For the time being, and likely for weeks or months to come, basketball is no longer the team’s primary public concern. “We’re trying to get ahead of the game as best we can,” Tellem said. “As part of that, it’s changing our whole public face. Usually we’re talking about upcoming games, the draft, free agency, all those things in our advertising and content online and obviously we’re now changing that content.”
Tag: Arn Tellem
The league has not made public any …
The league has not made public any plans for the remainder of the season or playoffs, which were supposed to start April 18. Per a contract agreement with the league, players received paychecks April 1 despite the suspended season, but the NBA has yet to reach a long-term agreement, ESPN reported. “There will be a time, when we flatten the curve and we’re on the significant down side of the curve, that professional sports and all sports will play an important role in the healing of this country,” Tellem said.
“I was very unhappy about that. I told …
“I was very unhappy about that. I told our staff, ‘This is unprofessional. This can’t happen again.’ It was so unfair to our player.” Casey said Pistons owner Tom Gores and vice chairman Arn Tellem were proactive in making arrangements for the teamwide quarantine, setting up daily phone calls with a physician so players could have their questions answered, providing the option for players to have meals delivered to their doors, and making mental health experts available to anyone who was feeling anxious about the virus and its ramifications. They also recorded temperatures twice daily from each player.
Arn Tellem: In high school, Kobe …
Arn Tellem: In high school, Kobe trained with the Philadelphia 76ers. By his senior campaign, the big question was, would Kobe attend a college like La Salle, where Joe was an assistant coach, or turn pro. During the previous three decades, only six U.S. players had joined the NBA without playing college ball, and all of them had been big men: Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, Bill Willoughby, Shawn Kemp, Thomas Hamilton and Kevin Garnett. Kobe was a 6-foot-6 guard. I asked Kobe what he wanted to do. He didn’t hesitate. “I’m going to the NBA,” he said. “I want to be the next Michael Jordan.”
I remember Kobe telling me that a …
I remember Kobe telling me that a defining moment in his brilliant 20-year NBA career was the infamous air ball game against Utah in the 1997 Western Conference semifinals. With the Lakers’ season on the line, he took four shots — one in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, three in the final minute of overtime — none of which came close to going in the basket. The Lakers lost in five games, and Kobe was left with a humbling rookie moment. “It was an early turning point for me in being able to deal with adversity, deal with public scrutiny and self-doubt,” he said.
Arn Tellem: Unlike every other draftee …
Arn Tellem: Unlike every other draftee who wanted to be picked as high as possible, Kobe was more concerned with where he’d wind up. His dream was to play for the fabled Lakers, which I did my best to accommodate. Basically, I kept other teams from picking Kobe by not giving their coaches access to him. I knew teams would be reluctant to take a chance on a high schooler without first talking to him and working him out. On draft day, Kobe was picked 13th overall by Charlotte and shortly thereafter traded to the Lakers. In the 1996-97 season, he was the second-youngest player in NBA history. He would go on to become the youngest All-Star in league history in his second season.
The so-called “agent model” they are …
The so-called “agent model” they are adopting, furthermore, has flopped (with Lon Babby in Phoenix and Arn Tellem in Detroit) as often as it has flourished (Bob Myers in Golden State and Rob Pelinka with the Los Angeles Lakers). The skeptics are also bound to point out that, as recently as last May, no one was looking to the Lakers for any sort of blueprint. LeBron James chose to sign with the Lakers as a free agent in July 2018 independent of anyone working for them — and they were a franchise in disarray, after Magic Johnson’s unforeseen resignation as team president in April, until Anthony Davis forced a trade to the Lakers to team up with James.
Rod Beard: #Pistons vice chairman Arn …
Rod Beard: #Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem: “Kobe Bryant was far and away the greatest athlete I had the privilege of representing during my 35 years as a player agent. And I represented many great athletes.”
Arn Tellem: In 2015, I made a major …
Arn Tellem: In 2015, I made a major career change. I decided to leave the sports agent business after 35 years and become vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons. David, who had retired as commissioner the year before, was among the first people to call to congratulate me. He mused about our past battles and joked: “I only wish this had happened when I was running the NBA.”
Arn Tellem: David loved to argue, to …
Arn Tellem: David loved to argue, to squabble, to scream, but he was always willing to hear me out. Rather than splitting us apart, the quarreling brought us together. As sarcastic and confrontational as David often was, he was always fair and had a stubborn integrity. I’ve never known anyone more devoted to the NBA, its mission and its players. Over the last three decades, David touched thousands of players’ lives — not in a superficial way, but in an enduring one.