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Rumor Central: CAA, Wasserman willing to send draft prospects to Kings

Some agents prefer their clients to stay away from the Sacramento Kings, so they won't allow the players to work out for the team ahead of the NBA draft in June, reports ESPN's Chad Ford.

"It would be malpractice to let my clients play for them," a longtime agent told Ford. "I've had clients there. It's still the most dysfunctional front office in the league, by a mile. How can you trust those guys with one of your players? It's going to take a long time to build that trust."

The team is trying to improve their reputation, with Vlade Divac in charge of basketball operations, and recently hired Scott Perry. Perry, 53, worked for the Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic before joining the Kings. Perry accepted the job with the Kings after the Magic fired him and general manager Rob Hennigan last month.

While a good number of agencies want to steer clear of the Kings, some have no issues with the team.

"Vlade and Scott Perry, they are as sharp as anybody in this league," B.J. Armstrong of Wasserman Media Group told NBC Sports California. "They’re going to be fine."

Armstrong represents Josh Jackson (Kansas), who is expected to be selected in the top-5 of the draft, and he won't deny the Kings the opportunity to meet with his client.

"If other people see problems, we see enormous opportunity," Armstrong said.

CAA (Creative Artists Agency) represents several 2017 NBA draft prospects, including including Frank Ntilikina (France), John Collins (Wake Forest), Donovan Mitchell (Louisville) and Luke Kennard (Duke).

"We have, as a company, four or five guys that are going in the top 20," agent Aaron Mintz said. "They will all be going to Sacramento, and we are very hopeful that the Kings will take one, if not two of them."

Mintz, like Armstrong, has a good relationship with Perry.

"It’s not just the draft, even in free agency this is an organization our clients are going to look at," Mintz said. "It’s a credit to Vlade, Scott and Ken (Catanella)."

-- Nick Silva

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