UPDATED 9/21, 5:00 p.m. ET: In an amendment to his original lawsuit, Nerlens Noel alleges that Rich Paul didn’t tell him that the Lakers, Rockets, and 76ers were interested in signing him, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports. According to the suit, Paul didn’t return calls from those teams.
See original story below.
New York Knicks’ big man Nerlens Noel is suing Rich Paul and Klutch Sports for mismanaging him, leading to him losing $58 million whilst being signed under the sports agency.
According to a report by sports lawyer Darren Heitner on his Sports Agent Blog, the complaint in the lawsuit began in 2017 after Rich Paul told Noel he was a “$100 million man” while he was still signed to his previous agent, Happy Walters, at Ben Simmons’ birthday party. These comments lead to Noel signing with Paul after the party and turning down a 4-year $70 million offer from the Dallas Mavericks while taking his advice.
He signed a one-year $4 million deal instead with the intent to seek the max deal the year after. Then in 2018, Noel tore a ligament in his thumb, missed 42 regular-season games, and fell to Rich Paul’s waist side in terms of priority.
Agent George Langberg later helped Noel sign a $32 million 3-year deal with the New York Knicks.
“During the free agent season which began on July 1, 2018, and after Noel’s one-year contract with Dallas expired, neither Paul nor anyone at Klutch Sports presented any real proposals to Noel in terms of strategies or ideas on how Noel might secure a long-term contract or even a significant contract for the following season,” the lawsuit cites. “Indeed, as the 2018 NBA free agent season began, no real offers or deals were presented to Noel on the first day of free agency.”
Nerlens Noel later parted ways with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports and now is suing the sports agency for the $58 million he claims he lost after passing up the 4-year $70 million deal with the Mavericks.
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