Why did Nerlens Noel sue Rich Paul? A dive into legal dispute claiming $58 million loss to former Knicks center
Nerlens Noel is set to join the Sacramento Kings, according to a Tuesday report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The former Kentucky Wildcat has agreed to a one-year, $3.1 million deal for the 2023-24 season.
The 29-year-old center has been in the NBA for more than a decade already, but fans can still remember that he once declined a $70 million, four-year extension with the Dallas Mavericks in 2016 after heeding the advice from Rich Paul.
Happy Walters was his agent then, but Paul lured him to join Klutch Sports and promised to work out a maximum contract. That didn't happen, and Noel had to settle for a one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer which forced the center to file a lawsuit.
"Paul told Noel that if he terminated his relationship with Mr. Walters and signed with him instead, Paul would get him that 'max deal.' As part of this, Paul advised Noel that he should cease negotiations with Dallas, accept the single-year qualifying offer, and seek a max deal on the free agent market the following season," the lawsuit stated.
The legal battle lasted for years, and in September 2022, Nerlens Noel's lawsuit was dismissed. It was recommended that the NBPA's arbitration system handle the situation.
Both camps settled their dispute, according to reports, on Jan. 11, and Noel was asked to give Paul's agent commission for the New York Knicks' contract he served worth $200,000.
Nerlens Noel has career earnings of $45 million heading to the 2023-24 season
One way or the other, someone may want to root for Nerlens Noel to someday earn a big payday in his NBA career. Noel has pocketed $45 million and is still far from the $70 million that he rejected.
With the demand for centers limited for the past years as small ball and positionless basketball is the direction the NBA is going, Noel's options are very limited, and his chance of reaching the promised money is bleak.
The Sacramento Kings will be his seventh team. He was drafted sixth in 2013 by the New Orleans Pelicans but was traded for the Philadelphia 76ers for Jrue Holiday and the draft rights to Pierre Jackson.
Noel also played for the Dallas Mavericks, OKC Thunder, Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets.