Klutch Sports Group Founder RICH PAUL has "come a long way from his younger days in East Cleveland and in so many ways, it was that very neighborhood that prepared him for the most tumultuous summer imaginable for a sports agent," according to a profile by Chris Haynes of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. Paul counts Cavaliers F LEBRON JAMES and Suns G ERIC BLEDSOE as clients, and the summer of '14 was "all about" James' decision to return to Cleveland and the "contract tug-of-war" between the Suns and Bledsoe. In July, he helped bring James "home and set him up for a huge payday now that the NBA has signed its new TV deals; and last month, after a drawn-out stalemate, he helped Bledsoe lock up a lucrative contract that nobody except maybe Paul and his camp thought was possible." Paul: "I wouldn't necessarily say it was a make-or-break summer, but
anytime you're doing something with the best guys in any business, it's
big." Meanwhile, Paul "doesn't look the part of your typical agent." He
"marches to the beat of his own drum and doesn't apologize for it." Before starting his own agency, Paul "garnered a good feel for the profession while he was on the recruiting circuit." He eventually "picked up the nuances of negotiations and developed his contacts throughout the league." He "thrived in his role because he spoke the language of the youth and knew exactly what a lot of them were going through." He "refuses to take all of the credit and prefers that the spotlight be on his management team and his clients, and the one common theme he keeps referring to." Paul: "I hope at the end of the day my legacy is that I built an agency where the client's needs are first and that I was able to prepare young men into being successful businessmen beyond their playing days" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 10/7).
