Isiah Thomas refers to him as a ” giant “, of a ” super-agent ” George Andrews, one of the pioneers in the world of sports representation, has died at the age of 74.
Unknown to the general public, the Chicago area native has nevertheless been in the shadow of some of the biggest names on the basketball planet: Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, Mark Aguirre, Reggie Theus…
« George was a legendary and revolutionary figure in the industry with his approach to player representation and negotiation. He helped us, as players, be more than just basketball players. Because of George, Magic and I bought a radio station in Denver and real estate in Palm Springs. We had a head start, and that’s because George was not your average agent. George was like a father to his players. », Qualifies Thomas, also born in Chicago.
As the Chicago Tribune recounts, Andrews was always a Bulls fan, but he especially felt sorry for players such as Cliff Pondexter, a college star who was chosen by the Chicago franchise in the first round of the Draft in 1974 (16th choice). Pondexter was in dire need of money early in his career, and the Bulls offered him… a loan if he waived certain contractual protections.
Since the players were not represented at the time, Pondexter accepted. He was quickly injured (a blank rookie season) and was fired after three lackluster seasons with the Bulls, who then asked for his money back. Marked by this experience, George Andrews then vowed to be the players’ spokesperson.
Key support for Chicago players
« I would put George in the pantheon of the greats of this industry, among the founding fathers of our agents. You think of David Falk, Arn Tellem, the most important agents. George was their predecessor. He was a very creative thinker, a relentless negotiator, talked a mile a minute. “, remembers Ron Klempner, leader within the players’ union.
Andrews, who helped usher in the first great era of Chicago athletes in the NBA before Michael Jordan, has worked in other sports. But basketball was his first love. The agent was an assistant GM for two years for the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies and, more recently, was an advisor to the Raptors and Chris Finch at the Timberwolves.
« George was great to me. He was kind of the godfather of Chicago agents for the kids in the city. What struck me about George was that he was an agent, but he had a fatherly attitude toward us. That was very important for a bunch of naive kids coming from Chicago and entering the cutthroat world of sports and NBA basketball. If you were in Chicago, the chances of you being represented by George or influenced by him were almost 100%. », termine Doc Rivers.
