[Abbott] Giannis was close to firing his longtime agent Alex Saratsis over his failure to get Giannis traded from the Bucks… multiple sources agree–has been talking to Giannis’s brother Thanasis as of late. Rich (Paul), it seems clear, would like to represent Giannis
[Abbott] Giannis was close to firing his longtime agent Alex Saratsis over his failure to get Giannis traded from the Bucks… multiple sources agree–has been talking to Giannis’s brother Thanasis as of late. Rich (Paul), it seems clear, would like to represent Giannis
Last week, someone very well placed in the business told me something alarming about Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis is generally seen as a good guy, a thoughtful guy, one of the truly nice and kind people in the NBA sphere. He has had one team and one agent since he was drafted as a teenager in 2013.
So it was alarming to hear a story of real drama, that Giannis was close to firing his longtime agent Alex Saratsis over his failure to get Giannis traded from the Bucks.
This is a very tricky topic, for a number of reasons. One of them is that both the Bucks and Giannis have been keeping up appearances. Even after he left Friday’s game with an injury he expects to keep him out for 4-6 weeks, Giannis talked to the media about making the playoffs with the Bucks this year. (That was a few hours after Shams Charania reported that “the writing is on the wall” for Giannis and the Bucks.)
Also, a client like Giannis is worth a ton of money to an agent, and so there are always sources suggesting a star and his agent are at odds with each other—the hubbub might create an opening for someone else to move in.
And in this case, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports not only has a tendency to talk about Giannis, but also–multiple sources agree–has been talking to Giannis’s brother Thanasis as of late. Rich, it seems clear, would like to represent Giannis, and (despite what’s happening with Anthony Davis in Dallas) is said to have been making the case that he’s the guy who can get a star player where he wants to go.
Two excellent NBA sources suggest that this kind of agent subterfuge is a constant undertone of NBA life, and it’s not worth worrying about. Two others believe there’s a very real chance that Giannis will soon have a new agent.
The Players Association confirms on Monday: Alex Saratsis is Giannis’ agent. Teams who are trying to trade for Giannis continue to call Saratsis.
Of note: the rules for swapping agents changed last year. If a player sends an agent a termination letter, they used to have a 15-day waiting period before a new agent could take over. But now that is only seven days, meaning that it’s still possible, under the rules, that Giannis could have a new agent by the February 5 trade deadline. As that’s next Thursday, Giannis still has a couple of days to make a decision if he wants a new agent.
The subtext of all this, though, is about getting out of Milwaukee. And that’s where everyone I spoke to agrees: whether it ends next week, or in the summer, the Bucks and their star know it’ll end soon. The reason that might sound surprising is because, like with Damian Lillard in Portland, neither party wants to look like the bad guy in public. And so everyone pretends the marriage is fine, when in reality divorce is assured.
Source: https://www.truehoop.com/p/has-giannis-played-his-last-game