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- LeBron James preaches defense as the ‘one thing’ he wants Lakers to improve on from last season
- Anthony Davis says he should’ve been Defensive Player of the Year in 2020
- LeBron James says his main focus for Lakers this season will be his availability
- Patrick Beverley says Russell Westbrook has been his best friend on Lakers since joining team
- Report: Lakers offered 1st-round pick for Bojan Bogdanovic but didn’t want to take on long-term salary
Report: Nerlens Noel alleges Rich Paul didn’t tell him Lakers, Rockets and 76ers were interested in signing him
- Updated: September 21, 2021
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 already alleged that Paul, who used to represent the big man, cost him millions of dollars in earnings by representing him poorly.
Recently, more details emerged. Noel is also alleging that he was not informed by Paul that three teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, were interested in signing him in recent offseasons. Paul allegedly didn’t return calls from those teams.
“The complaint claims that the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers had interest in signing Noel as a free agent in recent offseasons,” wrote Ian Begley of SportsNet New York. “But Noel, allegedly, was unaware of the interest because Paul didn’t return calls from those teams.”
If proven true, this is a massive story. While Noel isn’t a superstar, it’s impossible to know how past NBA seasons would have unfolded had he played for different teams.
The 27-year-old is coming off 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 contest.
It’s surely interesting for fans to think about what the Lakers’ frontcourt situation would have looked like in recent seasons had Noel been a part of the team. At this point, there’s no way to know for sure.
It will be worth monitoring how the rest of this story unfolds.
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