Ex-Maccabi Tel Aviv player against LeBron James' agent: "It cost me $70-80 million"
Norris Cole claimed that super-agent Rich Paul did a poor job managing negotiations for a new NBA contract, and later tried to hurt his name and reputation: "It is very hard to recover from that."
Norris Cole, an ex-Maccabi Tel Aviv player and former teammate of LeBron James with the Miami Heat, has launched sharp accusations against super-agent Rich Paul, claiming that his conduct cost him tens of millions of dollars and effectively led to the end of his NBA career.
Cole, who played for Miami between 2011 and 2015 and won two championships with the team, said on "The OGs Show" podcast that he trusted Paul completely to handle negotiations for his next contract, but according to him, the agent made a series of mistakes that damaged his bargaining power.
"I learned a hard lesson about the business side of basketball. To all the young players, when you have an agent, make sure you are involved in what is happening. Don't let him manage everything behind the scenes without you knowing. This was my first time as a free agent and I didn't know that." — Cole said.
The point guard added: "I had a powerful agent and I let him do everything, including all the negotiations. I didn't even think twice about it, but he handled some negotiations poorly. I found out about it late and eventually fired him. When you fire a powerful agent, it's obvious he will try to save his name. That's what happened. They tried to make it look like I was the greedy one."
According to Cole, he expected to receive a significant raise after his rookie contract ended, but was eventually forced to settle for a minimum contract. Afterward, he moved to play for a short period in China, got injured, completed a rehabilitation period, and received another opportunity in Oklahoma City, but failed to re-stabilize his status in the league. With no other choice, he was pushed out of the NBA and moved to Maccabi Tel Aviv, for whom he played in the 2017/18 season.
"I had to take a contract in China for a few months, and then I got injured there," he said. "I went through an eight-week rehab, came back, and got an opportunity in Oklahoma City. But then it was hard, because once someone tries to hurt your name and reputation, and when it comes to a person with the power and status of a top agent, it is very hard to recover from that."
"I managed to recover and still play. I never lacked food, my family is fine, and everything is good," Cole concluded. "But I lost a lot because of this. I probably lost between 70 and 80 million dollars."
Although he is already 37, Cole refuses to retire — this season he played for Peñarol from Uruguay.
