NBA agents planning to boycott NCAA’s new testing requirements

There are some NBA representation agencies that are planning to boycott the NCAA’s new mandatory test for its certification process, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

In August, the NCAA implemented new requirements for agents that want to represent players who are testing the NBA draft waters but might return to college.

You may remember the scrutiny that followed once it was announced that these agents would have to have a bachelor’s degree to be eligible. LeBron James was one of the many who opposed the rule.

James’ agent, Rich Paul, is one of the best agents in sports. Well, he doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree, and the two felt that this new rule was possibly targeting him.

Paul represents some of the best players in the league, including many former Kentucky Wildcats like John Wall, Anthony Davis, Eric Bledsoe, and Trey Lyles.

Less than a week after the announcement of these new qualifications, the NCAA quickly removed the bachelor degree requirement.

The NCAA sent a memo to agents saying that they had until the September 30th deadline to apply, but some of the top agencies are not planning to participate. The in-person exam is scheduled to take place in Indianapolis on November 6th, and it looks agents from big and small firms, alike, are choosing to boycott the new rules.

This backlash could have a direct impact on both former and current Kentucky players. Besides the players represented by Paul, there are bound to be some guys who test the waters after this season.

It may not seem like a big deal, but this could be the difference between a freshman getting bad information from a not-so-good agent and keeping his name in the draft, or returning to Lexington for a sophomore season.

This boycott is something we all need to keep our eyes on.