Report: Nerlens Noel alleges Rich Paul did not tell him the Lakers, Rockets and 76ers were interested in signing him

New York Knicks big man Nerlens Noel is currently engaged in a legal battle with Rich Paul, who is one of the most powerful agents in the sports world.

Of course, Paul is also LeBron James’ agent and close friend.

Noel has previously alleged that Paul, who represented the great man, cost him millions of dollars in earnings by representing him poorly.

Recently, more details have emerged. Noel also alleges that he was not informed by Paul that three teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, were interested in signing him in recent offseason. Paul would not have responded to calls from these teams.

“The lawsuit claims the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers had an interest in signing Noel as a free agent in recent offseason,” wrote Ian Begley of SportsNet New York. “But Noel, allegedly, was not aware of the interest because Paul did not respond to calls from these teams.”

If it’s proven to be true, it’s a huge story. While Noel is not a superstar, it is impossible to know how past NBA seasons would have gone had he played for different teams.

The 27-year-old is coming out of a 2020-21 season in which he averaged 5.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He has career averages of 7.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

Surely it’s interesting for fans to think about what the situation on the Lakers front might have looked like the past few seasons if Noel had been a part of the squad. At this point, there is no way to know for sure.

It will be worth watching how the rest of this story unfolds.