B DA Sports Management has signed Washington Wizards center Nenê and Phoenix Suns small forward Gerald Green for representation on and off the court.
Nenê will be represented by founder and president Bill Duffy and agent Ugo Udezue. Green will be represented by agent Kevin Bradbury.
Nenê was formerly represented by Relativity Sports. Green was formerly represented by agent Iman Shokuohizadeh.
BDA will work to develop and create endorsement deals, business endeavors and charitable ventures for both players. Green is interested in working on charities that benefit children, including anti-bullying organizations. Nenê is interested in causes in the D.C. area, as well as his native country of Brazil.
Green has a shoe deal with Reebok. Nenê’s shoe deal has expired, so BDA agents have started talks with shoe companies about deals for him.
The NBA salary cap is expected to get a big bump from the league’s new television deals in the next few years, although how much it will go up and when has not yet been determined. Green will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2015. Nenê will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016.
With the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, Nenê, who in 2002 became the first Brazilian ever picked in the first round of the NBA draft, is also looking for deals around the Rio Games, where he is expected to play for the host country’s national basketball team. BDA has a history of creating deals for NBA clients in their native countries, including for Yao Ming in China and Steve Nash in Canada.
> WASSERMAN SIGNS JAPANESE PITCHER, MLB PROSPECT: Wasserman Media Group has signed Japanese baseball star pitcher Chihiro Kaneko and top MLB prospect Joey Gallo, a third baseman in the Texas Rangers organization.
Wasserman vice chairman Arn Tellem will represent Kaneko with Toru Mihara of ADM. Joel Wolfe, Wasserman executive vice president of baseball, will represent Gallo. Gallo, a first-round pick in 2012, was formerly represented by The Legacy Agency. In October, after winning the Sawamura Award, given to the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball, Kaneko expressed an interest in playing in MLB. Last week he announced he was exercising his domestic free agency rights.
Tellem represented pitcher Yu Darvish when he left the Japanese league and signed with the Texas Rangers in 2012.
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Quincy Miller, now a free agent, has moved to Allegiant Athletic Agency.
Photo: COURTESY OF A3 ATHLETICS
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> A3 SIGNS PLAYERS: Allegiant Athletic Agency has signed NBA free agent forward Quincy Miller and free agent quarterback Tajh Boyd.
Miller will be represented by Jared Karnes and Boyd by President Chad Speck.
Miller was formerly represented by Stealth SME. Boyd was formerly represented by agent Malik Shareef.
Miller, who was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the second round in 2012, was a free agent last week. Boyd, drafted in the sixth round this year by the New York Jets, was also a free agent last week.
> SWITCHING AGENTS: Praver Shapiro Sports Management has signed free agent second baseman Alberto Callaspo, who played last season with the Oakland Athletics. Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro will represent him. Callaspo was formerly represented by Goldschmidt & Associates.
> The Scott Boras Corp. has signed free agent outfielder Alex Rios, who most recently played for the Rangers. Scott Boras will represent him. He was formerly represented by Kinzer Management Group.
Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.
