Agent Selection Scenarios: Duke Basketball

Duke is always a lock to make the NCAA Tournament and usually a good team to pick making the Final Four in your office pool.  The school also churns out plenty of talented players who have long, successful careers in the NBA.  Here are some names of Duke alumni who have played professionally, along with their agents of record.

• Grant Hill – James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
• Christian Laettner – Lon Babby (Williams & Connolly). Babby is now the President of Basketball Operations for the Phoenix Suns.
• Elton Brand – David Falk (FAME)
• Shane Battier – James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
• Carlos Boozer – Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
• Chris Duhon – Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sports)
• Mike Dunleavy – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
• Dahntay Jones – Aaron Mintz (Priority Sports)
• Daniel Ewing – Thad Foucher (Wasserman Media Group)
• J.J. Redick – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
• Shelden Williams – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
• Corey Maggette – Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
• Luol Deng – Jason Levien (LSR). Levien became general counsel and assistant GM of the Sacramento Kings and it is likely that Deng has either hired a new agent or is still in the market for one.
• Josh McRoberts – Bob Myers (Wasserman Media Group)

This year, the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft could be coming out of Duke.  Kyrie Irving is projected to be one of the top picks in the Draft.  The talented freshman suffered a toe injury that has kept him out of much of this season.  Other Blue Devils expected to be selected are seniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler.  It is assumed that Smith will go ahead of Singler.  If Mason Plumlee decides to leave early, he could be a first rounder.

Looking at the list of Duke players along with their agents, Wasserman Media Group stands out from the pack.  Tellem, Myers, and Foucher do work!  And they also have B.J. Armstrong to assist in recruiting.  If you are not one of the big name agencies, it is doubtful that you have a shot securing a top Blue Devil.  Good luck competing against WMG, BDA, Landmark, FAME, Priority Sports, and Williams & Connolly (who takes more of a “lawyer approach” and charges by the hour up to a certain percentage of the player’s contract).