Basketball's biggest power player, Rich Paul, is expanding his footprint into the south. Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter covered the story of UTA (United Talent Agency) and its sister company Klutch Sports Group opening a new office in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to the story:
The new office will be led by UTA partners Steve Cohen and Arthur Lewis with Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul, who also serves as head of UTA Sports and a partner of the agency.
Last summer, Omar Wilkes was named head of basketball for Klutch Sports, which allows Paul to make the sort of larger moves.
Not only does Klutch Sports represent the biggest names in basketball - LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, and Draymond Green, just to name a few. But the agency already represents a few Atlanta Hawks players. Klutch Sports snagged Trae Young and Cam Reddish away from Octagon and recently signed rookie Jalen Johnson.
So how does this impact the Hawks? We don't know yet. In the official statement, UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer called Atlanta an “epicenter of sports, music, art, business, and culture". If they truly believe that, then the Big Peach could become an attractive destination for major free agents.
The NBA is a players league first and foremost, but powerful agents drive it. They have the ability to steer their clients in certain directions, and front offices must respect the new dynamic. Although we do not know how this will affect the Hawks, it is undoubtedly an exciting time in Atlanta.
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