What can Klutch do for you?

As if the “Anthony Davis is leaving New Orleans” hot take cannon needed any more ammunition, the idea gained even more momentum when Davis signed with LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, last week, just two years into the five-year, $127 million extension he signed with New Orleans in 2016.

Davis is entering the portion of the contract for superstars on good teams in which the buzz grows even louder about a potential deal. The thinking goes that a team like the Pelicans has to maximize value by listening to Davis offers earlier in his contract rather than later. You never get equal value in a superstar deal, but it’s generally understood to move those guys early. Yet New Orleans has never really considered dealing their franchise player, we’ve never heard so much as a rumble of negotiations, and the Pelicans are coming off the best regular season of Davis’ career, capped off by a sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs.

It’s a tough thing to measure. On one hand, Davis could have stayed with the agent who helped him get his 2016 extension, which included Rose Rule multipliers and a trade kicker. Yet it’s clear that Paul and his agency, Klutch Sports, offer NBA players incredible opportunities to grow their brand and expand their portfolio.

That offer starts with access to LeBron James. No player can be directly involved with an agency, but James and Paul have been lifelong friends and James has been a client of Paul’s since 2012. When Davis signed with Klutch, James tweeted, “Welcome to the Family.”

People wondered immediately whether the switch indicated Davis’ readiness for change. When speaking to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shortly after his switch to Klutch, Davis said hiring Paul is “part of an effort to improve his overall game.”

“My focus is to win, to come in every day and do all I can to help this organization,” Davis told ESPN. “While establishing myself as the best player on the floor every night.”

Davis is eligible to sign a new five-year, $235 million supermaximum extension with New Orleans next summer. Paul just negotiated a similar deal for another client, John Wall, last year. Gearing up to play and be paid like one of the best in the game pushed Davis to Paul, like it has others the last few years. Even James broke precedent and attached himself to the Lakers for four years in signing a new deal in July. Across the league, Paul is becoming a power broker.

The connection to James looms over much of Klutch’s business. Part of what helped keep James in Cleveland for four years the second time around was the Cavaliers’ commitment to retaining guys like J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson on long-term deals — both are Klutch customers. They will make $32 million combined this season.

When James jumped to Los Angeles, the deal was quickly followed by another high-dollar deal for a Klutch client. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, got paid like he was J.J. Redick with a $12 million new contract. The message is clear by now: Get on James’ good side, help him win, and you’ll get paid. And it doesn’t hurt when you’re also in with Klutch.

Extending from the James family tree of business opportunities are the numerous media ventures James and showbiz tycoon Maverick Carter took on with SpringHill Entertainment this summer. SpringHill signed an all-around deal with Warner Bros. in 2015, and through that connection and their own innovation, have developed project after project all year, from HBO’s The Shop to the recently announced Space Jam 2.

“LeBron James has one of the most powerful, well-known brands in the world and we are excited to be in business with him and his partner, Maverick Carter, and SpringHill Entertainment,” Kevin Tsujihara, the Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros, said at the time.

That powerful brand lifted up another Klutch client this summer when NBC announced a new show about Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and his relationship with his brother. Brotherly Love will be co-produced by SpringHill and follow the “unique sibling relationship within a multi-ethnic family.”

James isn’t even done playing basketball, and yet his brand and business prowess is extending beyond just his own wealth but the wealth of his friends, colleagues and teammates.

Is there any limit to how much James’ rising tide can lift those around him?

One place to look for that answer could be Kyrie Irving, who notoriously asked to be traded from the Cavs based in some part on his rocky relationship with James. Former Cleveland general manager David Griffin said this summer that Irving had recruited Gordon Hayward, Trevor Ariza and Channing Frye to potentially join the Cavs in 2014 before James came in and changed everything. From there, all in Cleveland orbited around James, and the team won a title. But Irving wanted to continue to grow as a player, and James restricted his ability to do so. Things would have been different had Hayward come to Cleveland in 2014, and Irving might still be a Cavalier. Instead, James dictated everything on and off the court, a tribute to his own gravitas and dominance. It forced Irving to fit into what James built.

Perhaps the high-profile divorce between Irving and the Cavs changes how players around the league see the prospect of playing with the King. Aside from Davis, players like Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler could also be in consideration in Los Angeles to supplement James. Any of them would be James’ first superstar teammate since Irving — will things be better, or might James’ growing legend affect other guys’ desire to join up?

Davis has now hired Paul, but there’s so much more going on. He has to consider his goals outside of basketball, what kind of organization he wants to be with for the next part of his career, and what he really wants to accomplish in the NBA. The triumvirate of James, Paul and Carter offer advancement of one’s celebrity and success on the court, but there is a cost.

“In my eyes, I’m the best player in the game. I really feel that way. Nobody can tell me different,” Davis told reporters at Pelicans Media Day.

Davis just dominated Portland and swept the No. 3 seed in his sixth season in the league. Glory still awaits — he hasn’t peaked. As Davis’ focus becomes clear, it comes down to what he sees as his future, because Klutch can offer it all.