What kind of help can James agent Ritchie Paul bring to Hansen Yang?

In the past two days, Yang Hansen has become the most concerned focus of Chinese fans. His every move in the United States has deeply touched the hearts of Chinese fans. Regarding his draft prospects, I saw a particularly interesting message in the fans' replies. He said: "Yang Hansen's agent is Ritchie Paul. Ritchie Paul has a way in the NBA. It is a foregone conclusion that Yang Hansen was selected." Does Noqi Paul really have such great energy? Today's Star Test will give you a brief analysis of what help Ricci Paul can bring to Yang Hansen.

First, let me introduce Ritchie Paul, who has multiple identities, one of the members of James' LRMR Four Horsemen's team (the other two are Maverette Carter and Randy Meims), James' good brother and agent, clutch agency founder and executive president, and the husband of British pop singer Adele. He transformed from a poor boy to a domineering president and married a white and rich beauty because of his fate changed by getting to know James.

In March 2002, Paul met James while selling jerseys at Cleveland Airport. At that time, James and Paul were both wearing a jersey of rugby star Warren Moon. The difference was that James was wearing a pirated version, while Paul was genuine. James had questions about this. Then the two started a communication. Because Paul's professionalism of the jersey made James trust. He bought several jerseys from Paul and invited him to play at his home. Later, after contact, the two found that they were interested in each other and met too late. Since then, they became close friends. As James continued to succeed, Paul became his right-hand man. He continued to learn and joined CAA Entertainment to learn about sports agents. In 2011, he established a clutch agency. James was his first client.

At first, clutch brokerage was despised by the American industry. They believed that this was James' personal nonsense to get rid of the constraints of his agents. However, later it turned out that they underestimated Paul's personal abilities. After more than ten years of development, clutch brokerage has become one of the most powerful brokerage companies in the United States, with more than 50 basketball players and more than 20 football players.

The power and ability of agents is their personal relationship with NBA team management and head coaches. Sometimes some teams and agents have a very good relationship. Agents can bring job opportunities to their players through private relationships. For example, Chinese center Bart recalled that he joined the Denver Nuggets through the private relationship of agents. Therefore, if you want to play in the NBA, finding the right agent can really achieve twice the result with half the effort.

We join the team through Paul's active NBA players to see which teams he has business dealings with, Lakers 3, Hornets 3, Bulls 3, Bucks 3, Cavaliers 2, Mavericks 2, Warriors 2, Pelicans 2, Magic 2, 76ers 2, Trail Blazers 2, Kings 2, Raptors 2, Jazz 2, Nets 1, Pistons 1, Rockets 1, Clippers 1, Grizzlies 1, Hots 1, Timberwolves 1, and Spurs 1.

Through the distribution, it can be seen that Paul currently has business dealings with 22 NBA teams, and the four teams, Lakers, Hornets, Bulls and Bucks, have the most business. What can be confirmed is that Paul has the most say in the Los Angeles Lakers. He takes James' interests as the core and often lets his players join the Lakers at lower than the market price. I remember that at the peak, six players on the team were Paul's clients, and he now has the worst relationship with the New York Knicks. The current manager of the New York Knicks is Leon Ross, James' second agent. The two sides broke up due to the disagreement of James' decision to join the Heat, so Paul will not recommend his clients to the New York Knicks.

But many people use this to accuse Paul of Paul of his overuse of James' influence. At the same time, some team owners clearly expressed that they did not like Paul because he was very strong in the negotiation of player contracts. In the renewal negotiations between Thompson, Bledsoe, and John Wall, the team negotiators complained to the media that Paul was decisive and had no room for negotiation. From the perspective of the players, he was fighting for the best interests of the players, but from the perspective of the management, he was a difficult blackmailer. Of course, he could not be so strong in the draft stage, after all, he was a commodity salesman at this time.

Paul is very good at using the media. Whether in terms of player contract renewal or rookie players, the two sides were in a deadlock when he negotiated with the Cavaliers to renew Thompson. Then he used the media to continuously put pressure on the Cavaliers' management to promote Thompson as an indispensable part of the Cavaliers, and James also spoke out for support on social media.

Last year, he helped Brownie join the Lakers to complete the father-son same stage, which also made many management in the league feel dissatisfied. The management does not disagree with James' father-son same stage plan, but Paul clearly informed other teams through the media before the draft that if they dared to choose Brownie, Brownie would not join, and would even go to overseas leagues. When Davis joined the Lakers, he even revealed through the media that he would not go without the Lakers and directly persuaded other teams in the league to withdraw. This blatant attitude made many management feel that he did not respect the rules of the game..

But Yang did not seem to have used media hype. Unlike the hot reports of Yang Hansen by Chinese media, the US media has a very low discussion of Yang Hansen. I searched the American website carefully. The SI Sports Illustrated website introduced Yang Hansen in March. The "Bucks Behind" website introduced that the Bucks may choose three strange faces in the draft, including Yang Hansen. The MSN website reported that the Bucks may choose Yang Hansen, who is similar to Bogut's style. Paul has recently cooperated with the Bucks very closely. In 2023, he successfully operated Chris Livingston was selected by the Bucks. Last year, his subordinates Trent Jr. and Prince both joined the Bucks as reinforcements. The Bucks have the 47th pick in the second round this year. My feeling is that Paul is sure to operate Yang Hansen to join the Bucks. Of course, the specific situation remains to be seen.

In addition to speculation, we still have to see which teams will have a demand for center position in this draft, and integrate data from several major mainstream websites in the United States.

Tankathon draft website predicts that 10 teams, Raptors, Wizards, Hawks, Celtics, Warriors, Thunder, Bucks, Lakers, and Magic will choose center players.

Nba draft website predicts that 9 teams, including Rockets, Trail Blazers, Pacers, Pistons, Spurs, Magic, Bucks, Clippers and Thunder, will choose center players.

ESPN website predicts that 15 teams, Pelicans, Raptors, Trail Blazers, Nets, Jazz, Hawks, Suns, Timberwolves, Hornets, Pistons, Spurs, Warriors, Grizzlies, Cavaliers, and Magic will choose center players.

Yahoo Sports predicts that 10 teams, including Nets, Raptors, Wizards, Pacers, Celtics, Timberwolves, Kings, Thunder, New York, and Cavaliers, will choose center players.

The ringer website only predicts the first round. The 8 teams of Wizards, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Timberwolves, Nets, Hawks, Pacers, and Celtics will choose center players.

Cbs sport website only predicts the first round. The Bulls, Spurs, Pacers, Nets, Clippers, Raptors, Jazz, Magic, and Celtics will choose center players.

It can be seen that the predictions of major websites are not the same. In summary, the more popular ones are the Magic, Nets, and Raptors will have a high probability of choosing center players. Among them, the Nets are a team that many Chinese media mentioned that Yang Hansen has a probability of joining. After all, the team has Chinese elements, and there was a successful case of Cui Yongxi last year.

I also found a particularly interesting situation, that is, in the predictions of major websites, everyone knows that the Los Angeles Lakers, who hold the 55th pick, have serious shortage of centers, but in the predictions of major websites, they do not think that the Lakers will choose centers in the draft.

When Yang Hansen announced the hiring of Paul as agent, many fans were looking forward to Yang joining the Lakers. Then I would like to briefly analyze whether this vision can be realized. First of all, the possibility is not high. Even if the Lakers use the 55-plus pick to choose a center, given the current environment in which the team is located, they still want to compete for the championship, so this draft pick has a high probability of choosing a real-time center. Yang Hansen's selling point is still in terms of potential. At the same time, Yang needs to hold the ball to show his power inside. With the current competitive environment of the Los Angeles Lakers, there is no room for him to grow.

On the contrary, another center player under Paul, the Russian-born Vladislav Goldin, is simply tailor-made for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is 24 years old this year. He averaged 16.6 points and 7 rebounds per game at the University of Michigan in 24-25. He was selected as the first team of the Big Ten Division and was shortlisted for the best center candidate for the American college. He is very suitable for the Lakers' play in terms of pick-and-roll and defense. He is a very practical soon-to-play center in this draft.

Follow this topic, let's take a closer look at how Paul's acting center players performs. He currently has a total of 7 center clients and has little experience in international player agency. The most well-known agent for NBA acting international players is Bill Duffy, who is the agent of top international stars such as Yao Ming, Nash, Dragic, and Doncic. Paul has been the only center client in 2011 for many years since he founded the company. He has not had a second center client until 2019. Nurkic, who changed jobs in the middle, followed by Levley II in 2023.

Currently, the seven center clients are Tristan Thompson, Nurkic, Levley II, Raptors Ulrich Chomchi, Hansen Yang, Vladislav Goldin, and Bassala Bagayoko. Let's first look at the draft of the top four players who have joined the NBA. Nurkic is not representative in half-way. Thompson's fourth pick in the first round is the most successful case. Levley II's 12th pick in the first round is also developing well. Chomchi is the 57th pick in the second round and is currently a water dispenser administrator. It can be seen that Paul's acting centers have been selected. The latest clients are Hansen Yang and Vladislav Goldin, and Bassala-Bagyoko is a potential client. He will not have the chance to participate in the draft until next year.

The blacksmith must be strong himself, and gold will always shine. I hope Yang Hansen can be successfully elected and continue the record of Paul's center customer being selected.