On February 22, Beijing time, recently, Thunder star Alexander parted ways with the agent team and acted as his agent. Alexander's previous agents were Thad Foucher and Joe Smith of Wasserman's agency. Going forward, Alexander plans to represent himself on all pitch-related matters, while on off-pitch matters, including his shoe contract with Converse, he will continue to have Simon Gebreluer of Isla Management represent him.

The move garnered a lot of attention across the NBA and was praised by some, including Celtics star Jaylen Brown. Responding to the report on Twitter, Brown wrote: "Love the decision. But will the decision cause some kind of self-harm to the 26-year-old's career? Most players in the NBA are represented by agents, but there are also players who choose to go it alone.

Joel Embiid was his agent when he signed his last contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. After his former agent, Pelinka, was hired as the Lakers' general manager in 2017, Harden was without a full-time agent for six years. In 2016, when Jaylen Brown announced his participation in the NBA draft, he also chose not to hire an agent, instead relying on the players' union to help him with salary negotiations.

Brown was drafted by the Celtics with a scout pick in that year's draft. Due to the league's collective bargaining agreement, his rookie contract amount is essentially locked in for four years and worth a total of $21 million. In 2019, Brown hired agent Jason Groushawn (his current agent) to help him negotiate a five-year, $304 million contract extension with a maximum salary, which at the time was the most lucrative in NBA history.

The timing of Alexander's choice to go it alone is interesting. He is one of the top candidates for the Regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) and currently leads the league with 32.5 points per game. The Thunder currently have a 44-10 record, which ranks first in the Western Conference. He is currently in the third season of a five-year, $180 million contract extension with the Thunder, and is receiving a salary of nearly $36 million this season. This summer, he is eligible to sign a four-year, $293 million super-cap contract extension.

David Falk, an agent who has represented Jordan and Ewing, said Alexander is one of the few players who doesn't need an agent when it comes to contract negotiations, because NBA contracts have a pre-set salary scale.

Folk is considered one of the most influential agents in league history, saying, "If you're a player like LeBron (James), Shai (Alexander), Stephen Curry, you don't need an agent to negotiate a contract. I think Shai is one of the promising young stars in the league. As far as negotiating contracts is concerned, he doesn't need an agent. He can get the top salary with his eyes closed. ”

The players' union has a rule that the fees charged by agents from player contracts are capped at 4%. That means if Alexander signs the four-year, $293 million contract extension this summer, he will save nearly $12 million in brokerage fees that would have been paid to Wasserman's agency.

Falk says stars like Alexander still need to be represented, but for reasons not just contract negotiations. If Alexander wants to leave the Thunder one day, an agent has an advantage in brokering a deal over the player on his own, and the agent can also help manage the player's career. Of course, Alexander can wait until he needs to trade away before hiring an agent.