An Open Letter about Player Agents

Hey guys,

I know there has been a lot of controversy in regards to player agents. Some of the feedback has been positive, some of it has been negative. There has been a lot of surprise decisions, some very drawn out negotiations, basically everything on all ends of the spectrum. I'll be the first to admit that this hasn't been smooth, it hasn't been perfect, but I'll also say that I am in a lot of ways happy with it.

Part of the problem stems from myself and Dylan. We weren't very clear with the agents because we had never been through this before. There were certain things we thought out very thoroughly and certain things we didn't think about at all. How to handle media/press releases was one of them. Time frame to sign a FA was clearly another. In retrospect, I wish we had a moratorium period. I see now why the NBA has it. That time to discuss free agents without the ability to actually sign offers and make them official would have been crucial to our free agency period here.

However, keep in mind all of the good things player agents have brought us. They brought free agency to life. Rather than submitting .tem files and praying for the best, we get to negotiate. Activity has been up. People have been commenting like crazy. And for the most part, the signings have made sense. I don't necessarily agree with everything that has happened or the way things are being done in free agency (and I'm certainly talking to the agents a lot behind the scenes. I'm sure they are sick of me by now), but I do see the logic behind everything and I do see how it all makes some sense.

So please, remember that this is still just the CSL's first time doing player agents. We are doing our best to make it as smooth as possible. Please offer constructive criticism and suggestions, not destructive comments. If you have a suggestion or a concern, make a thread about it in league ideas, or bring it directly to myself and Dylan. I do not read every single comment on this website, so some things get lost in the shuffle. I don't know about Dylan, but I'm currently spending my spring break handling player agents and creating a draft class. It's not easy work. I need you all to make this as easy as possible on myself so that we can continue to improve the process.

You are more than welcome to comment below about anything free agency related. We want to make this the best we possibly can.

Thanks,
Myles

I can't thank Myles, Dylan and the PAs for all they have done. I know it has been a rocky experience for some and, unfortunately, I haven't had much dialogue with PAs given my cap situation but the talks I have had were both thoughtful and legitimate responses. Thanks again and let's finish up this free agency period on a high note!

Thank you for the communication.  Go out and get wild or something, I'm sure the draft class can wait a day. There's some sweet Asian chick waiting to be ransacked by you lol.

I don't really know if that's happening already, but I think GMs handling PAs should be forbidden to sign their own clients. Of course, we "normal GMs haha" don't know who are handling things behind the scenes, but you guys know and can control it.
I think that a PA must have no relationship / interest with their own Clients. We have 4 agencies right now, if we add one (5 agencies, another suggestion) it means that every GM handling PAs can sign 80% of the Free Agents, as 20% will be their clients.

A suggestion for making that happen.. Make every GM handling PA send you guys a list of players he has no interest signing / no relation (bird rights, QO..). Then you guys mix it up. I'm pretty sure you're gonna get a list with 15 players the GM handling that specific agency does not wanna sign / thinks he has no chance of signing so he wouldn't even try.

I'm not saying I don't trust PAs. But every little thing you can make to raise the "integrity" of that system is valid to me. And that would help a lot.

Of course, thank you everyone that's working to improve that system. I love to negotiate, and for the very first time I feel I'm handling a NBA team, negotiating with agents for every single deal. I LOVE it.

Congrats for the idea, and thank you every one who's exposing them to critics and helping improve our great experience we're having here by handling PAs.

Marcos_Beck (OKC) wrote:I don't really know if that's happening already, but I think GMs handling PAs should be forbidden to sign their own clients. Of course, we "normal GMs haha" don't know who are handling things behind the scenes, but you guys know and can control it.
I think that a PA must have no relationship / interest with their own Clients. We have 4 agencies right now, if we add one (5 agencies, another suggestion) it means that every GM handling PAs can sign 80% of the Free Agents, as 20% will be their clients.

A suggestion for making that happen.. Make every GM handling PA send you guys a list of players he has no interest signing / no relation (bird rights, QO..). Then you guys mix it up. I'm pretty sure you're gonna get a list with 15 players the GM handling that specific agency does not wanna sign / thinks he has no chance of signing so he wouldn't even try.

I'm not saying I don't trust PAs. But every little thing you can make to raise the "integrity" of that system is valid to me. And that would help a lot.

Ironically, that was one of the first things we did when dividing up the free agent list. I guess great minds think alike.   

Sorry if we didn't make that transparent. It is a rule that we placed on the agents that they cannot sign their own clients.

Marcos_Beck (OKC) wrote:
A suggestion, we should be able to evaluate PAs work at the end of the FAP. Not for criticize them just for doing so. We need to evaluate and suggest some ways for PAs to improve. We need to help this great system improve. We can give grades from A to F for some points, like: Has PAs replied to your offers? Has PAs given you enough time to raise your offer? How would you grade PAs ability to negotiate nice deals for their players?... and so..
And at the end, we can give them some suggestions about every PA.
I love that system, it's different and it's very nice. I feel like I'm negotiating at real NBA hahaha
This is a system that, with some adjustments, some rules, and other things, as long as GMs who are running PAs are really handling business well and getting the best for their clients and not for their own Clubs, can be a differential to make this league the best one out there.

I don't know if you read that already Myles, but as you told us things can get lost, then it's worth re-posting it here where you can read it for sure.

Completely agree and there will absolutely be a performance survey sent out at the end of FA.

Sorry Miles, I know you do a hell of a lot and are under a ton of pressure, didn't mean to complain too much, it's just pretty frustrating. Majority of the PAs do a great job with press releases regarding players, then all of the sudden there's random incidents where a player is signed when he was never mentioned, which in some cases I guess is understandable. But what really bothers me is the whole Luol Deng ordeal. He was officially made available this morning..then 5 hours later was signed. Just is completely unfair to GMs who live in different time zones or weren't around in that specific time frame and makes no sense so that really set me off especially when he signed for less than what I was about to offer him. Saw the article that he was finally available for bidding...only to go into the players signed thread to see he already signed. I greatly appreciate all the work everyone is putting in, but that was just unfair to every GM who wasn't online in that 4,5 hour time frame.

I cannot fault the Agency at all in the Luol Deng signing... was it hasty, yes but stop pretending Luol Deng was only a FA for "5hrs".

That's nonsense, he's been an UFA since FA began, on GM's to check the list, GM's are responsible for knowing what's going on with FA's when the list is just a click away, no excuses period.

Great idea with the scorecard if guys fill it out, FA has been enjoyable but I will honestly resign and get a job with another organization or go in the "studio" to broadcast games if James Harden is represented by Ballers Inc and I have to negotiate with them. Their timeframe for contact is...

I understand we all have things to do irl and communicating sometimes is tough but man... they should have had the "purple property players" in the game Monopoly instead of the "Boardwalk and Park Place guys".

You aren't understanding it. Luol Deng was made available for GMs to submit offers to the agency. Not even 5 hours later, Deng signed somewhere. What about those GMs waiting to know what to do to send in a bid for Deng ?

The point is...offers couldn't be submitted or even considered for Deng until 11am. Deng was gone before 4pm. That's all I'm saying.

There are some problems, but overall they did a great work. Rush, IT and Deng are cases something gone wrong, but that wont happen again.
PAs are learning too.

Higrade (GSW) wrote:You aren't understanding it. Luol Deng was made available for GMs to submit offers to the agency. Not even 5 hours later, Deng signed somewhere. What about those GMs waiting to know what to do to send in a bid for Deng ?

The point is...offers couldn't be submitted or even considered for Deng until 11am. Deng was gone before 4pm. That's all I'm saying.

Not continuing to be argumentative and I've seen your point from the get go man, I'm saying once FA began all GM's had to do was click on the Index link, then FA link and there is a list of all FA's.

If guys were interested in signing a guy not being repped by an Agency then they could contact the Commish and say "Hey... I've noticed so and so isn't on any Agency's list of repped players but I'd like to bid on him. How can I go about doing this?"

That's my point, he has been a FA the whole entire time. I've seen him on the list and not repped by an Agency but had no interest in him, the guy I have an interest in and saw not listed I contacted the commishes about.

Deng to me is a case of, "Oh man I forgot about him, damn someone signed him". Preventable imo if the interest was there, especially for cash strapped teams.

Same as guys with cap complaining about guys going to teams for the MLE but yet they have the cap to actually offer more if they really wanted the guy but they don't. Preventable again imo.

Ok. You still don't seem to understand it. Even if I did contact a commish I wouldn't have been able to submit an offer.

He was made available for bidding and signed within 5 hours. Case closed. No one could have bid on him before then even if they wanted to, no matter who you contacted.

No I'm articulating if you contacted the commish then maybe there's a reason to be proactive and check in to see if he was added to an Agency due to an interest being had in the player, not a wait and see approach of Deng being added to an Agency by whomever was initially interested in him (perhaps Que or Lake since they were the 2 offering contracts for him) then by virtue of GM's physically seeing him added to an Agency list, then Agency article interest ensues.

What if the Agency doesn't post an article? Who would know he was added to an Agency except those initially interested which is my original point.

I think original interest and not seeing him with an Agency BUT seeing him on the FA list supersedes interest in him after Agency article.

Your point is he signed only 5 hrs after article was posted by Agency saying "Hey! Get in contact with me about this guy! Don't forget about him! He's a good player!"

My point is should it have even come to that if guys were really interested in him.

Agree to disagree likely, no worries man.

I will leave my feedback until the end of the process. Like everybody else I have some issues and concerns but also a lot of positive feedback...

I think the key is that we learn from the experience

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:No I'm articulating if you contacted the commish then maybe there's a reason to be proactive and check in to see if he was added to an Agency due to an interest being had in the player, not a wait and see approach of Deng being added to an Agency by whomever was initially interested in him (perhaps Que or Lake since they were the 2 offering contracts for him) then by virtue of GM's physically seeing him added to an Agency list, then Agency article interest ensues.

What if the Agency doesn't post an article? Who would know he was added to an Agency except those initially interested which is my original point.

I think original interest and not seeing him with an Agency BUT seeing him on the FA list supersedes interest in him after Agency article.

Your point is he signed only 5 hrs after article was posted by Agency saying "Hey! Get in contact with me about this guy! Don't forget about him! He's a good player!"

My point is should it have even come to that if guys were really interested in him.

Agree to disagree likely, no worries man.

You still don't seem to get it lmao but ok.

NOBODY could make an official offer for Deng until the article was posted saying this agency was representing him. At that moment, official offers opened up and anyone was able to make an offer to the player. It was impossible to make an official offer before that point in time. Then he signed shortly after, after the first GM made contact.

That's my point but you only seem to want to draw a line around it and somehow are convinced it was in fairness to everyone else in the league, when the simple fact is - it was fair to nobody.

I'm very happy with FAP. All of player agents have got some huge contracts. In other leagues that I play, always I have been disappointed with this period, because the last day, the signed contracts signed were a bargain. If that it was the purpose, the target is well done.

Brandon Rush for the minimum?

Who is Brandon Rush? He has the chance to win a ring, be more important?

Higrade (GSW) wrote:

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:No I'm articulating if you contacted the commish then maybe there's a reason to be proactive and check in to see if he was added to an Agency due to an interest being had in the player, not a wait and see approach of Deng being added to an Agency by whomever was initially interested in him (perhaps Que or Lake since they were the 2 offering contracts for him) then by virtue of GM's physically seeing him added to an Agency list, then Agency article interest ensues.

What if the Agency doesn't post an article? Who would know he was added to an Agency except those initially interested which is my original point.

I think original interest and not seeing him with an Agency BUT seeing him on the FA list supersedes interest in him after Agency article.

Your point is he signed only 5 hrs after article was posted by Agency saying "Hey! Get in contact with me about this guy! Don't forget about him! He's a good player!"

My point is should it have even come to that if guys were really interested in him.

Agree to disagree likely, no worries man.

You still don't seem to get it lmao but ok.

NOBODY could make an official offer for Deng until the article was posted saying this agency was representing him. At that moment, official offers opened up and anyone was able to make an offer to the player. It was impossible to make an official offer before that point in time. Then he signed shortly after, after the first GM made contact.

That's my point but you only seem to want to draw a line around it and somehow are convinced it was in fairness to everyone else in the league, when the simple fact is - it was fair to nobody.

The issue isn't about making an official offer. The issue, it appears, was that you were unaware that Luol Deng was available. I would imagine that, had you been tracking the agencies and their clients and had an interest in Deng - at least an interest half as energetic as your posting efforts since his signing - you would have reached out to the commissioners and asked for him to be represented, or at least how you could make an offer.

Now, the real issue, and one I should have been more mindful of, is giving everybody the chance to offer/participate. The truth is, I had already spoken to around 8 GMs by the time Deng made his decision.

Performance Survey would be great. There is only one agency I dont really like.. But dont want to criticize in public. So a performance Survey would be great! Overall I assume those agencies are doing great work. I like scdp.

I'd like to add some thoughts of my own regarding the PA's, as sort of an add on to what Myles wrote.

Like others have mentioned, the PA's have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start. However much of what the PA's has brought to the league has been fantastic and it's shown great potential. This league has been rocking like it never has before, and that truly says something about what the PA's can bring to the league. Changes will obviously be made to make the process smoother in the future, but a few things I've noticed after reading all the comments about all the controversies.

Being a commissioner, moderator, agent etc. is time consuming and often a difficult and thankless job. Myself, Myles, Rizzo, Sun Scorched and every player agent has taken considerable amounts of time out of their personal lives for the betterment of the league. Obviously, this was a choice of every single one of us and each of us do it for our own reasons. However some of the comments I've seen have been flat out rude and disrespectful towards agents and even towards the admin team who work hard for your enjoyment.

The agents have stepped into a very difficult and demanding job, while getting nothing in return. Each agent has entertained offers for a minimum of 15 players from up to 30 teams. Each agent has taken on this responsibility and workload for the enjoyment of each and every GM, as they love and support the league. To get hated on, disrespected and insulted for making your experience as a CSL GM better? Not very fair sounding to me on the agents behalf.

As I previously mentioned, the PA's have brought great activity, excitement and a whole new look to CSL that hopefully can last for a long time. However, in order for it all to work, each and every GM has to be committed and act in an appropriate manner, or else exciting but taxing jobs like PA's will not be able to work.

This is no shot at anyone directly, or even a shot at all. But it needs to be known that each and every one of us works very hard, very often to make this the best possible league it could be. Being insulting and disrespectful towards those who do that for your enjoyment, just simply isn't the right thing to do.

The commissioners will continue to oversee PA's, making sure everything is done correctly and as fair as possible. This can be the start of a new, exciting beginning in CSL. We are committed to making this the best league for you, but expect to be treated fairly in return. We will make sure to hear and will value everyone's opinions and ideas to improve PA's in the future, and look forward to the growth of the league and PA system in the future.

I'll save my comments until after. As above, positives and negatives but negatives mainly from it being the first year I assume.

For now I didnt see any rude comments, only criticism. If you decide to accept being a PA you should be able to handle criticism. And criticism should be allowed. Especially if signings like Williams ("wants to play for a winner" with below 40 in the "Play for winner" attitude), Deng (below MLE), Rush (min), IT (re offer problem) take place. I believe all the criticism was constructive criticism.

DennisJ (BOS) wrote:For now I didnt see any rude comments, only criticism. If you decide to accept being a PA you should be able to handle criticism. And criticism should be allowed. Especially if signings like Williams ("wants to play for a winner" with below 40 in the "Play for winner" attitude), Deng (below MLE), Rush (min), IT (re offer problem) take place. I believe all the criticism was constructive criticism.

There's a fine line between criticism and flat out disrespectful. Criticism is obviously okay and encouraged, but there were some comments I read that were just disrespectful and rude.

I enjoyed all my dealings and the back-and-forth with the agents, even if Luke Ridnour went to POR instead of MIA (not sure why, but a little randomness can happen IRL and is acceptable IMO).

I'm not sure why people are upset about being unable to sign players. We had like nearly a week before players started signing, that's more than enough time IMO to have expressed interest/feelers in a player.

Like the Brandon Rush thing. Apparently no one made a single offer or interest before he signed with MIA. Then after he signed some people were up in arms. Like, you had the whole week lol.