Nerlens Noel has filed a lawsuit against agent Rich Paul and the Klutch Sports agency, reports Darren Heitner of SportsAgentBlog.com.
The New York Knicks center claims that Rich Paul convinced him he was a “$100MM man,” and that if Noel fired then-agent Happy Walters and signed with him, Paul would get him a max contract. Noel did exactly that and signed with Paul.
On top of that, Paul allegedly told Noel to cut off negotiations with the Mavericks, who had offered Noel a four-year, $70MM extension, and instead sign the one-year, $4.1MM qualifying offer. It did not work out for him as he had an injury-plagued year as he claims that no one from Klutch presented any ideas for how to pursue long-term contracts, and none were forthcoming on the market, leading him to sign a two-year, $3.75MM contract with the Thunder.
Even with that deal, Noel claims it was largely orchestrated by Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George, rather than by Rich Paul.
“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 complaint read. “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.”
Noel then claimed that multiple teams, including the Sixers, Clippers, and Rockets informed him that they attempted to get in touch with Paul about offering Noel a contract, but were unable to make contact.
Noel left Klutch Sports in December of 2020, and is suing Paul for the loss of approximately $58M stemming from the initial declined extension with Dallas.
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He has since re-signed with the New York Knicks on a three-year, $32 million deal that was negotiated by agent George Langberg.
