The New York Knicks have presumably ended a long-term feud with Rich Paul and his agency, Klutch Sports. According to the New York Post, Paul and Knicks president Leon Rose met up Friday and resolved issues from the past that created obstacles for New York’s market strategy for quite some time.
“The hope is to move forward with a business relationship, per a source,” said the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy. “As The Post previously reported, Paul’s agency, Klutch, previously preferred its clients not to join the Knicks.”
Settling the beef opens the door for the Knicks to make deadline moves
It was never clear as to why Paul and Rose had a long-withstanding beef that created a roadblock for the Knicks to conduct business with any of Paul’s clients. Nevertheless, squashing the beef eliminates the potential for problems in negotiating a trade for any of Paul’s clients, as well as any awkward tension between Rose and Paul. The timing of their conversation is noteworthy as well, as the trade deadline is less than a week away.
Some of Paul’s current suitors are the Knicks’ biggest trade targets, including Hawks guard Dejounte Murray and Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon. According to RealGM, no current Knick players are signed with Klutch Sports, though that could change within the next week as the trade deadline is approaching fast.
The team could have an aggressive deadline approach to further upgrade a charged squad that had won nine consecutive games prior to Saturday night’s loss to the Lakers. Be on the lookout for the Knicks to pursue a Klutch client more aggressively now.
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