The hiring by the New York Knicks of CAA agent Leon Rose as the team’s president will have an effect on multiple players including LaMelo Ball.
The New York Knicks, in the midst of yet another losing season, continue to go through changes in the front office and on the sidelines this season. But the franchise does appear close to landing a new team president in prominent agent Leon Rose of Creative Artists Agency (CAA). The hiring of a former agent follows the path taken by the Golden State Warriors in hiring Bob Meyers and, more recently, the Los Angeles Lakers in hiring Rob Pelinka.
Rose, one of the power brokers of the league, was the agent of many prominent players in the league including Carmelo Anthony, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Kyle Kuzma and others. Interestingly, though, is that one of the biggest names he reportedly represented was a non-NBA player in LaMelo Ball.
While it’s rare for agents for non-superstars to be public information, it is known that Ball, along with his brothers, signed with CAA last year. Originally, it was believed that Rose would represent Lonzo, though that appeared to not be the case.
One of the few places to list agents of players is RealGM on each player’s specific page. While LaMelo’s page listed CAA agents Steven Heumann and Aaron Mintz as his agents, those were the same names listed for Lonzo and LiAngelo. It is entirely possible all three were represented by the same duo.
However, a piece by SNY this week noted that Rose represents LaMelo. It’s the only connection publicly between the two but, again, it’s rare for players’ agents to be made public unless there are free agent negotiations and especially so for non-NBA players.
The delay in the team formally announcing Rose as the team’s president could also involve Ball. As noted by the New York Post, Rose must, obviously, end his professional relationship with each player he represented, meaning each player must find a new agent in CAA. Likewise, his involvement with CAA altogether must end, meaning a likely payout of sorts that will also need to be worked out as he leaves the company.
For LaMelo, this means a new agent as he begins his pre-draft process in the coming weeks and months. It’s plausible Mintz and/or Heumann take over for Rose with Ball as the two are certainly experienced agents.
But it is an interesting wrinkle for Ball to navigate through as his journey to the NBA nears its final stages. It could also lead to an even more interesting decision by the Knicks in the coming NBA Draft with Rose, set to be the lead decision maker for the franchise, weighing the chance of drafting one of his former clients, a rare situation.
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