As long as Zion Williamson has an agent in in place by the week of the draft, there will be time for him to hammer out all the details of his NBA transition. Still, it is an odd thing that he is without an agent at this point. Sources told Sporting News that the reason behind the delayed process goes back to Williamson’s advisor, former NBA agent Chubby Wells.
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Wells had been an Atlanta-area NBA agent going back more than a decade, representing players like Dale Davis and Ramon Sessions. But his certification with the NBPA lapsed. Through his friend Anderson, Wells got involved with Williamson's AAU team, SC Supreme, and the plan had been to have him recertify as an agent and represent Williamson. But when that plan fell through this spring, Williamson did not have an official agent and top agencies across the country piled into the process. Among those were Creative Artists Agency, Roc Nation, Klutch Sports and BDA Sports.
Bryan Kalbrosky: Oregon's Kenny Wooten (two-time Pac-12 All-Defense) and UCLA's Moses Brown (Pac-12 All-Freshman) have signed with First Picks Sports and will be represented by Mitchell Butler and Toby Bailey, per source. For context: The two agents both played basketball at UCLA and in the NBA.
Dylan Windler now travels to Chicago, where he is staying ahead of the draft to train with fellow clients of Priority Sports & Entertainment and agent Mark Bartelstein. He will then visit with the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics.
Gary Woelfel: Michigan SG Jordan Poole (Milw Rufus King) will stay in draft and be repped by CAA, whose many clients include Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.
“Zion is meeting with agents,” Nichols said. “Who are some of the finalists?” “It’s the big agencies that have a chance at him,” Windhorst replied. “Roc Nation, CAA and Klutch Sports is in there.”
Bryan Kalbrosky: Among the top prospects in the 2019 NBA Draft, Zion Williamson is the most notable yet to hire an agent. Others not linked to representation, likely still testing waters: Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky), Devon Dotson (Kansas), Moses Brown (UCLA) + Jalen Lecque (NC State commit)
According to one NBA source, Williamson has yet to select an agent, a decision that seems inevitable before he signs a lucrative shoe deal. For now, Williamson is surrounded by his mother and stepfather, who have deftly guided him through every step of his journey. Sharonda Sampson and Lee Anderson have quietly helped create the phenomenon, even electing not to do interviews during Williamson’s year at Duke. Most important, Wiggins says, they’ll still be there to help Williamson select an agent. “I’ve got great parents, great siblings, a great circle that care for me and would do anything for me, protect me,” Wiggins says. “That’s the main thing, having a good circle around you.”
Jordan Nwora is the Louisville player who has drawn the most attention and hype as an NBA draft prospect, mostly due to the massive improvement in his sophomore campaign. His father, Alex Nwora, told the Courier Journal that Nwora signed with agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports Management.
Zach Braziller: Former Hofstra star Justin Wright-Foreman worked out for Celtics today. Is signing with Sean Kennedy of Excel Sports. Also has workouts coming up with 76ers and Timberwolves Monday and Tuesday. He will be going to G-League Elite Camp May 13-14 in Chicago. #hofmbb #nbadraft
Rachel Stein, the communications coordinator for Priority Sports and Entertainment, confirmed Bruno Fernando has signed with the Chicago-based sports management company. Priority Sports also represents former Terps Jake Layman and Kevin Huerter.
Bryan Kalbrosky: Source confirms to @HoopsHype that Mississippi State standout Aric Holman will be represented at FSM (Fundamental Sports Management) by Colin Bryant and Rahul Patel. The 6-foot-10 forward connected on 43.3 percent of his three-pointers (!!) during final two collegiate seasons.
Zach Braziller: Villanova’s Eric Paschall announces he has signed with CAA. Has been invited to NBA Combine.
Bryan Kalbrosky: Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Josh Reaves (Penn State) will be represented by Dan Curtin and Adam Godes of 3Eye Sports, per source. He led his conference in steal % three years in a row + projects as a 3-and-D rotational player. He recently made Portsmouth All-Tournament.
Jared Weiss: NBA Draft prospect Matur Maker has signed with agent Steve McCaskill’s One Legacy Sports, who represent his brother Thon. The 21-year-old currently plays for Zlatorog Laško in Slovenia after playing a post HS season in Canada last year.
Both Barry Brown and Dean Wade have signed with Austin Walton and NEXT Sports, while Kamau Stokes has signed with Adisa P. Bakari and Jeffery A. Whitney at The Sports & Entertainment Group.
West Virginia forward Sagaba Konate has signed with BDA Sports Management, an NBA certified agency that lists DeAndre Ayton — last season’s No. 1 overall pick — as a client.
Myles Powell has signed with agent Sam Permut of Roc Nation Sports — the same agent who represents Angel Delgado and Isaiah Whitehead — to represent him as he tests the NBA draft waters. Under the new rule, he has until May 29 to take his name out of the draft to maintain his college eligibility.
Liz Mullen: Texas C Jaxson Hayes has signed with @BDA_Sports for representation in the NBA Draft. Agents Bill Duffy & Marlon Harrison are representing him.
Liz Mullen: Duke G/F R.J. Barrett signed with @BDA_Sports for representation in the NBA Draft. Agent Bill Duffy is representing him.
Bryan Kalbrisky: BYU's Yoeli Childs ( @yochilds22 ) and Loyola Chicago's Marques Townes ( @Marq_Towne5 ) will be represented by Keith Kreiter at @Edge_Sports , source tells @hoopshype . Childs led the WCC with 21.1 points per game; Townes was MVC Player of Year in 2019 + led team to the Final 4 in '18.
Zach Braziller: Former St. John's forward Tariq Owens, who reached national title game with Texas Tech, will be repped by Merle Scott of One Legacy Sports, I'm told. #sjubb
Adrian Wojnarowski: Wasserman agents Thad Foucher and Joe Smith have a 2019 NBA Draft class that includes: Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter, Virginia Tech’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, UCLA’s Kris Wilkes, Wake Forest’s Jaylen Hoard, Tennessee’s Jordan Bone and Utah’s Sedrick Barefield.
Indiana freshman guard Romeo Langford, who is among over 200 underclassmen who declared for the 2019 NBA draft, has signed with an agent. In a tweet published Thursday, Catalyst Sports + Media announced the signing of Langford, who is a possible lottery pick in June’s draft.
Jeff Goodman: Purdue’s Carsen Edwards has signed with Zach Kurtin of Priority Sports, source told @Stadium. Edwards has full intention of keeping his name in for NBA Draft.
Mike Daum just wrapped up a historic season at South Dakota State and capped off an amazing career. He is now ready to take the next step to the NBA and has signed with a agent. Daum has signed with Octagon Sports, the same sports agency that represents some of the biggest stars in the NBA and sports in general.
Former Syracuse basketball player Tyus Battle has signed a player/agent agreement with Roc Nation.
Chris Haynes: Arkansas sophomore forward Daniel Gafford, a top 20 projected 2019 NBA Draft prospect, has signed with agent Charles Briscoe of Briscoe Sports Group.
Zach Osterman: Juwan Morgan has signed with @Edge_Sports and president Keith Kreiter. #iubb
PJ Washington: Very excited to continue my journey and announce that I’ve signed with @rocnationsports in preparation for the NBA Draft! Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way - BBN and my entire support system. Can’t wait to get started. #RocFam ✍🏽🉑
Percy Allen: Washington Huskies star Jaylen Nowell signs with agent Ryan Davis.
Liz Mullen: Duke F/G Cam Reddish has signed with @OctagonBsktball for representation in the NBA Draft. Octagon NBA agent Omar Wilkes is repping him.
Liz Mullen: USC F Bennie Boatwright has signed with @RocNationSports for representation in the NBA Draft. He will be represented by Roc Nation NBA agents Joe Branch & Sam Permut.
Kevin Porter Jr.’s tenure with USC is over. The freshman guard told ESPN that he has hired an agent and declared his intention to enter the NBA draft in June. Porter said he will be represented by Roc Nation.
Darren Wolfson: Former #Gophers great Jordan Murphy will be represented by Hazan Sports Management Group. Portsmouth will turn into getting workouts with teams and trying to get a Combine invite. His pro career and the process leading into will happen fast.
Having parted ways with his agent, Lonzo Ball is searching for a new one. Creative Artists Agency has emerged as a front-runner to represent Ball, but he and his team are evaluating prospective agents, according to people familiar with the process. While word is spreading around the agencies that LaVar Ball is driving the search, Lonzo Ball told The Times on Thursday night that he alone will make his business decisions. Asked specifically if his father was involved, Lonzo Ball said no.
According to NBPA rules, Ball must wait 15 days from the time he officially parted with Gaines before signing with another agent.
Sitting next to his parents and his aunt and uncle, Phil and Carol Morant, at the office of his agent, Jim Tanner of Tandem Sports and Entertainment, Morant explained his decision Saturday to become a pro and his journey from lightly recruited player in South Carolina to lottery pick. “I didn’t try to force the decision to come out early,” Morant told USA TODAY Sports. “Me and my family just talked it over and felt like now is the right time and made that decision.”
Oregon Ducks freshman Bol Bol has officially turned pro, hiring an agent at CAA for representation in his eventual NBA career, the agency told ESPN on Friday. The 7-foot-2 center is No. 12 on ESPN's rankings of the top 100 NBA draft prospects.
Bol will look to CAA to overlook his ongoing rehab and pre-NBA draft meeting and interview schedule. He will also rely on the firm to land him potential endorsement deals, beginning with a shoe deal. Bol boasts 650,000 followers on Instagram, the third-highest total among draft prospects behind only Duke's Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett.
"They're only saying that because it's Rich. When Shaq came to see me play in high school, when A.I. came to see me play in high school, they weren't saying it was a recruiting trip then. But because it's Rich Paul and LeBron, now it's a recruitment trip. "Now Rich is a threat to everybody, and they look at it and they want to keep trying to jab my agent and jab my friend. And what is he doing that's wrong? They don't say that about no other agent when other guys go see [players]. They don't say that about no other agent, but my guy because he's a threat. "And he's African-American, too. Throw that in there."
Klutch Sports Group: Welcome Darius Garland to our 2019 Draft Class! @dariusgarland22
Klutch Sports Group: Welcome Darius Garland to our 2019 Draft Class! @dariusgarland22
Adam Zagoria: One option under consideration for Vandy’s Darius Garland is withdrawing from school and signing with an agent in advance of the NBA Draft, source says. Garland is done for season with an injury.
BDA Sports has signed several prospects for the NBA draft, including Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie, Villanova forward Omari Spellman and Texas A&M forward/center Robert Williams. Calvin Andrews is representing Okogie, Marlon Harrison is representing Spellman, and Kevin Bradbury is representing Williams.
Jeff Goodman: Kevin Hueter is signing with Andy Shiffman and Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, source told ESPN.
Adam Zagoria: Kevin Huerter is expected to hire Priority Sports for his representation, league source says.
Liz Mullen: NBA draft prospect and PG Point Guard Anfernee Simons, who played at the IMG Academy last year, has signed with @RosenhausSports for representation. NBA agent Bobby Petriella is representing Simons, who is seen as a 1st round pick.
Sean Deveney: A month ahead of the draft, Sporting News has learned that Texas A&M center Robert "Big Cat" Williams has changed agents, and is now represented by Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports. He will participate in a workout for teams on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Jeff Goodman: Utah State junior guard DeAngelo Isby told ESPN he will remain in the NBA Draft. Has signed with Darren White of Future Sports Management. Played first two years in juco ranks.
Liz Mullen: Oregon State F Drew Eubanks has signed with @ISEWorldwide for the NBA Draft. Agent James Dunleavy is repping him.
Jeff Goodman: Go ahead and remove Western Carolina’s Mike Amius from the “testing the waters” section. He’s signed with an agent, will play professionally. I know you were unable to sleep without knowing this info.
Donte Grantham: Excited to announce I signed with Raymond Brothers and @I AM Sports & Ent. !!!
Liz Mullen: Duke point guard Trevon Duval has signed with I AM Sports & Entertainment for the NBA Draft. Agent Raymond Brothers is repping him.
Sam Vecenie: Not sure if this is out there yet, but Kentucky prospect Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed with Wasserman as his agency. Thad Foucher will rep him.
Bruce Pascoe: Arizona's Allonzo Trier has signed with agent James Dunleavy. He'll participate in the NBA Combine later this month along with Rawle Alkins.
Michael Scotto: Former Arizona guard Rawle Alkins has signed with agents Dan Frank and Jarinn Akana. Alkins received an invite to the NBA Draft Combine, as @Adam Zagoria reported. He is expected to participate in all portions of the combine.
A Tulane source confirmed Wednesday that junior Melvin Frazier would sign with agent Thad Foucher of Wasserman Media Group, electing to stay in the NBA draft and give up his final year of eligibility with the Green Wave. Frazier, a versatile 6-foot-6 forward who attended Higgins High, is the first Tulane player ever to leave for the NBA before his senior season.
Bryan Kalbrosky: Melvin Frazier, from New Orleans, will sign with the same agent (Thad Foucher) that represents Anthony Davis. Frazier is a strong defender + had 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds per game for Tulane last yr. The Pelicans have a mid-2nd round pick and he may still be available. #DoItBig
Liz Mullen: Basketball Center Mitchell Robinson, a McDonald's All American, who did not play in college, has signed with veteran NBA agent Raymond Brothers for the NBA Draft. Brothers told SBJ he's now 7'2" and "easily a top 3 talent."
Zhaire Smith has officially signed with Roc Nation Sports, thus ending his college career. The company released the news in an email on Thursday.
Shams Charania: Sources: Boston College junior Jerome Robinson has decided to stay in the 2018 NBA draft, signing with CAA Sports. Robinson, a 6-foot-6 scorer, averaged 24 points in ACC this past season.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Sources: The final consensus Top 10 pick in the June NBA Draft has chosen his representation: Alabama guard Collin Sexton has signed with Austin Brown and Leon Rose of CAA.
Darren Heitner: Switching gears, @excelsm has signed Mikal Bridges & Marvin Bagley III (@Marvin Bagley) for the 2018 NBA Draft
Liz Mullen: Texas Tech G Zhaire Smith has signed with @RocNation Sports for the NBA Draft. Agent Roger Montgomery is representing him.
Zhaire Smith: After careful consideration I've decided to forgo my collegiate career and sign with Roc Nation. Again I want to thank my family, friends , coaches, teammates, and TT fans. Your support has been great . I know this is the best decision for me and I hope to make y’all proud!
Liz Mullen: Oklahoma G Trae Young @Trae Young has signed with @Octagon for representation in the NBA Draft. Octagon NBA agents Omar Wilkes and Jeff Austin are repping him.
Chandler Huntchison: Beyond excited to be part of the @prioritysports family! The journey continues... #NBADraft #Limitless
Jeff Goodman: Former Duke standout Marvin Bagley III has signed with Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, source told ESPN.
Jeff Goodman: Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop told ESPN he has signed with CAA and Austin Brown.
UCLA junior guard Aaron Holiday has hired agent Charles Briscoe, a partner of Premier Sports Council, forgoing the final year of his eligibility, Briscoe told Yahoo Sports. Holiday announced his plans to declare for the draft last month. Holiday led the Bruins to an NCAA tournament berth this season, averaging 20.3 points, 5.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Jared Weiss: Miami’s Lonnie Walker IV is joining Catalyst Sports and will be co-represented by agents Happy Walters and George Langberg, per source. Walker is projected to be a mid first-round pick as we enter NBA Draft workout season.
Edge Sports International: Proud to announce Dakota Mathias @DMathias31 @BoilerBall has joined the #EdgeFamily Dakota has the best 3pt% (46.6) and best A/TO ratio out of any projected draft pick in this year's Class- All-Time Leader in 3pt. shooting in Purdue History #OnTheRise #NBADraft #NBALegit
David 'Dubi' Pick: Villanova's top-10 NBA prospect Mikal Bridges is close to hiring Excel Sports for his representation, sources tell me.
Michael Porter : Excited to be joining the @prioritysports family!
Miles Bridges: God couldn't have placed me in a better place for these last two years. I wanna thank Coach Izzo and the rest of the coaching staff for giving a skinny kid from Flint a chance to play at such a legendary program. I would like to thank the academic support for helping me out everyday. I also want to thank Spartan Nation for welcoming me with open arms into their community and school. And last but not least I would like to thank my teammates for the bond and memories that we will share for a lifetime. I will be a spartan for life no matter what!! With that being said I am entering the 2018 NBA draft and I am signing with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports.
David 'Dubi' Pick: Projected top NBA draft pick Michael Porter Jr. is close to signing with Mark Bartelstein and Priority Sports to represent him, according to league sources.
Me: You went with Jeff Schwarz and Excel to represent you. How did you make that choice? Malik Monk: Me and my brother. Just sat around and talked about it. Jeff looked out for us first instead of himself ... He didn’t care about himself about anything. He talked about us. He didn’t say his name with anything until later on.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Potential No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz has signed with agent Raymond Brothers, league sources tell @TheVertical.
Jorge Sierra: North Carolina guard Nate Britt has signed with agent Derrick Powell of Tandem Sports.
Shams Charania: N.C. State's Dennis Smith Jr. has hired agent Kim Grillier of PSE Sports. Smith worked out for Orlando, scheduling visits in top-10.
Roc Nation Sports has signed three players for representation in this year’s NBA draft, including Villanova guard Josh Hart. Roc Nation also signed Florida State forward Dwayne Bacon and Oregon forward/center Chris Boucher. Joe Branch will represent Hart, Roger Montgomery will represent Bacon and Sam Permut will represent Boucher.
Michael Scotto: Former Kentucky forward Derek Willis has signed with Premier Sports Council agent Charles Briscoe, a league source told Basketball Insiders.
