Categories
Coaches Sports Agents

The NBA Coach Carousel

The New York Times is also taking note of Lonnie Cooper‘s unfortunate start to the 2008/09 NBA season.  As I previously mentioned, all six NBA coaches fired so far this year are Career Sports & Entertainment clients.  Not exactly something you want to deal with around the Holidays, but Lonnie knows that this business cares little about making life convenient and that work must be done at all times.  I know Lonnie and the rest of the crew at CS&E will rebound, even though you better believe that his competitors will use the firings to their advantage when going after potential new clients.

Lonnie can respond by showing what he has done for a guy like Nate McMillan, who had just finished a successful season coaching the Seattle Supersonics when I first stepped foot into the CS&E office in Atlanta.  McMillan’s contract with the team was up and he was weighing his available options.  McMillan was being courted by a variety of teams, including the Sonics, but ended up picking the Trailblazers, with the advice of everyone at CS&E.  Think he is regretting that decision?  I bet McMillan would refer others to Lonnie even though six of his clients have been fired in this young season.

When the 2008/09 NBA season kicked off, Lonnie Cooper led all agents in number of NBA head coaches represented.  That title is now owned by Warren LeGarie, who represents a total of seven head coaches.  LeGarie got his start with SFX and is now alongside Arn Tellem, BJ Armstrong, and others at WMG.  NBA regulations prohibit agents from representing both coaches and players, so LeGarie works with the coaches while Tellem and Armstrong handle the players.  However, Warren serves as the primary agent for a couple of overseas players (Travis Best and Jerome Allen).  LeGarie also founded the NBA Las Vegas Summer League about five years ago.  Not a bad guy to know.

After LeGarie and Cooper, there is a big drop in the power of coach agents.  Joe Glass has a couple of head coach clients, but Cooper and LeGarie have been the big names for a while now.  Will any new coach agents step up in the near future and join the ranks of LeGarie and Cooper?

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.