One piece of news in the past two days may have been overlooked: former Lone Ranger general manager Downey Nelson sued the Lone Ranger! Nelson claims that his nephew was sexually assaulted by Cuban aides during an interview, and Cuban later returned him $52 million in sealing fees. Now there's an update on the matter: The Lone Ranger countersues Nielsen, accusing the latter of extorting $100 million!
Messed up, messed up into a pot of porridge! The Sect Master helped everyone to make a mess. Donnie Nelson is the son of NBA coach Don Nelson, so we generally call the former Nelson Jr. In 1998, Nelson Jr. became the deputy general manager of the Lone Ranger, and he worked well, soon becoming general manager until he stepped down in 2021.
Nelson Jr. is the longest-serving general manager in NBA history, and he broke up with Cuban in the offseason last offseason. Nelson Jr. said in the lawsuit: "My nephew came to interview for the Lone Ranger in 2020 and was harassed and sexually assaulted by Cuban's right-hand man Jason Lutin. Cuban gave me $52 million in sealing fees! ”
According to Nelson Jr.'s lawsuit, he was discussing a 10-year, $66 million contract extension with the Lone Ranger, and the two sides were about to reach an agreement. Five months after the "sexual assault incident", Nelson Jr. learned of the incident, he ran to question Cuban, and the two sides broke up. After that, the Lone Ranger not only withdrew the contract extension, but also fired him.
Nelson Jr. said he worked for the Lone Ranger for 23 years, which is also a team achievement. Being fired was Cuban's revenge on himself. Nelson Jr. responded through a lawyer: "The $100 million extortion charge of the Lone Ranger is baseless and fabricated!" Of course, the above is the nelson Jr.'s side of the explanation of the incident, how will the Lone Ranger respond?
The Lone Ranger officially issued a statement: Nelson Jr.'s allegations against Jason Lutin and the Lone Ranger are fabricated, the NBA has learned of the matter, and has commissioned an outside agency to intervene in the investigation, and the matter has been resolved. Nelson Jr. was fired because of his misconduct, and he himself knew why, but the team was just reluctant to go public.
In addition, Cuban also wrote an email to ESPN and other media outlets: What Nelson Jr. said was a lie, and the team and NBA officials have investigated. Nelson Jr. himself refused to cooperate with the investigation, and he was fired because he did not meet the team's requirements. At present, the two sides have their own opinions, and as for the truth, we may have to wait.
In recent years, there has been a lot of negative news from the Lone Ranger management. In 2018, Cuban invited professional gambler Vogaris to join the Mavericks as "Quantitative R&D Director." After Nelson Jr. was sacked in 2021, NBA star Sam Amick wrote a long article revealing that Wagaris had monopoly power on the team and that his relationship with Doncic was strained.
As soon as the news came out, many fans were worried about whether Doncic would be willing to renew his contract with the team. Fortunately, Cuban adjusted the team management in time, with Nick Harrison as president of basketball operations and Nowitzki as the team consultant. Cuban flew to Slovenia with Kidd, Nowitzki and Harrison to renew Doncic's contract early for $207 million for five years.
The Lone Rangers are currently fifth in the West, how far do you think they can go in the playoffs this year?