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New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his company, Klutch Sports, on Monday, claiming he lost $ 58 million in potential salary while pictured by Paul from 2017 to 2020.
Noel took action after Klutch recently filed a grievance with the National Basketball Players Association, claiming Noel did not pay $ 200,000 in commission on his previous one-year contract with the Knicks, several said. sources at ESPN.
Noel alleges breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence. The lawsuit does not cite a specific amount of damages, but seeks real and punitive redress.
Paul declined to comment.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Dallas County, Texas, centers on a decision made in July 2017 when Noel was a restricted free agent for the Dallas Mavericks. Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22 games with the Mavericks after being traded there midway through the previous season by the Philadelphia 76ers.
At the start of free agency in 2017, Noel was represented by Agent Happy Walters. Noel claims in the lawsuit he was offered a four-year, $ 70 million contract from the Mavericks, a figure that was reported by several news outlets that summer. During the free agency process, Noel said he fired Walters and hired Paul after they met at Ben Simmons’ birthday party in Los Angeles.
Paul represents many NBA All-Stars, including Simmons and LeBron James.
In the lawsuit, Noel said Paul advised him to pass on the $ 70 million offer and agree to a one-year contract so he could be an unrestricted free agent the following year when Paul took over. said he could get a more lucrative contract for Noel. Noel ultimately turned down the deal and signed his one-year, $ 4.1 million qualifying offer.
The following season, Noel broke his thumb and missed 42 games as his numbers dwindled. He did not sign again with Dallas and played the next two seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder, making the league minimum of $ 3.7 million combined as a save. He then played last season for the Knicks, earning $ 5 million. Noel stayed with Paul for all four contracts.
Noel claims in lawsuit Klutch failed to make him a priority when he was a free agent, failed to respond to teams seeking to sign him as a free agent and failed to secure a deal multi-year with the Thunder he was. dit was in preparation. Noel fired Paul last season after signing with the Knicks.
After starting 41 games for the Knicks and playing a solid defense, finishing third in the NBA with an average of 2.2 blocks per game, Noel signed a three-year contract with the Knicks this month that guarantees him 27, $ 7 million with an additional $ 4.1 million in possible incentives. The deal was negotiated by Agent George Langberg.
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