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Revisiting Nerlens Noel’s Free Agency

August 28th, 2017 at 11:08am CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks big man Nerlens Noel headed into restricted free agency with expectations of walking away with an long-term max deal, or something close to it. Instead, it turned into a contentious and drawn-out odyssey, with Noel eventually signing his one-year qualifying offer. He’ll head back into the free agent market next summer as an unrestricted free agent, hoping to the secure the contract he was hoping for this summer.

Noel was offered a four-year, $70MM contract by Dallas when he entered free agency at the beginning of July, Chris Haynes of ESPN confirmed to Hoops Rumors on Sunday, but the Mavericks soon pulled if off the table after Noel – represented at the time by agent Happy Walters – rejected it. That offer was not on the table for Noel later in free agency.

Let’s look at the timeline of events during Noel’s foray into restricted free agency:

JUNE 27: The Mavs tender the qualifying offer of $4,187,598 to Noel, making him a restricted free agent.

JULY 1: Mavs owner Mark Cuban has a “great call” with Noel and puts the $70MM on the table. Noel expresses a desire to re-sign but decides to wait and see what the market will bear. The offer is soon pulled.

JULY 5: The Hawks reportedly show interest in Noel after trading Dwight Howard and allowing free agency Paul Millsap to walk. They ultimately decide not to extend an offer sheet.

JULY 18: Noel and the Mavs remain far apart in negotiations. Walters tells the Dallas Morning News that his client is “very disappointed where things stand” and hasn’t received a “serious offer.”

AUGUST 21: Agitated how the process played out, Noel fires Walters and hires Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. Paul is the agent for LeBron James and John Wall, among many other NBA players.

AUGUST 26: Noel signs the qualifying offer, gambling that he’ll find more success in the open market next summer. The Mavs now need Noel’s approval to deal him before he becomes a free agent and he’ll have to surrender his Bird rights if he agrees to a trade. Meanwhile, Walters confirms that his former client turned down a four-year, $70MM offer from Dallas earlier in free agency, adding, “You can only advise. You cannot force people to do things they feel strongly about.” (Twitter links).

Noel’s situation is a prime example of how restricted free agency doesn’t work out for every player. While some – like Otto Porter and Tim Hardaway Jr. – benefit from a system that forces rival teams to overpay for an RFA to increase their chances of landing him, others can be left out in the cold once cap room dries up around the NBA.

Nikola Mirotic (Bulls), Alex Len (Suns), Mason Plumlee (Nuggets), and JaMychal Green (Grizzlies) are still restricted free agents, and it will be interesting to see whether any of them sign lucrative, long-term contracts this summer, or whether their free agency sagas ultimately end up looking more like Noel’s.

More On Nerlens Noel's Free Agency

August 27th, 2017 at 6:37pm CST by Austin Kent

We wrote yesterday that Nerlens Noel unexpectedly signed his qualifying offer with the Mavs after supposedly turning down a four-year, $70MM offer. At the time of the signing, ESPN’s Chris Haynes tweeted that the four-year deal was “non-existent.” Shortly after news broke, Noel’s former agent Happy Walters responded to the Haynes tweet, insisting that the deal was in fact extended and rejected, however that doesn’t necessarily mean that the offer was still on the table when Noel’s new representation, Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group, took over in the negotiation process. For a breakdown of the process, check out Isaac Harris of The Smoking Cuban‘s recap.

Noel's Financial Drama Isn't Over

August 27th, 2017 at 10:33am CST by Arthur Hill

By accepting a $4.1MM qualifying offer, Mavericks center Nerlens Noel has created a financial drama that will last through the season, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. He decided to take the one-year deal after consulting with his new agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, whom Noel just hired this week. It was an unexpected end to negotiations for the third-year big man, who reportedly turned down a four-year, $70MM offer earlier this summer.

Noel’s decision gives the Mavericks about $12MM in unexpected cap space, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN [insider account]. Only the Bulls and Sixers have more, although the Suns could surpass Dallas if Alex Len also accepts a qualifying offer. The Mavericks will be in position to help facilitate trades and acquire assets throughout the season. They may also benefit next summer from Noel’s small cap hold, which is estimated at about $8MM. Noel finished just one start short of the cutoff for “starter criteria,” which is 41 starts or 2,000 minutes in the previous season. His qualifying offer would have been $5.85MM if he had met that standard.

Nerlens Noel May Face Similar Market in 2018

August 26th, 2017 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks center Nerlens Noel will take his chances as an unrestricted free agent next summer after accepting the team’s $4.1 MM qualifying offer for this season. There were conflicting reports about whether Dallas ever offered a four-year deal in the $70MM range, but regardless, the third-year big man is committed to one more season with the Mavs for less than he made last year.

The lack of interest is partially the plight of being a restricted free agent, but ESPN’s Kevin Pelton [Insider account] isn’t sure Noel will get the max offer he wants in 2018.

There will be fewer teams with money to spend, as Pelton identifies just six franchises that appear to have the cap room to extend a max offer. One of those is the Lakers, who figure to have their eyes on bigger prizes than Noel. The Pacers with Myles Turner and the Jazz with Rudy Gobert won’t be spending money on another center, and the Sixers don’t figure to bring Noel back to town.

That leaves just the Hawks, who could have more than $30MM available if Dewayne Dedmon and Mike Muscala both turn down their player options, and the Bulls, who seem destined to have more than $40MM and might be ready for a new direction in the middle.

Pelton notes that it has been a particularly rough summer for free agent centers, with Pau Gasol getting the largest contract by re-signing with the Spurs for $49MM over three years. With many teams de-emphasizing the position and others already set, unrestricted free agency won’t gurantee Noel the payday he wants.

Nerlens Noel Signs Qualifying Offer, Returning to Mavs

August 26th, 2017 at 12:20pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Nerlens Noel has signed a one-year, $4.2MM qualifying offer to return to the Mavericks, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. Having failed to find a long-term off he liked in restricted free agency, the big man is now on track to become an unrestricted free agent in 2018.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Noel turned down a Mavs offer in the range of $17.5MM per year. Haynes suggests that Noel’s reported $17MM+ offer was non-existent in any form, but Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets that, according to sources, the RFA did turn down a four-year, $70MM offer made on July 1. Tim McMahon of ESPN clarifies (link via Twitter) that Noel asked the Mavs for a max contract and then the four-year offer was pulled soon thereafter.

Noel appeared in 22 games for the Mavs after being traded from the 76ers, starting 12 of them and playing 22.0 MPG. In his three-season NBA career, the Kentucky product is averaging 10.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG, and 1.5 BPG. Although he’s mainly known for his defensive prowess, Noel’s career FG% is 51.1%.

While Noel accepting a one-year deal worth $4.188MM is somewhat surprising, there simply weren’t many teams left with cap room this year that could have given him a realistic offer sheet — currently, no club has more cap room than the Sixers, who weren’t about to make a bid to bring back the former lottery pick.

Earlier this week, on August 21, Noel switched agents from Happy Walters to Rich Paul. Paul didn’t have much to do for Noel this summer, but he’ll be tasked with negotiating the young center’s next deal in 2018.

Noel will have more freedom when he reaches the open market next season, though he won’t necessarily be guaranteed a massive payday — cap space isn’t expected to be quite as abundant around the NBA in 2018 as it has been the last two summers.

Having accepted his qualifying offer, Noel now must consent to any trade if the Mavs look to deal him this year. If he agrees to be traded, he would surrender his Bird rights, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (link via Twitter).

With today’s signing, Noel becomes the first restricted free agent to sign a qualifying offer since 2015 when Norris Cole and Matthew Dellavedova both did so. Greg Monroe is the most notable restricted free agent to sign a qualifying offer in recent years, having done so in 2014. Four 2017 RFAs now remain unsigned: Mason Plumlee (Nuggets), Nikola Mirotic (Bulls), JaMychal Green (Grizzlies), and Alex Len (Suns).

Luke Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavericks Notes: Noel, Matthews, Smith, Cuban

August 23rd, 2017 at 7:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Restricted free agent Nerlens Noel turned down an offer from the Mavericks in the range of $17.5MM per year, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. With no further details on that offer, it’s hard to know exactly how appealing it was — it could have been a short-term deal, or not fully guaranteed. Still, it seems like a very fair annual rate for Noel.

The 23-year old big man remains one of the top players left on the market as training camps near. Noel still hopes to land a max contract, even though few teams have the financial resources available to make such an offer.

He recently changed agents, hiring Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who lists LeBron James and John Wall among his highest-profile clients. Noel has been frustrated at not receiving offers from any other organizations. He still has the option to accept a $4,187,598 qualifying offer from the Mavericks and take his chances as an unrestricted free agent next season. Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 22 games with Dallas after a deadline trade brought him from the 76ers.

There’s more today out of Dallas:

Halfway through the four-year, $70MM deal he signed with the Mavericks in 2015, Wesley Matthews is adopting some new training techniques to improve his game, writes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Matthews has been doing yoga this summer and trying to improve his conditioning in hopes of raising his shooting percentage in 2017/18. “I want to be the most complete basketball player that I can be, and with the shooting slump that I had there were still ways that I had to be effective on the court,” he said. “You know, energy, leadership and defense, that’s always going to be a part of it. But being able to get other guys shots and get other guys open, I take pride in that as well.” Matthews has shot 39% overall and 36% from 3-point range during his two seasons in Dallas, well below the numbers he put up in Portland. He could be a year away from free agency, as he has a player option on his $18,622,514 salary for 2018/19.
Owner Mark Cuban worries that it might be a “curse” or “jinx” that Dennis Smith Jr. is considered an early favorite for Rookie of the Year, but he raved about the No. 9 draft pick in a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. In a segment transcribed by The Dallas Morning News, Cuban says Smith’s ability goes beyond his obvious athleticism. “I mean his ball handling, his intellect for the game, he’s already on Synergy Sports watching great point guards [and] learning from them,” Cuban said. “He’s committed to getting better every day. He’s just got that mindset of a winner.”
In the same interview, Cuban says the NBA’s new scheduling policy goes “90% of the way” toward solving the problem of teams resting healthy players, and adds that he would never tell coach Rick Carlisle to keep a player out of action.

NBA Rookies View Dennis Smith Jr. As ROY Favorite

August 22nd, 2017 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

For the last decade, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann has been surveying several incoming rookies to get their thoughts on their fellow first-year players. Schuhmann asks the newest NBA players to identify which rookie they expect to have the best career, which was the steal of the 2017 draft, and which is the frontrunner for the 2017/18 Rookie of the Year award, among other questions.

This year, Schuhmann polled 39 rookies, and more than a quarter of those players made Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. their pick for Rookie of the Year favorite. The No. 9 overall pick received 25.7% of the vote, beating out top picks like Lonzo Ball (20%) and Markelle Fultz (17.1%). That may be good news for the Mavs, though as Schuhmann observes, the rookies he has surveyed haven’t accurately predicted the Rookie of the Year winner since 2007/08, when they made Kevin Durant the overwhelming favorite.

Here are a few more items of interest from Schuhmann’s survey:

Smith was the landslide winner (43.6%) as the most athletic rookie. But while his fellow rookies believe the Mavericks point guard will have the best first year, Ball and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum received the most votes (18.4% apiece) for which rookie will have the best overall career.
Donovan Mitchell (18.9%) was the top choice for biggest steal of the draft, after the Jazz nabbed him at No. 13. Some of the second-round picks that the rookies viewed as steals included Jordan Bell (Warriors; No. 38) and Dwayne Bacon (Hornets; No. 40).
Luke Kennard (Pistons) and Malik Monk (Hornets) were widely considered the top two outside shooters in the draft. Among their fellow rookies, Kennard (48.6%) easily topped Monk (13.5%) as the pick for the No. 1 shooter of the 2017 class.
Suns forward Josh Jackson (26.3%) was narrowly voted the best rookie defender, while Ball (71.8%) was the overwhelming pick for best rookie playmaker.

Nerlens Noel Hires Rich Paul As His Agent

August 21st, 2017 at 7:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

AUGUST 21, 7:24pm: Noel has hired Rich Paul of Klutch Sports as his agent, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets. Paul is the agent for LeBron James and John Wall, among many other NBA players.

AUGUST 21, 9:11am: According to Mike Fisher of Scout.com (Twitter link), Noel is considering an agent change from Walters, despite hiring him just a few months ago. However, Fegan is not involved in this process — if Noel makes a change, he’s expected to look elsewhere.

AUGUST 20, 8:41pm: Scruggs’ report appears to be operating off of dated information, as Noel’s agency change occurred during the 2016/17 season. Initially reported to be leaning toward Fegan, Noel went in another direction, as Fegan was fired by his agency and became embroiled in legal drama. Noel – previously with Andy Miller at ASM – is currently represented by Happy Walters, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks confirms to Hoops Rumors.

AUGUST 20, 4:57pm: Nerlens Noel, who remains a restricted free agent, is still searching for a max contract on the market. In an effort to find that deal, he has switched agents, leaving ASM Sports and hiring Dan Fegan, according to Newy Scruggs of NBC.com.

Noel hasn’t received an offer from any rival suitor, Scruggs adds, which prompted the change. Should he still not find a long-term deal to his liking, he has the option to play for Dallas under his qualifying offer, which is worth $4,187,598.

Scruggs pegs Noel’s market value in the $12-13MM range, though it’s merely speculation. The scribe cites Noel’s injury history as a major reason why the big man will likely have to settle for less than the max.

The center has played 193 games since being selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft. He’s scored 10.0 rebounds and brought in 7.5 rebounds per game over his career while making 51.1% of his shots from the field.

Mavericks Sign Jeff Withey

August 21st, 2017 at 3:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

AUGUST 21: The Mavericks have officially signed Withey, the team announced today in a press release. Dallas now has 19 players under contract, with the final spot on the Mavs’ offseason roster likely reserved for Noel.

AUGUST 18: The Mavericks have agreed to a deal with Jeff Withey, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The scribe adds that the pact will be for one season.

Withey spent the last two seasons backing up Rudy Gobert on the Jazz and Utah renounced the rights to the Kansas product last month after agreeing to terms with Jonas Jerebko.

Withey was accused of domestic violence this past spring, though authorities said that despite the presence of physical contact between him and his ex-fiancee, he was innocent of wrongdoing since they determined that he was simply defending himself. It’s possible that Withey is handed some sort of suspension for the incident. However, no word of any punishment has been reported.

Withey was selected with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Blazers before being dealt to the Pelicans later that offseason. After two years in New Orleans, where he played just 9.9 minutes per game, he became a free agent and signed with the Jazz.

Dallas currently has a void at the center position, though it’s likely that Nerlens Noel fills that void once the RFA comes to terms with the teams. Withey will likely compete with Salah Mejri for the back-up five spot behind Noel.

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Mejri, Motley

August 19th, 2017 at 10:42am CST by marksuleymanov

Dirk Nowitzki, entering his 20th season with the Mavericks, will have a lot of questions surrounding his health and productivity. While the 39-year-old was still productive in 54 games last season, averaging 14.2 PPG and 6.5 RPG, his shooting (.437% )from the field was the lowest figure since his rookie season. As Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes, the legendary Maverick could become a bench player in 2017/18.

Sefko notes that coming off the bench would help keep Nowitzki’s legs fresh and perhaps prevent long term injuries. The German-born All-Star missed several games last season with Achilles tendon issues and considering the mileage on his body, pushing the near 40-year-old legend could only result in further damage.

However, the Dallas scribe is adamant in mentioning that if Nowitzki did not feel he could help, he would not play. “He will probably split time again between power forward and center, and the long-talked-about scenario of him coming off the bench might finally be in the cards, although he still seems better suited to start, keeping those creaky old legs from stiffening up after pregame warmups,” Sefko writes.

Below you can find additional notes surrounding the Mavericks organization:

While Salah Mejri found his way into 73 games for Dallas last season, Eddie Sefko writes in a separate piece that he will have to prove himself in 2017/18 if he wants to remain with the Mavericks. Mejri averaged just 2.9 PPG last season and entering the final year of his deal, he will need to show improvements across the board.
While he does not figure to get much NBA playing time, Johnathan Motley, who signed a two-way deal with the Mavericks, feels he can provide energy and size if called upon, NBA.com’s Earl K. Sneed writes. Motley enjoyed three good years at Baylor and went undrafted this year but could see time if the Mavericks are struck by injuries.
Once from Sefko, he writes that Motley’s role with the team is uncertain but the two-way deal gives Dallas a choice to shuttle him between the NBA and G-League. If he stays healthy and proves he can be effective in the NBA’s minor leagues, he will get a look from the team, Sefko adds.