Bucks G Ray Allen, who negotiated his own, six-year,
$70.9M contract extension with the team, said that he "hoped
he was setting an example for other players, showing them it
is possible to be both savvy with their finances and be a
professional athlete," according to Michael James of the
N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Allen enlisted help from attorney Johnnie
Cochran, as well as an accountant, a business manager and
his own personal lawyer, to "make sure the deal was to his
liking." Allen: "When I came out of [college], I went to
(the NBA's) rookie orientation program and they tell you ...
that you don't need an agent. You can negotiate your own
contract. ... I didn't really need an agent. As long as you
have a good rapport with the people that own your team, the
franchise, and you're straightforward with them, I think you
can get the job done." Allen, on the "more than" $2.8M he
saved by not paying the typical 4% commission: "That's a lot
of money that I can use to make a whole lot of people happy.
... When I saw how much money I saved on that contract, I
was like, if anybody sees that number, you think about what
you can do with [$2.8M]." But Nets F Keith Van Horn
"values" his agent, David Falk: "I'm in a situation where my
agent has done a lot more for me than just negotiate a
contract. ... He's done a lot of marketing things with a lot
of different companies" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/12).
WILL RICKY DRED HIS DECISION? Percy "Master P" Miller's
LA-based agency No Limit Sports officially announced the
signing of Ricky Williams (No Limit Sports). Williams had
been with Woolf Associates. In Dallas, Barry Horn writes,
"There are those in the Ricky Williams camp who are not
happy that their man has signed on with ... No Limit Sports.
Their concern was not lessened when they learned Williams
announced his alliance with his new agent at a Baton Rouge,
LA, casino." Williams: "I'm responsible for what I do on
the field. The other part is what is done off the field.
I'll leave that to them" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/12).
RAMBLE ON ROSE: In N.Y., Peter Vecsey reports that
Lakers G Eddie Jones has retained agent Leon Rose after
dismissing Sal DiFazio last week (N.Y. POST, 2/12).
