Brooklyn Nets minority owner and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z has begun the process of selling his shares in the team in order to pursue the career of NBA agent by extending his Roc Nation Sports representation business into basketball, according to a Yahoo! report.
Jay-Z, whose real name is Sean Carter, owns less than 1 percent of the Nets and would be required to relinquish his stake in the team in order to represent NBA clients as an agent.
"It would be disappointing [if he left]," Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "I'd be disappointed.
"He had an enormous amount to do with the rebranding of the team. I wasn't close to it at all, but from what I've seen, it would be hard to overstate his importance in this all. I like his involvement in the team; he's at the games, and maybe he's around more than I realize behind the scenes. But he's an excellent fan, one that wasn't just around this year, but a lot in the past too, which is very telling to me."
Jay-Z's Roc Nation recently partnered up with Creative Artist Agency (CAA) and landed New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano as his first client.
The idea of selling his shares now is expected to ensure that Roc Nation is to compete for players entering the June NBA draft.
Much like his arrangement with CAA's baseball portion, Jay-Z plans to leave the firm's basketball agents to handle contract negotiations and day-to-day business with athletes. The potential impact of the deal could result with athletes linking to Jay-Z's global reach in marketing, entertainment and business.
