB as the starter last week.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Morning Doug,
I wouldn't feel too sheepish about your brackets if I were you. The Dirty Dozen pool I'm in have sheets that look a lot like either yours or Barack Baby's, but if things go like they did last year, I believe the stat was something like, of approximately 9 million brackets sent in to ESPN, exactly 2 (TWO!) got the Final Four right. NCAA team picks... NCAA individual draft picks... one's as big a crap shoot as the other.
On this day in 1968, Jimi Hendrix was playing the Capitol in beautiful downtown Ottawa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvAiZI0WyyM&feature=related
Cheers. Go Raps!

[doug]

good take on the agent situation..I remember reading once awhile ago that a prominent player (who i forget off-hand) didn't have a agent, and just hired a lawyer to deal with the paperwork whom he just paid a modest fee to...I found it interesting and wonder why more players don't take that approach...if your a veteran like Pujols or Manning why do you need a agent, what are you exactly getting for paying them a large % of your take...or even a rookie as in a lot of leagues now there is structured salary levels dependent on your draft position,so what are they negotiating??...agents to me are becoming a lot like real estate agents their over-valued for what you need for them for...and your bracket mirrors many if not all everywhere this morning...but it will be a hum-dinger of a Final 4 this year...

Blogger's note: I believe that player might have been Ray Allen

[doug]

yes also I was just checking it out as it stumped me on who it was and you may be right on it being Allen...but also I came across this article on Zack Greineke who is set to hit the motherlode in the near future where he may go sans agent...as Curt Shilling did for the last 6 years of his career...to me the more established you are the less you need a agent if you have any smarts...to me it's a interesting discussion I would like to hear thoughts from more players on it as I am sure there is intense pressure/lobbying from agents as they obviously don't want it to start occurring more often...

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7529650/for-now-zack-greinke-going-agent

[The J]

Well looks like the Peyton to the '9ers debate is not Moot. Seems he is headed to the Broncos. Now the interesting question becomes what's the next chapter in the Tebow saga? Kinda sad, I know where ever he goes he is going to knock someone from the starting QB situation, but you can't help but feel that team was Tebow's team.

[Steve]

@doug I would suggest reading Taking Shots by Keith Glass (an agent!) for some perspective. In particular you will find the answer to the question "what are they negotiating", a hint is the actual work occurs well before anyone is on multi-million dollar NBA contracts (keep in mind even under the new fixed rookie salaries, WHERE you get picked in the draft is very important).

The NBA and the NBAPA set a maximum percentage that agents can charge their clients as well as fixed salaries for rookies. In addition the contract a player signs with their agent is basically worthless as the player can walk away from it at will.

I think under the circumstances, at least as far as the NBA goes, the idea that agents have too much power is laughable. The Decision, and Dwight's recent Indecision, have little to do with the agents and much more to do with the personalities of the players involved in my opinion.

[LeeZ]

@Penny: good points, all. You're absolutely right, JB is horrible at spotting Bargs (he does hit DD curling off screens o.k., but even that could be better). But this is the first real chance since coming into the league that JB might have an opportunity to learn how to improve in those areas. I'd like to see him have a full shot at it. Bargnagni is a known quantity. Whether he gets his groove back this year since the injury is of little consequenc, IMHO. We have a decision to make about Barbosa. To me, it's a no-brainer: give him the minutes and see what he's got so we can fish or cut bait.

[SheikYurbouti]

I totally see the point of the shameful conflict of interest in the Manning/Smith case. Sadly, this has happened before and will again. Can an "ethical wall" be constructed to deal with it? Perhaps, but how?
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It would be nice to think something could be done to deal with this dilemma in the sports agent arena, but I fear it falls into the same category as dealing with the pros and cons of democracy, capitalism, free market, and our justice systems. There are faults in these methods of doing things, including manipulation and abuse of power by some, but until someone comes up with a better system, the benefits generally outweigh the occasional downsides. As with the above mentioned issues, such discussion requires far more depth than we can do it justice in this forum.
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Also worth mentioning that players have a choice how they wish or need to be represented. Some, such as Ray Allen, feel their needs are best served with a different choice than the norm. Not everyone's needs are the same, and to each his own choice.
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All other factors aside, I believe I read that the maximum an agent is allowed for a player's playing contract in the NBA is 4%. It can certainly represent a large sum, but is hardly a large percentage, considering an experienced and knowledgeable agent can easily get a player an additional 10%, or more, in many cases. Again, there are loopholes in the system that are sometimes taken advantage of, but it has taken more than CBA's to get player's their fair share of the pie.

[Heath]

The "lawyer instead of agent" player was Grant Hill, going back to his Detroit days.

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:

Any guess as to where 'Tebooooow' will land?

Blogger's note: Arrrrrrrgoossss?

[doug]

the whole agent discussion to me is a interesting one,,,as their are many variables involved, and as in every profession their are good ones and bad ones but it's a area we as fans know so little about...just today the big news on HoopsHype is that Durant has changed agents, why??...to hear the honest answer from Durant himself would be interesting, as it is obviously a far more complex issue then the 4% cut these agents make....then to read about Schilling having a falling out then representing himself without incident and as Schilling states pretty eloquently here in this quote I think it sums it up the best...

"I think sports agents have grown mythical to the point where it's like politics," Schilling said. "Everybody is led to believe it's a far more complicated and difficult process than it is. There is no super-secret agenda. You know what every player in the big leagues makes, and the players' association can do an awful lot to assist players in contract negotiations. So it becomes a simple question of, 'Are you comfortable or not sitting in a room negotiating your salary?' A lot of guys aren't....sometimes it's just that simple

[LeeZ]

Doug, I propose that whenever @Penny posts something, you reply by writing: Penny (knock knock knock) Penny (knock knock knock) Penny (knock knock knock)...

[doug]

doug you must have channeled your inner Kreskin as your timing on this agent talk was/is pretty prescient...as I mentioned above Durant one of the biggest names in the NBA changed agents today, and I was wondering as to why?..the internet is a pretty ingenious device at times as you wonder it answers a lot of the time.., well it appears as I can see many players of Durant's ilk doing more of the future, his brother is going to run his business of the "Durant brand", with his new agent acting as a advisor, he gets it to me, as the 4% figure is only what the CBA dictates for contracts, these players in some cases make much more then that in endorsements etc and those %'s are not mandated from anyone...excellent piece here on the Durant move and the reasons for him doing it..."It is believed that Tony Durant will begin full-time management of Kevin Durant, with an established agency likely entering in and aiding in an advisory role."

Read more: http://newsok.com/thunder-kevin-durant-parting-ways-with-agent-aaron-goodwin/article/3649996#ixzz1pasTvBb0

[Rob.V]

Great point Penny, thats exactly what I've been thinking over the past few games as well. But here's the interesting thing.
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Aside from the game in Charlotte (we have to give the team a pass due to the travel circumstances) are the Raptors a better team with Bayless taking a bulk of the shots?. At first thought the answer has to be an emphatic "no" however lets think about it for a second.
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Like you, I was watching the games and thinking, come on JB... Bargnani's open on the wing, dish him the bleeping ball!!. But Jerry'd would slice and dice his way to the rim. Oh wait!... and get a much better look from 4 feet, rather than another 20 footer jumper from the outside (by either DD or Andrea). Hmm???.
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I dont disagree with your concern over facilitating the team however I've said many times over the course of this season that the team needed another scorer in the starting line up. You know:
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Someone who can take pressure off of Bargnani. Hmm.
Someone who can get you 20-25 a night. Hmmm
Someone who can create his own shot at will... Hmmm!
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Someone like Bayless? Why not!!
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Although I'd like to see both Andrea and Derozan score 20+ points a night and become All Stars... I'd really like to see the Raptors win!!.
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My point being, if Bayless is going to put up Deron Williams (like) numbers and the Raptors win!!!... maybe it's better if Andrea and DeRozan only score 15 a night, no??.
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With Bayless attacking the rim and consistently hitting the 3 from the outside this team suddenly has another serious weapon in the starting line up (who defends his position quite effectively).
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I'm not suggesting the crash test dummy has passed the test yet (no shot at Bayless here - just a very bad metaphor(?) that came to mind), It's probably too early to say however I will suggest that another handful of games as a starter wouldn't hurt us either way.
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Here's my logic. I can use Jerryd as a 6th man anytime, thats a given, and in all likelyhood the role for next season.
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But in the meantime, lets put our foot on the gas pedal a little here and take him out for an extended run to see what happens. Jose is a pro, and will still be a pro once the test has concluded. No harm, just a little spin around the block.
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Just so long as we're still trying to win of course (wink wink!).

[LeeZ]

@RobV: Exactly. I'd like to see whether the Raps can integrate Bayliss into their offence better, get players like JJ and Bargs filling the gaping lanes that open up once JB beats his man of the dribble. Makes for a less stagnant (and more entertaining) offence.

[Penny]

@LeeZ - that's very funny. Because I don't watch The Big Bang Theory, I had to ask around the office to find out what it meant.

[john]

I wonder if teams are playing the Raps to cover the two guys who score 20 or if they are playing them to stop the starting point guard from driving and dishing... could this be the Raps version of 'Linsanity'? Do we really think that JB is going to turn into a 20/10 diamond in the rough?

The Raps had a point guard on a crummy team a few years ago, can’t remember the name but he scored a lot of points, then left as a free agent and never got off the bench with his new team (I am thinking it was Houston?)

When was the last time a point guard was the teams leading scorer and played for the championship? My guess is Iverson but I expect to be corrected!

[Aditya]

not sure if you received my previous comment, but in a recent article you stated gary forbes is 22 years old, he is not 22 years old...

also, you may/may not like drew gooden, but he just won eastern conference player of the week, might be his first time winning it....

also, alec burks of utah jazz can flat out ball.....so can brandon knight (thanks BC)

Blogger's note: Shocking. Or should I say typical. Busting on BC without one glance at the guy he took; come back in three years, perhaps wearing a Michael Beasley Is The Best jersey, okay?

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
Swear to God - even before Brady's memorable performance in that win Saturday night - that I picked Baylor to be the NCAA Champions. Of course, I had them playing Temple, but still...! And soooo glad to see DWTS has steered clear of inviting anyone with the last name of Santorum, Gingrich or Romney! Those guys would for sure have two right feet! (Quite sure these Republicans have never gone "Left" in their lives.) Not a single politico to rile the ire. But the best thing? Katherine Jenkins is a participant this time. She's a Welsh singer and performs OPERA! Don't know if she can dance, but what a voice! Cheers!
http://youtu.be/col_puP6wrk

[Spirito]

Doug, Thoughts about j.j. Hickson being waived by the Kings??

Blogger's note: A bit surprised

[GM]

Bayless has been putting up big, albeit meaningless, numbers since he was a rookie. In fact, it started in summer league of his rookie season. They had big hopes in Portland as he was shooting the lights out. But then he couldn't get into a game. Must have been a reason. Later in the season, with injuries hitting, he'd get big minutes and put up big numbers... then never see the court. Ditto New Orleans. And now Toronto. I'm hopeful, but I doubt he'll ever really get "it". Yes, he can score. No, he cannot (or hasn't yet be able to) make his team better. It's not like he hasn't been given the chance before. He is what he is -- a shoot-first guard with blinders on. That can be effective in spurts, but if he's leading your team... ouch!

[sporting goods store]

The NBA and the NBAPA set a maximum percentage that agents can charge their clients as well as fixed salaries for rookies. In addition the contract a player signs with their agent is basically worthless as the player can walk away from it at will.