For decades, the San Antonio Spurs were the NBA’s fortress of secrecy, guarded fiercely by Gregg Popovich’s old-school culture. But with Pop stepping back and a new era dawning, the walls are beginning to crack. Now, whispers point to a powerful outside force — Klutch Sports — shaping the team’s future from the inside.
Credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
For a long time, the San Antonio Spurs were one of the most difficult franchises for the media to cover.
Information coming out of the Texas franchise was always very limited, and there was an almost obsessive focus on protecting internal matters.
This should not come as too much of a surprise, considering that the man who changed the fortunes of this franchise, Gregg Popovich, had a military background and even considered a career in the CIA before devoting himself entirely to basketball.
Popovich became GM of the Spurs in 1994 and head coach of the team in 1996. Under his leadership, San Antonio reached the NBA Finals on six different occasions, winning the NBA title five times, and Popovich himself was named Coach of the Year three times.
However, since he began his career with the Spurs, many things have changed in the world of NBA basketball.
Today's basketball is certainly not the same as it was in the mid-1990s. Player salaries are increasingly high, and the influence of sports agencies is ever-present.
The Spurs have not qualified for the playoffs in the last six seasons, and the franchise is in a rebuilding phase, but now it can count on a star of the highest caliber in Wembanyama.
Many things have also changed within the San Antonio management structure. Gregg Popovich, after recent health problems, announced last May that he would be stepping down as head coach to become the franchise's president of basketball operations.
With Gregg Popovich still recovering and RC Buford more involved in purely administrative matters, it seems that the internal power dynamics within the Spurs are changing, mainly due to the growing influence of Klutch Sports, the agency that represents LeBron James and whose prominent client in the Spurs is De'Aaron Fox.
The former Sacramento Kings point guard recently signed a contract extension worth a total of $229 million over the next four years.
The Spurs acquired Fox from the Sacramento Kings in a trade in February this year, and with this contract extension, they have undoubtedly made him one of the cornerstones of the team for the foreseeable future.
The decision to extend Fox's contract to the maximum salary has left some NBA experts with doubts. Not so much because of the player's level, but because of how he fits in with two other young talents in the Spurs' backcourt, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
According to American journalist Ethan Strauss, the Klutch Sports agency has been managing the San Antonio Spurs' technical agenda for some time now.
Although the only two players represented by Klutch Sports on the Spurs' roster are De'Aaron Fox and Keldon Johnson, Strauss points out that the agency headed by Rich Paul heavily influences the Spurs' organization.
According to Strauss, Spurs GM Brian Wright, although not formally represented by Klutch, is said to be on excellent terms with the agency.
Mitch Johnson, the Spurs' new head coach, is also represented by Klutch, as is one of his assistants, Sean Sweeney.
Some former Spurs players who left the team not too long ago were also Klutch clients, including Dejounte Murray and Trey Lyles, among others.
With the relationship between LeBron James and the Lakers becoming increasingly difficult, Strauss points out that Rich Paul is seeking to establish a new stronghold for his agency in San Antonio.
When De'Aaron Fox asked to be traded from the Kings, he made it very clear to the California franchise that the Spurs were his number one destination, and not just because of his wife's family ties in Texas.
In recent years, Rich Paul and his agency have had a major influence on the Los Angeles Lakers' operations, but now the situation is changing, especially after the arrival of Luka Doncic.
A strong connection between a franchise and an agency also exists in other teams, such as that between CAA and the Knicks, and perhaps the one between Klutch and the Spurs could represent a new version of this type of relationship.
The historic “culture” of the Spurs is inevitably fading with the passing of the years and the declining influence of figures such as Gregg Popovich, and now it seems that Rich Paul and his Klutch want to fill that void and create a new type of culture within the Texas franchise.
Orazio Cauchi
Orazio Cauchi started his career in basketball at 21, having worked for several years at Sportando as the lead writer of the website. He also covered several live events, including the Euroleague Final Four, Italian Cups, Serie A league finals, and EuroBasket. He also contributed to American media, such as LibertyBallers and Def Pen Hoops. Cauchi joined BasketNews in 2021 as a Staff Writer. Holds a degree in Politics & International Relations.
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