With the hiring of Jason Kidd, his agent Jeff Schwartz has become an even powerful player in the Nets fortunes. He has no official title, of course, but Schwartz's Excel Management now represents the Nets' head coach, their franchise player, all their point guards and one of their two Euro-Stashed players. His role with the Nets is unmatched by any agent anywhere in the NBA.
It's not that the Nets are unhappy with him ... or the situation. Schwartz, in fact, played critical roles in two franchise-shaping moves over the past year. Nets officials say he was helpful both in re-signing D-Will and bringing Kidd on board as coach.
Schwartz, however, is not the only superagent to play a big role in the Nets. Arn Tellem, the lead agent at Wasserman Media Group, reps three other Nets and in fact, his clients made twice as much as Schwartz's last year and with Jerry Stackhouse and C.J. Watson unlikely to be back, the disparity could grow this year.
But by repping the team's two most important "players" in Kidd and Williams, Schwartz plays a more significant role than Tellem.
Here's an updated and revised list of who represented who on the Nets this season, broken down by agency, according to Hoopshype's agent lists and other sources. If it needs updating, you can be sure we will hear from the agents.
Jeff Schwartz, Excel Sports Management
--Deron Williams, Jerry Stackhouse, Mirza Teletovic, C.J. Watson, Tyshawn Taylor.
Notes: The Nets have a great relationshiip with Jeff Schwartz who represents five Nets as well as their 2012 second round pick, Ilkan Karaman. Schwartz also reps the two point guards who preceded D-Will in New Jersey, Jason Kidd and Devin Harris as well as Paul Pierce, Blake Griffin, Tyson Chandler and Lamar Odom. .
Arn Tellem, Wasserman Media Group.
--Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries
Notes: Bob Myers was Brook and Robin's agent then joined the Warriors' front office. Wasserman and Excel are the two biggest NBA agencies. The agency also represents the Collins twins. Tellem's son, Matt, works in the Nets' front office. Humphries switched from Dan Fegan to Tellem after Fegan negotiated his deal with Billy King.
Rob Pelinka, Landmark Sports Agency
--Gerald Wallace
Notes: Until recently Pelinka represents four members of Team USA: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and James Harden. He lost Durant to Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports. Formerly represented Jordan Farmar.
Dan Fegan, Lagardere
-Keith Bogans.
Notes: At one point last season, Dan Fegan had no Nets clients, an oddity for him. Then, he regained Humphries as a client after Hump had dropped him a year or so before for Marc Cornstein. In September, Humphries dropped him again but Keith Bogans is still represented by Fegan's office. Of course, he famously represents Dwight Howard. 'Nuff said. At one point or another over a two-year period in 2009-11, Fegan represented nine Nets: Stephen Graham, Rafer Alston, Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee, Eduardo Najera, Jarvis Hayes, Quinton Ross, Troy Murphy and Humphries.
Andy Miller, ASM Sports
--Reggie Evans, Andray Blatche.
Notes: Miller is one of the most respected sports agents in the US. His biggest client is Kevin Garnett. He once worked for the Nets in the their press office. Evans has served as a mentor to Blatche during his time with the Nets. Miller also represents Ersan Ilyasova, who at one point last summer was a Nets target.
Seth Cohen, Original Creative Management
Notes: Brooks is one of Cohen's two NBA clients, Hollis Thompson of the Thunder is the other. Brooks is very loyal to Cohen and has said he and Cohen just clicked. He credits Cohen with arranging for match-ups against top shooting guard prospects like Klay Thompson and Alec Burks. Cohen represents Ricky Ledo, who like Brooks is a shooting guard out of Providence.
Guy Zucker, Zucker International
--Toko Shengelia.
Notes: Zucker convinced the Nets to let Shengelia play in the Orlando Summer League which led to his signing a two-year deal with the Nets. He has two other NBA clients, Thabo Sefolosha and Marcin Gortat, as well as a host of Euroleague players.
Marc Cornstein, Pinnacle Hoops.
--Bojan Bogdanovic.
Notes: Cornstein had previously represented Nenad Krstic, Zoran Planinic, Mile Ilic and Boki Nachbar when they played for the Nets. Humphries switched from Dan Fegan to Cornstein around the same time he got engaged to Kim Kardashian, then switched back to Fegan when Kardashian filed for divorce. Bogdanovic joins a long line of players from the former Yugoslavia who have trusted Cornstein.
Chris Luchey, CGL
--Kris Joseph
Notes: Luchey represents a number of players who often move among the NBA, D-League and international play. Among his other clients is Donte Greene who the Nets wanted to sign before he hurt his ankle in a pick-up game. His biggest client is Wilson Chandler.