Puma: relaunch of the basketball division with three NBA ambassadors and Jay-Z as creative director

German equipment manufacturer Puma has relaunched its basketball division and announced that the American NCAA players Deandre Ayton (University of Arizona), Martin Bagley III (Duke University) and Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech University) have become ambassadors (shoes and clothing) of the brand, on 18/06/2018.

Forward Deandre Ayton, widely expected to be the first selection in the 2018 NBA draft (by the Phoenix Suns), to be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (NY, USA) on 21/06/2018. Forward Martin Bagley III is expected to be the second or third selection, while guard Zhaire Smith is expected to be selected within the top 20 picks. Puma's last NBA ambassador was Vince Carter (on a 10-year contract signed in 1998, terminated prematurely in 2000).

Walt "Clyde" Frazier, the former American NBA player (1967-1980, New York Knicks, then Cleveland Cavaliers) and member of the "Hall of Fame" of the North American Professional Basketball League, has also become an ambassador "for life" of Puma. The Puma Clyde model, produced by the brand from 1973, was the first shoe produced by an…