Tag: Ari Gold

Former NBA Player Anthony Carter’s Agent Lost Him $3 Million Because He FORGOT to File Some Paperwork

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New York Times – After the 2002-03 season, Carter, then 27, was planning to exercise a $4.1 million player option to remain in Miami. Picking up the option was a no-brainer. Carter was coming off a disappointing season in which he averaged 4.1 points on .356 shooting in 49 games. For a player with that stat line, $4.1 million was a fortune.

Except Carter’s agent, Bill Duffy, failed to notify the Heat by the June 30 deadline that Carter was coming back. Instead of locking in another season in Miami, Carter accidentally became a free agent.

The mistake cost him at least $3 million. Carter had to settle for a minimum contract with the San Antonio Spurs — roughly $750,000 — the next season, rather than the $4.1 million he would have locked in by exercising his option.

The fact that Bill Duffy is still a licensed NBA agent, let alone Luka Doncic’s agent, after losing Anthony Carter $3 MILLION dollars because he forgot to file some paperwork is legitimately unbelievable.

Not only that, he’s still Anthony Carter’s agent! (Or at least still “looks over” Carter’s contracts) That is a ride or die friend, folks. If Carter gets pinched and needs a fall guy, Duffy better be first in line to take the bid. Carter must have had Duffy on speed dial as his gopher for anything and everything like Sean Boswell in Tokyo Drift.

To be fair he did pay Carter back for the lost wages over the last 17 years, which is not to be minimized because that is some honorable stuff right there. But my god, imagine being the agent and realizing what you’ve done? Must have felt like the mom from Home Alone except instead of committing a light bit of child abuse, you just punted on $3 MILLION dollars.

In an old ESPN article from Marc Stein, Duffy blames an unnamed staffer for a “clerical error,” which is the least believable thing I’ve ever read. You don’t entrust a $4.1 million contract to a paper pushing intern, you make sure that shit gets signed, sealed, and delivered. If that really is the case though and that is a true story, I hope Duffy walked into the guy’s office and fired him Ari Gold style.

If nothing else, I suppose this is a feel good story that should remind us that money isn’t everything. Duffy screwed up, paid Carter back, Carter went on to make $17 million in the NBA during his career and is now an assistant coach for the Miami Heat. Duffy for his part got some goodwill for doing the right thing and landed the next great NBA mega star in Doncic as his top client. See? Everything works out in the end.

Apparently the NFL Draft is Already Having Technical Difficulties

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So the NFL Draft is going on as originally planned Thursday night, except due to the coronavirus the entire thing is being done remote. Imagine your job being on the line and the future of an NFL organization relying on your Zoom account? Well apparently there have already been technical difficulties and that is not a good sign for Thursday night.

I’m really hoping for some live streams of coaches and GMs sitting at their draft war rooms kitchen tables because I need to see these old football guys losing their shit like me in a fantasy football draft when the laggy internet drafts the wrong guy.

I’ve been searching for the best program for video chatting coworkers or doing happy hours with friends and guess what? They all suck. I don’t know how people do these calls with more than 3 or 4 people. Some have horrific audio and video delays, others are legitimately overloaded from the surge of people working from home, and none of them run smoothly consistently. And thats just me talking about client campaigns or crushing a few crafties with some buddies, not trying to manage the future of a billion dollar franchise.

Some of these GMs are better prepared than others or at least are pretending to be. Take John Elway for example, who looks like he’s opening up a Buffalo Wild Wings in his house.

But then you’ve got guys like Bill Belichick who don’t even know what Facebook is so this shouldn’t be a disaster at all.

I’m just waiting for Leeroy Jenkins to bust in when someone’s on the clock and really throw a wrench into this draft.

Want to Feel Old? Entourage Premiered 15 Years Ago

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Just hearing Jane’s Addiction “Superhero” instantly gives me a dopamine dump and brings me back to a simpler time. Entourage first aired on HBO 15 years ago yesterday, July 18th, 2004. Big Z and my affinity for this show is no secret as its been prominently referenced on The 300s many times over the years. Entourage really was a perfect storm for a lot of guys my age. It premiered in 2004 when I was 15, which is ironic because the running joke is that show is only funny to 15 year olds. Well, I’m a grown ass man and I still will sit down and throw on a couple random eps of Entourage every now and then. The show was a mega hit on HBO, but never really found its footing in syndication. I know Big Z argues its because the show’s plotlines are too short and scattered for one random episode here or there to really make any sense unless you’ve already seen it. A procedural this is not.

Now, I say this without a drip of sarcasm or embarrassment, but at one point in my life I had both this poster

as well as this poster

scotch taped to my dorm room walls.

An excellent show, for the first few seasons at least, that would NEVER get made today because 1.) It ripped on Hollywood elites like no one had before and 2.) the PC Police would shut that shit down before they even filmed the pilot. Can you imagine a show getting greenlit today where Jeremy Piven tells his gay assistant that he looks like Michelle Kwan in drag? No shot.

A lot of people say shows like this don’t age well because there are definitely some homophobic, misogynistic, insensitive tones throughout the series, but thats bullshit. The show was made in 2004. It made jokes about what played in 2004, not 2019. So its not really fair to criticize a TV show for that. Christ, just look at the racist shit Archie Bunker used to say on All in the Family while laugh tracks boomed in the background. But again that show first aired in 1971 so its not really fair to scrutinize it the same way you would today.

Anyways, call it frat boy comedy if you want, but the show did win six Emmys, including three by Jeremy Piven for the iconic role of Ari Gold. Along with the Simpsons, and Seinfeld, Entourage is one of the few TV shows that I still quote to this day in just about any situation.

Kyle Lowry Thought About Starting Malice at the Palace II Last Night (He Did Not)

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Last night the Raptors went up 2-1 on the Golden State Warriors in a wildly entertaining NBA Finals game, but late in the game Kyle Lowry dove into the front row for a rebound and some fan took it upon himself to try and give Lowry the business.

Lowry actually said on SportsCenter this morning: “He reached over & put his hands on me for no reason then he said a couple vulgar words to me & repeated them.”

Now I know Jeff Van Gundy is kind of the cooky grandpa at this point, but he had absolutely zero sympathy for Lowry.

To which I would agree with in a normal circumstance. Some 6’1″ dude diving into your lap would be problematic if you were just riding the T. But, this ain’t a normal circumstance. No you’re sitting courtside at the NBA Finals. You paid an EXORBITANT amount of money just to sit courtside for fucks sake. So for this guy to act shocked and disgusted when he wasn’t even the one who actually took the hit is preposterous. Lets look at the tape.

Its actually the lady in the yellow that takes the entire collision on the chin. Look at that. Look at where she starts and where she ends up.

Kyle Lowry comes flying in and we see the woman’s head go back..and to the left.

Back and to the left.

That lady got absolutely SMOKED and its this dickhead next to them in the blue polo who’s become rattled by the entire series of events. He’s basically Ari Gold without the witty one liners.

This old rich white guy is lucky Lowry didn’t just snuff him right then and there. I mean have people already forgotten about the Malice at the Palace??

That was a monumental event and will forever be the precise moment in time that historians point to as to why you never fuck with a professional athlete. Its one thing to call a guy a bum from the sidelines, its an entirely different thing to put your hands on him. Once you do that you’re on your own man. If you don’t remember Ron Artest, thats a you problem.

The 300s Podcast: Best Vegas Movies

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On this episode of The 300s Podcast we’ve got Red, Big Z, and Giorgio on the line discussing the funniest, most deranged, and most obscure in Vegas movies. We discuss each of the below and more from the past 30 years of Las Vegas film and TV history.

– The Hangover

– Oceans 11

– Swingers

– Vegas Vacation

– Austin Powers

– 21

– Con Air

– Rounders

– Entourage Vegas episode

– Rain Man