The following interview was conducted by Matthew Hochberg. The subjects of the interview are Daniel Hazan, CEO & Founder of Hazan Sports Management and Josh Wildes, Vice President of the agency. HSM was founded following the summer of 2013.
Matthew Hochberg: Do you find it challenging competing for clients against agents who have been in the industry for several years? How is Hazan Sports Management different from other agencies?
Daniel Hazan: It is definitely a challenge, especially in the beginning. However, it is important to note that other well-known agencies represent a lot of top-notch players while their smaller players could tend to fall between the cracks. The players that we sign, to us, are all superstars, and we give each of them 110% of our focus.
Matthew Hochberg: Where are your clients playing?
Daniel Hazan: Some of our players are playing in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Mongolia, Mexico and the NBA Development League.
Matthew Hochberg: You recently signed Aquille Carr, the No. 50 overall player in the 2013 college recruiting class (according to ESPN), who was waived by the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Developmental League in early January. What are your plans for him moving forward?
Daniel Hazan: Aquille is going to declare for the 2014 NBA Draft in the near future. Until that point, we will have him going through rigorous and professional training to prepare him both physically and mentally for the NBA.
Matthew Hochberg: Currently, all of your clients are basketball players; as the company continues to grow, will you consider expanding to players of other sports?
Daniel Hazan: Basketball right now is our number one priority and passion. However, once we continue to grow exponentially, other sports are an option that we will consider looking into.
Matthew Hochberg: How did you handle your first contract negotiation?
Daniel Hazan: As the founder and CEO of Java Ads, inc., I had experience dealing with contract negotiations, and this process was not much different.
Matthew Hochberg: What are your future goals as a sports agent?
Daniel Hazan: My future goal is to help as many players as I can reach their dreams.
Now we turn to Josh Wildes, VP of HSM:
Matthew Hochberg: How did you originally get started with Hazan Sports Management?
Josh Wildes: Daniel and I have known each other for number of years. Once Daniel started HSM, he added Andrew Wakschlag, our General Manager, and myself to the team. Andrew is a very good writer and he specializes in writing about the NBA. He is looking to publish an analytical book he wrote about the NBA in a month or so. Additionally, Andrew administrates several NBA related Facebook groups that have over one million ‘likes’ in total.
Matthew Hochberg: As Vice President of the agency, what exactly are your duties on a day-to-day basis?
Josh Wildes: Part of my responsibility as Vice President is to keep up with the players, coaches, and teams in order to pursue and retain jobs for our clients.
Matthew Hochberg: On behalf of Sports Agent Blog and all of our readers, I would like to thank Mr. Hazan and Mr. Wildes for sharing their insight with us. You can check out the company website at http://www.hazansportsmgmt.com and follow them on Instagram here.