Report: Nerlens Noel Disappointed With Mavericks' Negotiations
By Josh Clark
DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The agent for restricted free agent Nerlens Noel says the center is unhappy with the Mavericks contract negotiations to this point.
"We're very disappointed with where things stand," Happy Walters told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. "Nerlens loves Dallas and spent June there working out, but we're still waiting on a serious offer."
Noel and his agent bet on themselves back on June 30 at 11:01 p.m. cst. when free agency began.
105.3 The Fan's Mike Fisher reported then that Walters requested that the Mavericks don't wine and dine Noel, but that a simple phone call expressing their interest in retaining him would suffice.
The rumor at the time, according to Skin Wade of The Ben and Skin Show, was that the club was offering Noel $17-18 million per season.
With Noel eligible for a max salary starting at $25 million per year, the center and his agent wanted to see what his value was on the open market, with the idea being that they'd return to the Mavericks with an offer sheet from another club so that Dallas could then decide if they wanted to match or not.
It's been 18 days and Noel is running out of options.
So what exactly are those options ... He could sign his qualifying offer for the season and make $4,187,600 (DallasBasketball.com reports), which is the least likeliest option. A player with a history of being injured will not turn down guaranteed years and money.
Option No. 2, Noel could wait it out and find a team to pay him a large salary, which Dallas will then have the opportunity to match. This option is also not very likely because teams knew when free agency began that Dallas was going to match any offer he received and there aren't very many teams with the funds to pay him what he wants at this point.
Noel's third and final option is simple, come to an agreement with the Mavericks on a deal that makes everyone happy.
Until that time comes, Mavs fans can continue to focus their minds on the positives.
Like this for instance...
