Wake Forest's Steve Forbes unloads on Bobi Klintman's agent: 'Worst experience I have ever had'

It’s been an interesting few months for Bobi Klintman. The former Wake Forest forward declared for the 2023 NBA Draft and forewent his remaining eligibility, but withdrew this week and will now play in Australia next season.

That decision-making process didn’t sit well with Demon Deacons head coach Steve Forbes, who held a press conference Friday about the situation. In the process, he unloaded on Klintman’s NIL agent.

Forbes called a press conference to share his side of the story. Earlier this week, The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania reported Klintman’s intent to withdraw from the draft and look at alternative routes to the NBA because the deadline to return to college came and went. As for how Klintman got to that decision, Forbes said his agent didn’t make things easy.

“What my staff and I experienced trying to work with Bobi Klintman’s agent was by far and away the worst experience I have ever had attempting to work with one of my players’ agents,” Forbes said. “He was deceitful, he was conniving and he was underhanded. His agent did everything in his power to undermine me, my staff and Wake Forest regarding the future of Bobi, leading to his decision to not return to college.”

Steve Forbes: Bobi Klintman’s agent reached out to other programs to gauge interest on a potential transfer

Forbes also detailed an allegation he heard from other programs across the country. He said Klintman’s agent was gauging interest about a possible transfer. That was a surprise to Forbes, who said the idea of entering the transfer portal never came up in his conversations with Klintman.

So, he called on assistant coach Matt Woodley — who used to work in the NBA G-League — to work some of his connections to find out more.

“At that point, I asked Coach Woodley to call somebody new higher up in the agency representing Bobi to get some clarity on the situation,” Forbes said. “… During that phone conversation, Coach Woodley was told that Bobi was either going to be a first-round pick or come back to Wake Forest. Coach Woodley was told that Bobi was not going to transfer. This was out of the question. Coach Woodley was told that Wake Forest was a very good place for Bobi to play, and that Bobi really liked like forcing his teammates.

“Coach Woodley was told it would not be good for Bobi to be drafted in the second round this year, and the agency representing Bobi would be upfront and honest [with] where Bobi was at throughout the entire draft process. This conversation ended with Coach Woodley being told if Bobi stayed in the draft would be an agency decision, and not a one-person decision.”

Forbes: Bobi Klintman appeared primed for a breakout sophomore season

Klintman was a freshman at Wake Forest last season after an interesting recruitment which saw him commit to Maryland and de-commit following the departure of Mark Turgeon. Then, he committed to Colorado, but backed off before winding up at Wake Forest.

Klintman averaged 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game. However, Forbes said his numbers likely would’ve gone up next season — just as other NBA hopefuls have done under his watch.

“We’ve had several players in our program who have had breakout seasons from their previous year,” Forbes said. “We had Jake [LaRavia] become a first round pick. Alondes [Williams] was the player to year. He’s got a two way. [Tyree Appleby] was Player of the Year. Damari [Monsanto], he led the league in threes and didn’t play the last four games. I just felt like Bobi was on that same trajectory.

“I felt like by staying for his sophomore season, he had chosen a path to continue to play in the best league in college basketball when it comes to putting players in the NBA. That’s not debatable. … I’m sure there are gonna be those who disagree with me, which is fine. But you’re not gonna convince me that a player will receive more exposure in the NBA [by] playing in a league is a 15 hour plane ride from the United States of America and playing at Wake Forest in the ACC.”