LeBron James' Agent Rich Paul: Darius Bazley Internship Product of Broken System
Highly rated prospect Darius Bazley got the basketball world buzzing by choosing a $1 million internship with New Balance over the G League.
His agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told ESPN's The Jump that Bazley's path has been the result of a broken system:
"We're talking about a system here that has been broken for a long time. And these kids and the families need options. And for me, I come from the athlete's side where I'm always trying to find out, 'How do I do what's best for the athlete?' not necessarily for me, per se."
Earlier in the segment, Paul discussed the internship:
"Darius is a very, very different kid. His mom and him came to me, and they wanted advice. ... The main thing for me was just trying to find out the best way for Darius to spend his time since he was not going to college. And New Balance is a very fearless, independent brand, and what they represent aligned directly with who Darius Bazley is and what he wanted to do. ...
"For who he is, regardless of what happens in his life, he has a head start. He'll know more about the business around the game than anybody in his class just based upon what he'll learn."
Bazley was previously committed to play college ball at Syracuse. However, he announced back in April via the Players' Tribune, that he had changed his mind and would move on to the G League to try to put himself in the best position of pursuing his NBA dreams.
The former Princeton High School star signed with Paul—who also represents Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James—back in May. He later told Shams Charania of The Athletic that he would no longer participate in the G League, instead opting to train on his own. Paul told Marc Stein of the New York Times that he believes the G League provides "no upside" for Bazley.
Now, the 18-year-old is preparing to take an internship.
"They hooked me up," Bazley said of New Balance, per Stein.
Stein reported this week that Bazley's multiyear deal with New Balance is worth $1 million guaranteed with the total value potentially reaching approximately $14 million based on incentives.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who once had expected to have Bazley on his roster, is among those to comment on the matter, via Stadium's Jeff Goodman: "LeBron did a nice job helping his client. It is LeBron's client, right?"
That prompted a response from the four-time NBA MVP:
Paul noted Boeheim later apologized to him for the comments.
Regardless of James being a part of Klutch Sports, Bazley understands that he is in control of his career. He knows that his unprecedented decisions carry risk, but he believes in himself enough to take an unorthodox approach to the NBA.
"This is my risk. I'm going to go ahead and do it this way, and I'm still going to succeed, even when others say I won't," Bazley said, per Stein. This will also be fun. It's not like I'm going to be doing something I don't want to do."
