Nerlens Noel sues ex-agent Rich Paul over $ 58 million lost wages

New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel is suing former agent Rich Paul for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence, claiming Paul is responsible for $ 58 million in lost wages. Noel was originally portrayed by Happy Walters but signed with Paul in 2017 after meeting him at Ben Simmons’ birthday party. At the time, Noel was a restricted free agent and alleges that his then employer, the Dallas Mavericks, offered him a four-year, $ 70 million contract (which Walters said publicly at the time was real), but Paul advised him to reject the offer in favor of a one-year, $ 4.1 million qualifying offer that would have made him an unrestricted free agent in the next off-season. At this point, Noel could theoretically have found a larger supply on the open market.

Things didn’t go as planned from there, as Noel missed 42 games the following season after tearing a ligament in his thumb. He eventually had to play the next two seasons for minimum wage before getting a one-year, $ 5 million contract from the New York Knicks. He re-signed with the Knicks on a three-year, $ 32 million contract, but the final season came with a squad option.

Noel parted ways with Paul and Klutch Sports in 2020 and says Paul not only advised him against accepting the $ 70 million offer, but his portrayal did not make him a priority during periods of time. free agent following. He alleges that the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers tried to contact Paul during free agency of 2020, but that he did not take or return those calls.

“Noel’s frustrations with Paul peaked in December 2020 when he learned that Paul had a habit of mismanaging and ignoring other customers and costing them a lot of money,” the lawsuit said. “The belief was that Paul and Klutch Sports were only focused on serving their ‘big name’ customers and lacked the ability to provide competent service to other customers such as Noel, or players like Norris Cole or Shabazz Muhammad, as further examples. “

Paul represents a number of the biggest stars in the NBA, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, Ben Simmons and Trae Young. Noel is now represented by George Langberg. He decided to take legal action against Paul after Paul filed a grievance with the NBPA for more than $ 200,000 in unpaid commissions, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.