Nerlens Noel Is Suing Rich Paul And Klutch Sports Claiming Their Shitty Advice Cost Him $58 MILLION

[Source] - 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 to 2020.

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.

I am fascinated by this story simply because of the money amount, the moving parts and the people involved. Nerlens Noel was once valued as a $70 million player. Not too shabby. That's what the Mavs were going to pay him at one point except that his then, new agent Rich Paul advised against it. Paul basically convinced him he was worth $100 million and to take a qualifying offer, play to his potential and get paid more. I know $30 million is a lot, but uh, so is $70 million. I just can't imagine passing on that but then again I'm just a blogger and not a former top-10 pick. Now there are even more moving parts when you remember that Noel got hurt during that year and that's part of why he never got paid that sort of money again. 

I've never been a person who gets up in arms about contracts. I don't care what a person gets paid and will never freak out that they are getting so much money. That's what they are deemed worth in that industry. But it's insane when you see the numbers and realize it was a $58 million mistake one way or another. Just for comparison sake with $58 million you could buy two Rolls-Royce Boat Tail's which is the most expensive car in the world and still have a couple million left over. 

I think we know who to really blame here though. 

During the free-agency process, Noel said he fired Walters and hired Paul after they met at Ben Simmons' birthday party in Los Angeles.

It always comes back to Ben Simmons. The man can't even have a birthday party without something coming up. Just goes to show you that no matter what, never make a decision at a party. It won't end well. Relationship, business, personal, whatever. Just sleep on it and make a decision down the road, preferably after you make millions upon millions of dollars.