New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel has launched a lawsuit against Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, accusing the NBA power broker and his agency of mismanaging Noel's interests during free-agency negotiations from 2017-20, according to a petition filed Monday in Dallas County, Texas.
Noel is seeking financial compensation for damages stemming from Paul and Klutch Sports' alleged breach of the "Standard Player Agent Contract," breach of fiduciary duty, breach of good faith and fair dealings, and gross negligence.
The lawsuit comes after Klutch Sports filed a grievance with the National Basketball Players Association claiming Noel failed to deliver a $200,000 commission from his one-year contract with the Knicks for 2020-21, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
The grievances outlined in the filing date back to the 2017 free-agency window when Paul convinced Noel to leave his longtime representative, Happy Walters, to join Klutch Sports. Paul assured the 2013 No. 6 pick he would be "a 100-million man" and secure a maximum contract.
Noel infamously declined the Dallas Mavericks' offer of a four-year, $70-million contract extension at Paul's recommendation. He instead signed a modest one-year qualifying offer that would allow him to reach unrestricted free agency in 2018.
But Noel's expected contract value fell substantially due in large part to a 2017-18 campaign plagued by a thumb injury. Noel claims it was at this point that Klutch Sports lost interest in representing him.
Paul is accused of ignoring NBA teams' attempts to initiate free-agency discussions regarding Noel throughout the big man's time with Klutch Sports.
Noel claims he received little strategic counseling from Paul and attributed his decision to sign a league-minimum deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018 to recruitment efforts from then-Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George. He re-signed with Oklahoma City on a one-year deal for 2019-20, again at the league minimum.
When Noel was contemplating leaving Klutch Sports around January 2020, an agency employee convinced him to stay, telling Noel the Thunder planned to offer him a three-year contract worth between $7 million and $10 million annually.
That three-year pact never materialized, and Noel instead signed a one-year, $5-million contract with the Knicks - the contract for which Klutch Sports is reportedly still seeking a commission fee. Noel's lawsuit asserts Paul had "virtually no role" in the agreement.
Noel made $12 million on a string of short-term deals during the four seasons for which the Mavericks initially offered him $70 million. He averaged 5.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and one steal in just over 18 minutes per game from 2017-21.
Noel, 27, terminated his relationship with Paul in December 2020 and signed with George Langberg of the GSL Sports Agency; his new representation negotiated the three-year, $32-million contract Noel signed with the Knicks in July.
