Tag: Klutch Sports

Terrence Clarke, 19, dies after car accident in Los Angeles

Clarke had just announced earlier in the week that he had signed with Klutch Sports before the NBA Draft.

Terrence Clarke, a 19-year old freshman out of Kentucky, has died after being involved in a car accident on Thursday afternoon. Clarke had recently declared for the draft and had signed with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports for his representation. Clarke had hopes of being draft and was in Los Angeles to train for the upcoming draft later this summer.

Later on Thursday night, Paul released a statement to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski in which he confirmed the tragedy. Clarke’s mother was by his side. Paul also added in his statement that the Clarke family is praying for privacy at this time following an unspeakable tragedy.

Clarke had recently announced his joining Klutch Sports.

According to initial reports about the crash. the incident involving Clarke occurred after Clarke had finished a workout with fellow Klutch signee and Kentucky Wildcat, BJ Boston. Boston was not in the same car. Police say the crash happened at around 2:10 p.m. PT.

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LeBron James, Klutch Sports condemn Asian hate after Atlanta shooting

LeBron James and Klutch Sports both announced their condemnation of Asian hate crimes in the United States following Tuesday’s tragedy.

LeBron James lent his voice to a community struggling with the threat of racism and violence on Tuesday night following another senseless tragedy, when a gunman entered a salon in Atlanta and killed eight people, with six of the victims being Asian women. The Atlanta tragedy is one of the latest examples of hate crimes against Asian people in the United States, which has been on the uptick since the start of the coronavirus, which former President Donald Trump called the “China virus.”

After what happened, LeBron James took to Twitter to show his solidarity with the Asian community as they continue to be targetted by racist acts.

On Wednesday, LeBron’s agency, Klutch Sports, also posted its stance against Asian hate.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMh3ZcpBc0N/

LeBron’s teammate Kyle Kuzma also shared a message of solidarity with the Asian community, sharing a message that racism is a disease that hurts all races and not just one.

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Lakers news: Anthony Davis (calf strain) to be evaluated in 2-3 weeks

Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis will be evaluated again in 2-3 weeks after suffering a calf strain on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without their star big man Anthony Davis for at least the next couple of weeks and they could be without him all the way through the All-Star break early next month. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that an MRI revealed a calf strain for Davis, which will keep him out for at least the next two to three weeks before Davis is evaluated again.

Davis was dealing with Achilles tendinosis earlier last week in the same leg, which caused him to miss two games before returning to the lineup last Friday in a win against the Grizzlies.

The calf is, of course, connected to the Achilles area. Those of you who remember Kevin Durant’s calf strain, which became a torn Achilles in the 2019 NBA playoffs, won’t forget that this issue is of a legitimate concern for the Lakers. So it should be no surprise the Lakers and Davis’ representatives are going to take a conservative approach with his recovery now, according to Woj.

The Lakers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Without Davis in the lineup, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Markieff Morris, and Wesley Matthews will all get more opportunities to contribute as the Lakers look to keep pace with the league-leading Utah Jazz.

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Klutch Sports: Washington’s Chase Young wins NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

Washington Football Team star Chase Young won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award on Saturday.

Over the past year and a half, Klutch Sports has expanded its operations from the basketball court to both professional baseball and football, in their hopes to continue growing as a leading representative for elite athletes across sports. Their foray into the NFL began with having two top-three draft picks, including Chase Young, who took home one of the biggest awards for a player, being named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year on Saturday night.

Young had 7.5 sacks, recovered three fumbles, and made 10 tackles for loss in 15 games. Young was the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft coming out of Ohio State, helping lead the Washington Football Team to a playoff berth.

Young and Washington lost in the Wild Card Game last month to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are playing the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Young’s counterpart for Offensive Rookie of the Year was Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

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LeBron James told Rich Paul to get Talen Horton-Tucker out of Simeon High School

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James told reporters that he has long been infatuated with the play of Talen Horton-Tucker.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has an uncommon passion for the game of basketball. Perhaps nothing illustrated that more than when a few summers ago, LeBron James spoke about how being involved with his children’s AAU games and summer tournaments helped bring the passion back. That’s the type of passion that brings one to watch high school basketball games and stumble upon a player they find a connection with. According to LeBron James himself during a recent press conference, a player that sparked that feeling within him over the years is the Laker’s preseason phenom, Talen Horton-Tucker.

James told reporters, according to SB Nation’s Christian Rivas, that he stumbled upon a Simeon High School game a few years ago, the storied Chicago school where Horton-Tucker played, as well as Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, Nick Anderson, and late Simeon legend Benji Wilson, told Rich Paul that night to put him on the Klutch Sports radar.

“I saw him about three and half, four years ago,” James said of Horton-Tucker. “I was watching a high school basketball game and I happened to catch Simeon playing. And I told our agent at the time — it’s now Talen’s agent, Rich Paul — that he needs to take a look at this kid Talen Horton-Tucker that’s at Simeon. I think the kid is super talented. This was like four years ago.”

With his son Bronny being a high-level high school recruit, LeBron’s knowledge of the players coming up into the NBA will only grow, which will absolutely benefit both the Lakers and Klutch Sports.

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Dwight Howard: Ben Simmons-LeBron James comparisons are ‘very real’

Former Lakers center and new Philadelphia 76ers center Dwight Howard believes comparisons between Ben Simmons and LeBron James are apt.

Pretty much ever since Ben Simmons burst onto the basketball scene as a youngster, comparisons to LeBron James were always the easiest thing. A big point guard who moves faster in the open court than anyone else and possesses an incredible vision and passing ability made it very easy to compare Simmons to James. But just because it’s easy doesn’t make it wrong. And while Simmons has had his own struggles, mostly due to injury over the past few years, his newest teammate believes the comparison is just.

New 76ers center and former Lakers center Dwight Howard was asked about the Simmons-James comparisons, which he believes are very apt, according to Ky Carlin of the SixersWire.

“It’s a very real comparison, and I’ve been seeing this for a couple years,” said Howard on Wednesday. “Ben Simmons is a young LeBron who’s developing an overall game. I love the way he plays, I love how unselfish he is, and how mean he can be to other teams and that’s important. When you have your point guard coming down, dunking on people, flexing, getting big rebounds, talking trash, doing all those things, it drives you to want to be better.”

…

“Watching him over the years, I see it,” Howard added. “He has an opportunity to be one of the greatest to ever play the game, and I’m glad I have the opportunity to actually give him some things that can help him along the way.”

Simmons and the Sixers have some increased expectations after hiring new head coach Doc Rivers, as well as some of the other moves made by new President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey.

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Social media wowed by how big Bronny looks next to his Dad LeBron

Photos from a pre-Thanksgiving workout with LeBron James and Bronny James had people talking on social media.

Before yesterday’s Thanksgiving holiday, the James family once again had people talking. This time, it was a workout with LeBron James and his son Bronny just before heading into the holiday and some pictures that show a growing Bronny looking a lot bigger these days.

First, it was this photo of Bronny and Big Bron with their trainers that got people talking as Bronny is looking almost as big as his Dad.

The workout photos also had people making some hilarious posts and comparisons. The memes from the father-son workout were plentiful.

Including calls by some for Bronny to simply start being referred to as LeBron James Jr.

Bronny is looking more like his Dad these days and while he still has a long way to go, he’s clearly following the right advice. Of course, Bronny’s Sierra Canyon has been playing in some tournaments as team “CBC,” but high school sports still haven’t gone quite back to normal in California.

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Spurs wing Lonnie Walker chooses Klutch Sports for representation

Klutch Sports added yet another promising young player on the cusp of a major payday.

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Klutch Sports has been very busy in the lead up to what is going to be the fastest and most compressed offseason period in NBA history. Never before in the modern history of the league, not even after the 2011 lockout, has the league seen the NBA Draft, Free Agency and the start of training camp start all within a span of fewer than 12 days. On Wednesday, just a week before the NBA Draft where they have several players who expect to be first-round picks, Spurs wing Lonnie Walker was announced as the latest young player to join Klutch Sports Group.

Walker had a bigger role than ever before during the seeding games in Orlando, playing 27.6 minutes per game, shooting both 40 percent from the 3-point line on 3.8 attempts per game, 40% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line. He averaged 11.3 points per game, three rebounds, and just under three assists per game for the Spurs, who went 5-3 in their eight games in Orlando.

Walker, if he keeps this up, is due for a sizable payday when he enters restricted free agency in the summer of 2022.

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Timetable for Lonzo Ball’s potential extension with New Orleans Pelicans becomes clearer after league sets start date

With the start date of the 2020-21 season set, the deadline for extension talks between Lonzo Ball and New Orleans Pelicans is also set.

The NBA and player’s association coming to an agreement to start the season on Dec. 22 not only guarantees the start of the 2020-21 campaign but also paints a clearer preliminary picture for other dates important in the off-season. With the 2020 NBA Draft slated for Nov. 18, there will be little more than a month between an event that typically is the unofficial start of the off-season and the start of the regular season.

While the main focus for most has been when free agency would start, another undercovered aspect is when players will become rookie extension eligible. Specifically to the Pelicans, this applies to both Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.

Typically, extension talks can begin at the start of the moratorium, usually on or around July 1. Those talks would typically continue until the night before the season started. This season, those dates could be more fluid with some discussions of free agency starting immediately after the NBA Draft and extension talks potentially lasting past opening night of the season.

Ball and the Pelicans’ extension talks will certainly be interesting. During the season, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin noted that Ball wanted to remain with the franchise. Aside from that, though, there have been no other reports regarding extension talks between Ball and New Orleans.

Nailing down the number for Ball’s extension is a difficult task given how much he struggled in his first two seasons prior to his big breakout season in New Orleans. Ultimately, the Pelicans don’t have to agree to a deal with Ball this off-season. The franchise opted not to do so with Brandon Ingram last summer and still look primed to agree to a big deal with him this off-season.

Ball signing with Klutch Sports signaled that he is ready for a big payday. Whether the Pelicans and him can agree to it this off-season will be an interesting matter to monitor.

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NBA agents are mad at Rich Paul for hosting a Pro Day for his rookies

Here we go again.

Another week, another complaint about how Rich Paul and Klutch Sports are conducting their business.

Klutch Sports hosted a live Pro Day for Georgia’s Anthony Edwards and Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey — two players they’re representing in this upcoming NBA draft.

The Pro Day was nationally televised live on ESPN 2 Thursday night. Other Klutch clients including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Trae Young and Draymond Green were all in attendance to watch the workout.

That, apparently, is a problem according to other NBA agents.

Other agents are taking issue with some “unwarranted exposure” being given to Edwards and Maxey, according to reporting from the New York Post’s Marc Berman.

According to a source, some agents were unhappy with the setup, feeling it was unwarranted exposure for Paul’s clients, but the NBA let it go on.

That’s the complaint? Give me a break. It sounds like agents are complaining just to complain at this point.

Look, this workout very clearly skirts the rules passed down by the NBA on how teams are supposed to do their pre-draft scouting process. Per the Athletic’s Shams Charania, players are supposed to conduct in-market pre-draft workouts with the NBA market closest to them.

They’ll record a 45-minute workout video, go through medical, strength and agility testing and then get to interview with teams virtually later on.

So this workout broadcast nationally on ESPN gives teams a bit of extra tape on both Edwards and Maxey. That is absolutely an advantage. But there’s also nothing in the NBA’s rules that says this is wrong.

There are better complaints to make here than “unwarranted exposure.” You could argue that certain teams with players in the building (looking at you, Warriors) might be getting an eye on these guys early. Still wouldn’t quite buy that as a problem, but you can argue it.

But unwarranted exposure? That’s a complaint just to complain. And it’s what agents just keep doing with Rich Paul and Klutch.

Just last week an agent anonymously complained in The Athletic about Paul’s relationship with LeBron James. This week, another is complaining about how Paul has clients working out on ESPN 2. Next week, who knows?

This reads as jealousy, as Stephen A. Smith pointed out last week.

The bottom line is that Paul is just the best agent in the game right now. He has the leverage, power and connections to pull off things that have never been done before. And, rightfully, he’s using it.

Instead of complaining about it, other agents should find a way to replicate it.

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