The Rage's Dawn Staley has switched agents "not long
before" the August 1 expiration of her ABL contract,
according to a report in the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Staley
has left VA-based attorney Kenton Edelin, whose clients
include the ABL's Jennifer Rizzotti and the WNBA's Rebecca
Lobo, for CA-based Management Plus Enterprises. Management
Plus VP Bruce Binkow said the timing of Staley's move
"happens to be a coincidence" and denied it had anything to
do with the fact that the WNBA's Lisa Leslie is one of his
clients "or that, as a result, Staley might jump to the
rival league." Binkow: "Dawn just wants to do what's best
for Dawn" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/23).
DYNAMIC DUO: Lobo and Leslie appeared on ESPN's "Up
Close" last night, where Lobo called a WNBA players' union
"something we need." Lobo: "We don't need it so we can go
out like the men and demand these million dollar contracts,
we need it for a pension plan, to certify agents, to get
health insurance year-round. We have small goals we're
trying to get, but I think it would be positive for all of
us to pool our resources and get something like that going."
Leslie, on the WNBA's salaries: "I wouldn't want to make a
million dollars to play basketball. I enjoy playing the
game, and obviously I don't want to play for free anymore,
but a good six-figure salary is good enough. To play for a
million dollars -- I'd be afraid to walk down the street. I
don't want to get hurt. And you have so many expectations
of us already. For a million dollars, you'd need to make
every shot" ("Up Close," ESPN, 7/22).
