Nerlens Noel sues Rich Paul, Klutch Sports

[Roy H.]

New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his firm, Klutch Sports, on Monday, claiming he lost $58 million in potential salary while he was represented by Paul from 2017-20.

Noel took the action after Klutch recently filed a grievance with the National Basketball Players Association claiming Noel hadn't paid $200,000 in commission on his previous one-year contract with the Knicks, multiple sources told ESPN.

Noel claims breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence. The lawsuit doesn't cite a specific amount of damages but asks for actual and punitive relief.

Paul declined to comment.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Dallas County, Texas, centers around a decision made in July 2017 when Noel was a restricted free agent of the Dallas Mavericks. Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22 games with the Mavericks after he was traded there midway through the previous season from 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 deal by the Mavericks, a number 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 numerous NBA All-Stars, including Simmons and LeBron James.

In the lawsuit, Noel said Paul advised him to pass on the $70 million offer and accept a one-year deal so he could be an unrestricted free agent the following year when Paul said he could get Noel a more lucrative contract. Noel eventually did turn down the deal and signed his one-year qualifying offer of $4.1 million.

The following season, Noel broke his thumb and missed 42 games as his numbers dropped. He didn't re-sign in Dallas and played the next two seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder, making the league minimum, $3.7 million combined, as a backup. He then played last season for the Knicks, making $5 million. Noel remained with Paul for all four contracts.

Noel claims in the lawsuit that Klutch didn't make him a priority when he was a free agent, wasn't responsive to teams looking to sign him as a free agent and failed to execute a multi-year deal with the Thunder that he was told was in the works. Noel fired Paul last season after signing with the Knicks.

After starting 41 games for the Knicks and playing strong defense, finishing third in the NBA averaging 2.2 blocks per game, Noel signed a three-year deal with the Knicks this month that guarantees him $27.7 million with another $4.1 million in possible incentives. The deal was negotiated by agent George Langberg.

This sounds pretty impossible to prove to me, but I'd love to see a very public lawsuit where it's pointed out that Klutch is basically an arm of Lebron James, and that the agency is primary aimed at steering players toward the Lakers.

[gift]

Feels like so long ago. Hard to believe he was ever worth that contract.

[gouki88]

I feel like when people say "he should sue his agent!" in cases like these, it's a joke. Nobody actually does it...

[Moranis]

Case will be dismissed rather quickly I would imagine. 

[bdm860]

You're missing the more interesting part.  Per Sports Agent Blog (odd source, but whatever).

Multiple teams reached out to Paul in an effort to sign Noel, and he didn't even return any calls, allegedly.

Noel allegedly learned from Brett Brown, who was coaching the Philadelphia 76ers at the time, that the 76ers front office had been trying to contact Paul to discuss a potential deal and that Paul refused to respond. This was purportedly the case with other team representatives who were reaching out as well.

Eventually, Noel says that he contemplated terminating his representation relationship with Klutch Sports; however, he was persuaded by Lucas Newton of the company that they were working on a 3-year deal with the Thunder that should compensate Noel to the tune of $7 million to $10 million annually. Thus, Noel decided to stay in place with his agency of record.

Then, free agency hit and the first day was quiet. Noel says that he later learned that representatives from the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers wanted to discuss opportunities with Paul, but that they could not make contact.

Turning down the Dallas deal, that's just a gamble that didn't pay off.  But not even returning calls from teams wanting to sign him, that absolutely sounds like a violation of Paul's fiduciary duty.

[Kuberski33]

The sports agent game is not for the feint of heart.

Klutch has had a nice rise to prominence but it was only a matter of time before there were going to be some disgruntled clients out there. That the first one to come forward is a player who hasn't quite had the success that was expected when he entered the league - is not at all surprising. 

There will be more. It's inevitable with the kind of money NBA players get paid.

[celticsclay]

You're missing the more interesting part.  Per Sports Agent Blog (odd source, but whatever).

Multiple teams reached out to Paul in an effort to sign Noel, and he didn't even return any calls, allegedly.

Noel allegedly learned from Brett Brown, who was coaching the Philadelphia 76ers at the time, that the 76ers front office had been trying to contact Paul to discuss a potential deal and that Paul refused to respond. This was purportedly the case with other team representatives who were reaching out as well.

Eventually, Noel says that he contemplated terminating his representation relationship with Klutch Sports; however, he was persuaded by Lucas Newton of the company that they were working on a 3-year deal with the Thunder that should compensate Noel to the tune of $7 million to $10 million annually. Thus, Noel decided to stay in place with his agency of record.

Then, free agency hit and the first day was quiet. Noel says that he later learned that representatives from the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers wanted to discuss opportunities with Paul, but that they could not make contact.

Turning down the Dallas deal, that's just a gamble that didn't pay off.  But not even returning calls from teams wanting to sign him, that absolutely sounds like a violation of Paul's fiduciary duty.

If this can be proven he does absolutely have a case that sounds insane. I don’t particularly love klutch so wouldn’t hate to see them lose a case.

[Ogaju]

New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his firm, Klutch Sports, on Monday, claiming he lost $58 million in potential salary while he was represented by Paul from 2017-20.

Noel took the action after Klutch recently filed a grievance with the National Basketball Players Association claiming Noel hadn't paid $200,000 in commission on his previous one-year contract with the Knicks, multiple sources told ESPN.

Noel claims breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence. The lawsuit doesn't cite a specific amount of damages but asks for actual and punitive relief.

Paul declined to comment.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Dallas County, Texas, centers around a decision made in July 2017 when Noel was a restricted free agent of the Dallas Mavericks. Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22 games with the Mavericks after he was traded there midway through the previous season from 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 deal by the Mavericks, a number 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 numerous NBA All-Stars, including Simmons and LeBron James.

In the lawsuit, Noel said Paul advised him to pass on the $70 million offer and accept a one-year deal so he could be an unrestricted free agent the following year when Paul said he could get Noel a more lucrative contract. Noel eventually did turn down the deal and signed his one-year qualifying offer of $4.1 million.

The following season, Noel broke his thumb and missed 42 games as his numbers dropped. He didn't re-sign in Dallas and played the next two seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder, making the league minimum, $3.7 million combined, as a backup. He then played last season for the Knicks, making $5 million. Noel remained with Paul for all four contracts.

Noel claims in the lawsuit that Klutch didn't make him a priority when he was a free agent, wasn't responsive to teams looking to sign him as a free agent and failed to execute a multi-year deal with the Thunder that he was told was in the works. Noel fired Paul last season after signing with the Knicks.

After starting 41 games for the Knicks and playing strong defense, finishing third in the NBA averaging 2.2 blocks per game, Noel signed a three-year deal with the Knicks this month that guarantees him $27.7 million with another $4.1 million in possible incentives. The deal was negotiated by agent George Langberg.

This sounds pretty impossible to prove to me, but I'd love to see a very public lawsuit where it's pointed out that Klutch is basically an arm of Lebron James, and that the agency is primary aimed at steering players toward the Lakers.

lol ….you are right the discovery in the suit will be very revealing.

[MattyIce]

New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his firm, Klutch Sports, on Monday, claiming he lost $58 million in potential salary while he was represented by Paul from 2017-20.

Noel took the action after Klutch recently filed a grievance with the National Basketball Players Association claiming Noel hadn't paid $200,000 in commission on his previous one-year contract with the Knicks, multiple sources told ESPN.

Noel claims breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence. The lawsuit doesn't cite a specific amount of damages but asks for actual and punitive relief.

Paul declined to comment.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Dallas County, Texas, centers around a decision made in July 2017 when Noel was a restricted free agent of the Dallas Mavericks. Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22 games with the Mavericks after he was traded there midway through the previous season from 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 deal by the Mavericks, a number 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 numerous NBA All-Stars, including Simmons and LeBron James.

In the lawsuit, Noel said Paul advised him to pass on the $70 million offer and accept a one-year deal so he could be an unrestricted free agent the following year when Paul said he could get Noel a more lucrative contract. Noel eventually did turn down the deal and signed his one-year qualifying offer of $4.1 million.

The following season, Noel broke his thumb and missed 42 games as his numbers dropped. He didn't re-sign in Dallas and played the next two seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder, making the league minimum, $3.7 million combined, as a backup. He then played last season for the Knicks, making $5 million. Noel remained with Paul for all four contracts.

Noel claims in the lawsuit that Klutch didn't make him a priority when he was a free agent, wasn't responsive to teams looking to sign him as a free agent and failed to execute a multi-year deal with the Thunder that he was told was in the works. Noel fired Paul last season after signing with the Knicks.

After starting 41 games for the Knicks and playing strong defense, finishing third in the NBA averaging 2.2 blocks per game, Noel signed a three-year deal with the Knicks this month that guarantees him $27.7 million with another $4.1 million in possible incentives. The deal was negotiated by agent George Langberg.

This sounds pretty impossible to prove to me, but I'd love to see a very public lawsuit where it's pointed out that Klutch is basically an arm of Lebron James, and that the agency is primary aimed at steering players toward the Lakers.

I'm somewhat surprised Rich went down this road knowing that this was a possible result, the lawsuit.  win or lose this hurts his reputation,  maybe that's the worse part, he may not have thought Noel would actually stand up to him.

[Roy H.]

New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his firm, Klutch Sports, on Monday, claiming he lost $58 million in potential salary while he was represented by Paul from 2017-20.

Noel took the action after Klutch recently filed a grievance with the National Basketball Players Association claiming Noel hadn't paid $200,000 in commission on his previous one-year contract with the Knicks, multiple sources told ESPN.

Noel claims breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence. The lawsuit doesn't cite a specific amount of damages but asks for actual and punitive relief.

Paul declined to comment.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Dallas County, Texas, centers around a decision made in July 2017 when Noel was a restricted free agent of the Dallas Mavericks. Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22 games with the Mavericks after he was traded there midway through the previous season from 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 deal by the Mavericks, a number 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 numerous NBA All-Stars, including Simmons and LeBron James.

In the lawsuit, Noel said Paul advised him to pass on the $70 million offer and accept a one-year deal so he could be an unrestricted free agent the following year when Paul said he could get Noel a more lucrative contract. Noel eventually did turn down the deal and signed his one-year qualifying offer of $4.1 million.

The following season, Noel broke his thumb and missed 42 games as his numbers dropped. He didn't re-sign in Dallas and played the next two seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder, making the league minimum, $3.7 million combined, as a backup. He then played last season for the Knicks, making $5 million. Noel remained with Paul for all four contracts.

Noel claims in the lawsuit that Klutch didn't make him a priority when he was a free agent, wasn't responsive to teams looking to sign him as a free agent and failed to execute a multi-year deal with the Thunder that he was told was in the works. Noel fired Paul last season after signing with the Knicks.

After starting 41 games for the Knicks and playing strong defense, finishing third in the NBA averaging 2.2 blocks per game, Noel signed a three-year deal with the Knicks this month that guarantees him $27.7 million with another $4.1 million in possible incentives. The deal was negotiated by agent George Langberg.

This sounds pretty impossible to prove to me, but I'd love to see a very public lawsuit where it's pointed out that Klutch is basically an arm of Lebron James, and that the agency is primary aimed at steering players toward the Lakers.

I'm somewhat surprised Rich went down this road knowing that this was a possible result, the lawsuit.  win or lose this hurts his reputation,  maybe that's the worse part, he may not have thought Noel would actually stand up to him.

Yeah, if this whole thing was prompted by Paul seeking payment on a $200k bill, he should have just let it go.  Defending this suit alone will be $50k, minimum, probably substantially more.  Between that and loss of reputation, that’s more than a $200k loss.

[Ogaju]

New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his firm, Klutch Sports, on Monday, claiming he lost $58 million in potential salary while he was represented by Paul from 2017-20.

Noel took the action after Klutch recently filed a grievance with the National Basketball Players Association claiming Noel hadn't paid $200,000 in commission on his previous one-year contract with the Knicks, multiple sources told ESPN.

Noel claims breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence. The lawsuit doesn't cite a specific amount of damages but asks for actual and punitive relief.

Paul declined to comment.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Dallas County, Texas, centers around a decision made in July 2017 when Noel was a restricted free agent of the Dallas Mavericks. Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22 games with the Mavericks after he was traded there midway through the previous season from 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 deal by the Mavericks, a number 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 numerous NBA All-Stars, including Simmons and LeBron James.

In the lawsuit, Noel said Paul advised him to pass on the $70 million offer and accept a one-year deal so he could be an unrestricted free agent the following year when Paul said he could get Noel a more lucrative contract. Noel eventually did turn down the deal and signed his one-year qualifying offer of $4.1 million.

The following season, Noel broke his thumb and missed 42 games as his numbers dropped. He didn't re-sign in Dallas and played the next two seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder, making the league minimum, $3.7 million combined, as a backup. He then played last season for the Knicks, making $5 million. Noel remained with Paul for all four contracts.

Noel claims in the lawsuit that Klutch didn't make him a priority when he was a free agent, wasn't responsive to teams looking to sign him as a free agent and failed to execute a multi-year deal with the Thunder that he was told was in the works. Noel fired Paul last season after signing with the Knicks.

After starting 41 games for the Knicks and playing strong defense, finishing third in the NBA averaging 2.2 blocks per game, Noel signed a three-year deal with the Knicks this month that guarantees him $27.7 million with another $4.1 million in possible incentives. The deal was negotiated by agent George Langberg.

This sounds pretty impossible to prove to me, but I'd love to see a very public lawsuit where it's pointed out that Klutch is basically an arm of Lebron James, and that the agency is primary aimed at steering players toward the Lakers.

I'm somewhat surprised Rich went down this road knowing that this was a possible result, the lawsuit.  win or lose this hurts his reputation,  maybe that's the worse part, he may not have thought Noel would actually stand up to him.

Yeah, if this whole thing was prompted by Paul seeking payment on a $200k bill, he should have just let it go.  Defending this suit alone will be $50k, minimum, probably substantially more.  Between that and loss of reputation, that’s more than a $200k loss.

what reputation? Being Bron’s lackey?

[nickagneta]

Nerlens always seemed to surround himself with the wrong type of people, ever since he was young. Hopefully that has changed, I really do. And, if this is true and provable, that he gets compensated.

[GreenEnvy]

I’m fascinated that a guy with no offensive game would turn down $70 million. Did he think he would become Gobert (before Go wet became Gobert)? Like why risk that money when the odds of getting significantly more are low. If they advised him to turn that down, shame on him for listening. If they refused to return calls or take offers to Noel, shame on him for hiring them.

[johnnygreen]

I didn’t realize Happy Walters had more than Marcus Smart as an NBA client. It was Happy that may have negotiated that 4 year $70M deal with Dallas. That kind of negotiating for a player of Nerlons caliber, is elite agent territory.

[RJ87]

I didn’t realize Happy Walters had more than Marcus Smart as an NBA client. It was Happy that may have negotiated that 4 year $70M deal with Dallas. That kind of negotiating for a player of Nerlons caliber, is elite agent territory.

Can one of the lawyers clarify: if Noel accepted Dallas' offer of $70m/4 years, would Happy have been the agent of record and entitled to the commission even though he was fired?

No wonder Rich Paul had no problem advising him to turn that down...