Rich Paul

Uh, we got this email from, I think we've, uh, we've talked about this, but from Pedro.

Uh, "Dear Spike, Mike, and Rich Paul, I just re-listened to the episode after the game seven win against the Celtics.

In the episode, one of you said, and the other agreed, that the series win meant both Daryl and Nick Nurse would be back next year for sure.

What do you think then sealed Daryl's fate after the series? Option one, Jared McCain ballin' in the playoffs.

[laughs]

This is actually from a friend of the show, Rich Paul.

What up, Rich? I'm gonna ask Mase this right here.

This is from a friend of the show, Rich Paul.

I know Rich is not ...

[laughs] Yeah, he is.

Rich Paul, I know.

Okay, okay.

LeBron has not explicitly said these things.

But at least from his camp, whether it's been Rich Paul on his podcast or, uh, some of the back channel reporting that has happened, there's been a little bit of that.

And it's hard to not look at that as a bit of a slight at the Lakers, and, you know, LeBron not feeling like the Lakers are truly gonna be competitive this next season or, or truly have a chance to win a championship at least.

And then from the Lakers side, the Lakers have played this, I think, well publicly.

Some of today's biggest athletes are choosing New Balance, and not necessarily because New Balance offered them the biggest check.

So what are athletes actually looking for from a brand, and what happens when an endorsement becomes something more? I sat with Klutch Athletics founder and CEO Rich Paul, five-time Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas, and New Balance CMO and brand president Chris Davis to find out why.

I'm Linda Boff, and you're listening to A Different Take.

[upbeat music] I have to tell you, Rich, I'm so struck by your long-term thinking and view and patience in a world where, you know, we see a lot of news stories that are about the price of an endorsement and the money side of things.

All the optimism about, you know, LeBron potentially signing with the Warriors stemmed from Draymond opting out of his player option just prior to free agency.

And the idea that that was done in conjunction with LeBron and obviously their shared agent in Rich Paul and LeBron And Draymond would have seen it as a way to solidify his future with the franchise beyond just this season, because he would have likely got a longer-term tour three-year deal at a lower annual salary, which, of course, he could still be traded in that aspect, but it becomes a whole lot more difficult to trade Draymond Green, who's probably not worth anything.

$20 million, but still would have got $20 million.

I would have thought maybe 20 million annually on a two or three year deal that suddenly becomes more difficult to trade.

People already been having an issue with him.

I remember when Rich Paul made the comment about Rashard McCann.

You think they was happy having that dude on the show? Be for real.

You think so? Rich Paul, they be responding to podcasters and all.

You think he was cool with Rashard McCann? having his own opinions that didn't go along with the entire panel? Of course not.

Why? Because he was on a big platform saying things they don't agree with.

The downside to having an agent who has a number of clients and a number of high profile clients is if you're in a situation, and we'll use Jalen Duren as an example, if you're in a situation that Jalen Duren is in and he has a higher profile agent, you start to wonder where you are in the pecking order, so to speak.

Like if Rich Paul was his agent, man, how much time did you waste on getting my deal done because you were doing podcasts and trying to get LeBron to Philadelphia or to wherever? You start to ask those questions about where you rank on that person's priority list.

This is the case in professional sports.

This is the case in Hollywood.

You know that.

You're a focal point of your agent's attention.

The problem is that agent, because they only have a small number of clients, they don't have the relationships that the bigger agents have, that Rich Paul has, that Bill Duffy has, that all of those guys have.

They don't have it.