Lakers News: How LeBron James' Agent Shocked NBA Twitter On Draft Night
New Milwaukee Bucks combo forward Chris Livingston, a 6'6" combo forward out of the University of Kentucky, caused a bit of stir during Thursday's NBA draft. It was revealed that his agent, LeBron James' Klutch Sports rep Rich Paul, had allegedly been calling interested NBA franchises during the second round of the draft and demanding they not select the 19-year-old rookie, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
This was apparently done because Livingston expressly wanted to join the Bucks, who possessed the 58th and final pick. There are normally 60 picks in an NBA draft, but the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat were forced to forfeit their selections for "tampering" ahead of free agency in 2021. Everyone tampers in free agency, obviously, but the Bulls and Heat announced their complicated sign-and-trade deals to add point guards Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry, respectively, mere minutes after free agency opened, making their cases more blatant than usual.
One would think the onerous contracts those clubs extended to those particular players would be punishment enough, but we digress.
Trying to dissuade clubs from selecting a client isn't typical behavior, but it has been rumored to have happened before. Livingston will now join a star-studded Bucks club just two seasons removed from a title, and relatively loaded with All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, plus (presumably, though both are free agents) Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
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