One of the most powerful agents in sports is making the move to a front office.
High-profile NBA agent Arn Tellem will join the Detroit Pistons’ ownership group, Palace Sports & Entertainment, as vice chairman, owner Tom Gores announced Friday. Tellem will transition from his current role with Wasserman Media Group into his new role under Gores on Aug. 3.
“I’m elated. I’m pumped,” Tellem wrote in a first-person essay for Sports Illustrated. “And frankly, I’m terrified. But if not now, when?”
Tellem, once named the third most powerful agent in all of sports by Forbes, is the agent for a long list of NBA players, including stars like Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and LaMarcus Aldridge.
A Philadelphia native and Haverford College graduate, Tellem’s career move will impact players in his home city as well. Tellem represents Sixers’ center Joel Embiid and guards Jerami Grant and Tony Wroten. He is also set to represent former Villanova guard Darrun Hilliard, who's eligible for the 2015 NBA draft on June 25.
Tellem has MLB clients as well, notably serving as the agent for Texas Rangers’ pitcher Yu Darvish, who landed a massive deal when making the jump stateside from Japan in 2012.
With the Pistons’ group, Tellem will work alongside Stan Van Gundy, though Van Gundy will continue to oversee basketball operations. Tellem will work on the business side, specifically tasked with strengthening community relations.
NBA
The Associated Press contributed to this report.