Arn Tellem is happy

“Superagent” Arn Tellem is a legend who, after achieving incredible success, decided to take his career in a different direction. Here’s the Detroit Free Press:

Tellem was one of sports’ king-makers. The lead character of the successful HBO series “Arliss” was loosely based on his career. He single-handedly altered the way NBA teams looked at 18-year-old draft prospects when, in the 1996 draft, he craftily steered a gangly teenager named Kobe Bryant to the Charlotte Hornets, who traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers a couple weeks later.

“At the end of the day,” Tellem said this week, “I was at an age where I had a great run and a great career. But I was at a stage of my life where I wanted more, something that could effectuate more change to a larger number of people. The great thing about the agent business was the one-on-one relationships. I was very proud advising them and trying to steer them into making the right decisions in their lives. But I was at the point in my life where I wanted a broader platform.”

One year after accepting Pistons owner Tom Gores’ offer to become vice-chairman of Palace Sports & Entertainment, Tellem says he has never been happier. He said he’s more connected to the greater Detroit community in his first 12 months here than he was in the more than 30 years he lived in Los Angeles.

Author: Inside Hoops

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