Agents for LeBron, Wade and Bosh Working Together

CBS Sports broke the story that some guy named Wes and other agents representing the three most sought-after players this summer are now housed under the same corporate roof, giving them quite the advantage: “Henry Thomas, the Chicago-based agent for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, joined forces with Leon Rose, the agent for LeBron James, at Creative Artists Agency. In a move that the parties involved have attempted to portray as unrelated, William Wesley — the ubiquitous ‘World Wide Wes’ — will be joining the coaches’ division at CAA. Wesley, one of the most connected and influential men in basketball due to his ties to James, Kentucky coach John Calipari and essentially every tentacle of the game, will go from being unofficially powerful to officially powerful in the next 2-3 months, according to a source familiar with his plans. What does all of this mean? Simply put, the top three NBA free agents are all under the same representation umbrella — an advantage that will allow them to freely share information about what will be a dizzying, unpredictable free-agent signing period. The college coach who would make the biggest splash and most money if he returned to the NBA soon could be on board in the form of Calipari, via Wesley. It is a nexus of power not seen since 1996, when David Falk represented free agents Jordan, Alonzo Mourning, Juwan Howard, Dikembe Mutombo and others at a time there was no maximum contract,. The domino effect could result in what one rival agent described as “sweeping changes” in the NBA landscape by the time it’s over. ‘I think the process is going to entail three individual circumstances, but the knowledge is centralized on all three,’ one NBA team executive said. ‘It gives them absolute control of the market, for one. You have the three most sought-after clients.”‘