Finding an Agent
June 15, 2009 by Andrew Nicholson
A year ago, Jason Thompson was in the midst of 20-plus pre-Draft workouts showcasing his ability to NBA teams. Like many of the prospects who stayed in this year’s Draft, as the Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline passed at 2 p.m. PST today, he opted to hire an agent.
To gain perspective on how Thompson hired an agent as well as the role his agent played in his pre-Draft workouts, we caught up with the Kings rookie forward for insight.
“Number one,” Thompson said of hiring an agent. “You talk to other people who’ve had experience with him. People you trust. Hopefully, you can get that bond with them. I was fortunate enough to have a bond with mine, and everything went smoothly on from there.”
While Thompson was fortunate to find a player-agent connection, it isn’t the norm.
“Nowadays, guys usually go with agents just because of their name, and they don’t have a real relationship with them,” Thompson said. “For the younger guys, they say, ‘Go with an agent you’re comfortable with, feel comfortable around, feel supported by, get along with and make sure they’re on the same page (as you).
“Some guys hire an agent and they don’t even have a guaranteed job. The agent is making money off them but why pay your agent, if you don’t have a job? So you have to be smart with your agent decisions in general.”
While agents have a reputation for handling financial matters, they play an integral role in the pre-Draft process.
“My agent, Andre Buck, is really supportive, and Leon Rose with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) Sports really helped me out on scheduling the workouts because, obviously, you can’t plan them last minute. So everything was planned, but once I started doing well additional workouts were planned.”
Along with scheduling workouts, his agent made sure he had everything in place to succeed in each city.
“You have to have hotels and food situated,” Thompson said. “And if there’s a change of plans, (the agent makes sure) everything goes smoothly. Once you have a good relationship with your agent, you can’t talk to him just once in awhile, you have to continue to hit him up, maybe once an hour, just to make sure things are going smoothly.”
With the pre-Draft process and his rookie season in the review mirror, Thompson is working hard in the weight room and on the practice court to make sure his second season in the NBA goes even smoother.
After the season ended, Thompson returned to the East Coast where he has worked out, often twice daily, to improve all aspects of his strength and game. Now he’s brought his off-season workout regimen to Sacramento where he is working out with Kings Strength and Conditioning Coach Daniel Shapiro for the next two-plus weeks.
Stay tuned for more news on your favorite Kings players all off-season on Full Court Press.
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