Rich Paul does not want to do business with this NBA team?

Rich Paul and Klutch Sports have a stronghold in Los Angeles, but the same is not true of the other major NBA market.

Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reported on Sunday that the New York Knicks are interested in a possible trade for Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray but that there is one major complication. Murray is represented by Klutch, and Paul is reportedly reluctant to do business with the Knicks.

Begley notes that the Knicks’ top decision-makers, president Leon Rose and executive vice president William Wesley, used to be top agents at Creative Arts Agency (CAA), a rival of Klutch. 

Additionally, Klutch is said to have opposed a potential 2022 trade of Chicago Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine, another one of their clients, to the Knicks.

The report does add though that Klutch would consider changing its stance if an in-person meeting is brokered between Paul and Knicks management. You can read Begley’s full story on the situation here.

Indeed, Klutch has had almost no clients on the Knicks over the years. In fact, the few partnerships the two sides have had together have ended in ugly divorce.

It is unclear if the “cold war” (as Begley terms it) between Klutch and the Knicks stems from an old rivalry between competing agencies or something more. But it would probably benefit both sides to put their issues behind them and forge a business pathway forward.