Who is Troy Payne? Looking at James Harden’s newly appointed full-time agent

As James Harden gears up to hit free agency this summer, he hired Troy Payne to be his full-time agent. Harden has famously gone without an agent since 2017. With his upcoming free-agency decision set to be one of the biggest in recent years, Payne will be invaluable.

According to his bio, Payne is a former Adidas executive who now heads Equity Basketball. Between him and his team of agents, Mike Silverman and Brandon Grier, it's safe to say Harden has strong representation. While with Adidas, he managed players like Harden, Trae Young, Lonnie Walker and several others.

In addition to his own work with Equity Basketball, he seems pretty involved in a number of other companies as an advisor and investor. His bio on his website reads:

"Troy also is the founder of ACES LLC (Accountable Concierge w/Exceptional Services) ... Troy also consults for a few different companies including Pura, GoPuff and Mov and has investments with a number of different companies including GOAT, GoPuff, Robinhood, Eaze, Dapper, Coinbase, Adidas and more."

With all of Payne's experience, it's no wonder James Harden chose him to be his full-time agent as he approaches one of the biggest crossroads of his career. Between his business acumen and his pre-existing relationship with Harden, the partnership seems to make sense.

James Harden's free-agency decision and Troy Payne's involvement

As he gears up for the rest of the season after All-Star break, Harden's looming decision will remain a topic of discussion. The 76ers sit in third place in the East and have plenty of reason to think that they could make a run in the playoffs, Harden could leave when his extension is up.

Going into the season, Harden made it clear that he felt as though his sacrifice to take a pay cut for the betterment of the team wasn't appreciated.

Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden

When asked if he felt he was getting enough credit for taking a $14.4 million pay cut during an interview with The Athletic, he said:

“Nope, but guess what? I don’t care. There’s like a stereotype where people always want to talk. People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything. One thing I won’t do is give them any attention. I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care, because I’m comfortable, and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court.”

While Harden could be playing hardball, should he and the Philadelphia 76ers struggle this season when it comes playoff time, he could leave entirely. There has been much talk of a potential reunion with the Houston Rockets, whose front office famously catered to Harden off the court.

As we look forward to the All-Star break, it will be interesting to see how things play out in Philly.