Hearing about the level of latitude James Harden says he granted the Sixers in his contract negotiations reminded me of a little-known tale stemming from Miami’s attempts to convince LeBron James to stay on South Beach in the 2014 offseason before James decided to go home to Cleveland for a second stint with the Cavaliers. That summer, Miami’s Pat Riley and noted Heat front-office strategist Andy Elisburg hosted James’ agent Rich Paul and longtime NBA agent and attorney Mark Termini, then the lead negotiator for Klutch Sports, for a meeting to discuss what the Heat could do roster-wise depending on various contract constructions … and to see if there was any way James’ representatives would agree to something less than a maximum deal to afford the Heat more financial flexibility for roster building.
Tag: Mark Termini
LeBron James, Klutch Sports among few NBAers who get most of contract by April
Klutch Sports players appear to be in better shape when it comes to getting their remaining game checks for the 2019-20 season.
As the vast majority of NBA players are facing an uncertain future when it comes to getting their game checks with a stoppage in games, several Klutch Sports players are some of the few players in the NBA who will have received a majority of their 2019-20 contract money before April 1, with most players in the NBA not being guaranteed payment beyond the first of the month due to a “force majeure” clause in the league’s collective bargaining agreement that is designed for emergencies.
Marc Stein of the New York Times has the details that the majority of the league is on a 12-month payment schedule, save for nine players, including Lakers star LeBron James, teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and other Klutch players such as All-Star guard John Wall. Those players get 90% of their season salary paid to them by April 1, which is currently the last day that players are guaranteed to get paid. Warriors star forward Draymond Green has a similarly negotiated contract, but that won’t kick in until next season, per Stein.
The nine Klutch players are naturally led by LeBron James and include John Wall, Kentavious-Caldwell Pope, Dejounte Murray, Miles Bridges, Darius Bazley, Darius Garland, Terrance Ferguson and Trey Lyles. Next season it will be 10 when Draymond Green’s contract extension kicks in
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 31, 2020
According to USA TODAY SPORTS MEDIA GROUP’s cap expert Yossi Gozlan, that means that most of the league have not even received a majority of their game checks.
The standard 12-month payment plan begins on November 15 and pays on the 1st and 15th of every month (https://t.co/31nVl81Fp8).
This would mean that as of April 1, 90% of players will have received 42% of their salaries (10 out of 24 payments). https://t.co/2YVgyrGShC
— Yossi Gozlan (@YoggiMane) March 31, 2020
When the NBA first announced their hiatus, Blazers guard CJ McCollum forecasted a scenario when players start to miss checks during an episode to his podcast where he was joined by Carmelo Anthony. That scenario appears to be coming to pass, which is unsettling news for much of the league that depends on game checks. While there are a select few players who have endorsement deals that can pay them, the rank and file player doesn’t have those type of deals.
Although LeBron and John Wall are stars, other players much lower on the player totem pole in the NBA world have appeared to have it better than most in the league when it comes to not waiting on most of the money they are owed.
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Marc Stein: Nine who secured these …
Marc Stein: Nine who secured these all-you-can-get deals, which pay out 90-plus percent of their 2019-20 salaries by April 1, are represented by Klutch Sports on contracts structured and negotiated by agent Rich Paul and attorney Mark Termini. The nine Klutch players are naturally led by LeBron James and include John Wall, Kentavious-Caldwell Pope, Dejounte Murray, Miles Bridges, Darius Bazley, Darius Garland, Terrance Ferguson and Trey Lyles. Next season it will be 10 when Draymond Green’s contract extension kicks in.
“Buyouts are usually misunderstood by …
“Buyouts are usually misunderstood by the player, and many times by the agent as well,” Termini told RealGM. “I’m open-minded, but I have not yet been presented with a situation where the benefits of the buyout outweigh the current and potential negatives to the player. Maybe I will see something in the future that makes sense. If a team wants to move on from a player, they always have the right to waive that player.”