Smith...Anderson...why?

I read an article (and I am trying hard to find it again) that said that the reason was because McHale and Smith's former agent did not like each other, and the former agent insisted on the secret written contract. After that, Smith got a new agent. The new agent was not going to get any of the commission on the secret contract, so it is believed (not proven) that he was the one that ratted out McHale and the secret contract. Smith has since gotten himself another agent. I will try again to find that article.

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Mango beat me to it, but I will repeat it here (so sue me Mango )

The Joe Smith-cap circumvention case isn't putting agents in the best light, to say the least. Dirty tactics are at the core of the case, according to persons with direct knowledge of the illegal agreement. They've surfaced when two central questions have been probed:

1) Who spilled the beans that Smith, via ex-agent Eric Fleisher, and the Timberwolves had cut an illegal future deal where he could have earned $90 million?

Someone with direct connections to Andy Miller and Dan Fegan -- Smith's current agent and most recent agent -- if not one of the two.

The motive was that Miller and Fegan were not going to get a commission off the secret deal. Now, working together, which Smith apparently doesn't know about, they will get the commission on whatever new deal is reached, even though Smith will get considerably less. Meanwhile, Fleisher stands to lose several million dollars.

2) Why was the secret deal in writing, instead of consummated verbally? Fleisher insisted on it. Fleisher and T-wolves VP Kevin McHale became bitter enemies over the Kevin Garnett contract, with Fleisher going behind McHale's back to get Garnett an additional $21 mil and a record $126 mil deal from owner Glen Taylor. Because of the bad feelings between the agent and Minny exec, Fleisher wanted to deal only with Taylor. But here's the catch: With Taylor facing extensive heart surgery as the Smith negotiations started, Fleisher covered his bases by having it put in writing, just in case Taylor didn't survive. That's where there's a smoking gun.



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The reason is that the Smith contract was NOT illegal. It was merely outside the rules established by the collective bargaining agreement, as it circumvented the salary cap. An illegal contract is void on its face; this contract on the other hand was merely voidable at the hands of the league.

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SRJ,

Well, Smith's agents/attorneys could sue whoever they want. But looking at the facts...

Smith v. TWolves. No dice - I would bet the Wolves would be excused because the contract became impossible for them to perform. They didn't cancel it or refuse to pay - it was hte NBA that did it.

Smith v. NBA. I can't see this one either. The NBA obviously wasn't a signator on the secret agreement, so no breach of contract action would lie. Doubt an action for "interference with contract" would work, since the NBA is supposed to review all contracts, sign off on the ones that meet the CBA, etc. In fact the standard NBA contract probably contains language saying its not valid until prerequisites are met, like passing a physical and getting the NBA to approve it.

Smith v. Fleisher. I can see this as a real possibility. Fleisher's actions look like they could end up costing Smith a considerable amount of money. Now, there may be some sort of "hold harmless" agreement or limitations of damages clause in their agreement, but otherwise look for Smith to take Fleisher to the cleaners (unless he somehow ends up benefitting from this turn of events, which seems unlikely right now).

BTW, these are just my best guesses on the subject. I'm not an expert in contract law by any means.

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Well, how about this:

Say it came time for the payoff for Smith and McHale and the T-Wolves said: "Ooops, I'm sorry, we didn't really mean it. We were just kidding."

With a writen agreement, the agent can drop a few hints about his fax machine and David Stern's office, etc. A verbal agreement just disapears without a trace.

But really, the biggest idiot in this was the T-Wolves' owner who, when questioned by the press, confirmed the existence of the agreement. With a strong denial at that point, the whole thing fades away.

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But in that scenario, the agent would still be faced with losing his license.

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SRJ, RM5,

I think Ottoman has hit the nail on the head. Fliehser has something to lose by disclosing this contract (but the penalty's going to be imposed by the player's association, so look for it to be minor) but not nearly as much as the TWolves did. It would be an effective blackmail.

Also another benefit, to play devil's advocate, was that this was a relatively low-risk deal in terms of actually getting caught. The only way that it would come out is if someone ELSE found out about the deal - and that was only going to happen if Smith switched agents and those new guys chose to help themselves instead of Smith's best interests. Unfortunately that's exactly what happened.

As for your original point SRJ I agree that this was the dumbest thing ever done in the history of sports agents. But not illegal like a contract to kill someone or to sell drugs.

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