Toronto Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse directs his team during the first half of an NBA conference semifinal playoff basketball game with the Boston Celtics Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
NBA agent Warren LeGarie has filed a civil lawsuit against Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse for breach of contract, USA Today reported Friday.
According to the suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Nurse failed to pay commissions on his contract extension reached with the Raptors last year.
“Defendant Nurse failed to do certain things required by the representation contract,” the suit says, according to USA Today. “Among other things, Defendant Nurse failed to abide by the terms of the representation contract, failed to pay Plaintiffs the amounts due under the representation contract, and failed to disclose to Plaintiffs the amount of the employment contract he entered into with the Toronto Raptors for the 2020-2021 through 2023-2024 NBA seasons, thus denying Plaintiffs the opportunity to be paid for commissions wed on Defendant Nurse’s employment contract for the 2020-2021 through 2023-2024 NBA seasons.”
Nurse is now represented by Andy Miller of Klutch Sports.
The extension Nurse signed is reportedly worth $32 million over four seasons. Negotiations began after Nurse guided the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 NBA title and the deal was formally announced last September.
The suit said LeGarie entered into an oral agreement to represent Nurse in or around 2013. LeGarie offered to represent Nurse in exchange for 3 percent commission on head coaching contracts and 4 percent commission on assistant coaching contracts.
Nurse hasn’t commented on the suit, but one of his attorneys did on Friday.
“We are very disappointed that this case got filed, but we respect the legal process and Nick will defend himself vigorously,” Jerry Crawford said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.
According to the suit, Nurse paid commissions for four seasons (2015-19). LeGarie said he was working on the extension with the Raptors for nine months before he was instructed to stop negotiations.
Nurse, who turns 54 on July 24, has a 138-88 record in three seasons as coach of the Raptors. He was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year for 2019-20.