Adrian Wojnarowski is notorious for dropping his “Woj Bombs” on Twitter breaking NBA news regarding trades, free agents, personnel moves, etc. This morning, he dropped the following:
The NBPA sent out a memo to players that ASM Sports president Andy Miller has “relinquished his NBPA agent certification.” He was representing Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Lowry, among dozens of others. He also represented Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett in past.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 6, 2017
While this may come as a shock to some, to others this is the culmination of a few months of events, starting in September. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged 10 people with crimes including bribery and fraud involving college basketball. The same day, the FBI issued a warrant and seized the computer of ASM Sports President and renowned NBA agent, Andy Miller. Our very own Darren Heitner highlighted all of this in more detail in an article for Forbes, which can be read here.
Miller has been representing athletes for the past 23 years, in which he has worked with 26 NBA first round picks and negotiated over $1 billion in contracts and endorsements. After news broke surrounding the FBI probe, his clients started severing ties, not knowing what would happen if they stuck around and let the legal system work.
The “Woj bomb” this morning was confirmed by NBPA in a memo stating that Miller has “relinquished his National Basketball Players Association certification and will no longer represent players in contract negotiations.” This means that his active players, which include the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka among many others, will be agent-less until they are able to sign with new representatives. It is worth noting that all three of the aforementioned are currently adidas-endorsed athletes, and the company’s director of global sports marketing and one of Miller’s best friends, Jim Gatto, is under investigation as part of the probe.
According to Heitner’s September article, this is not the first time that Miller has had off-court legal issues.