Dallas Mavericks center Nerlens Noel seems to be between a rock and a hard place.
After he was traded to the Mavericks form the Philadelphia 76ers, he had the opportunity to sign a lucrative deal with the team that would have been worth $70 million over four years. But he said no, then switched his agent to Rich Paul, who represents LeBron James.
There was plenty of speculation at the time about why Noel rejected the offer and changed agents, but Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report shed light on what exactly happened.
There were reports at the time that Noel was pushing for a max deal. A league source adamantly told B/R recently, though, that those reports were incorrect and that there was actually no dialogue whatsoever with the Mavericks after the agency change.
Noel ended up signing a qualifying offer worth only $4.1 million.
It's always interesting how contract negotiations play out. Noel was regarded highly by many NBA scouts when he was in high school, and he considered himself worthy of a higher draft pick when he came into the NBA.
But Noel has struggled to find a role with a team, and has had to deal with some injuries. Naturally, those two things usually mean players won't get as much money.
It's anyone's guess whether or not Noel or his agent were actually looking for a max contract, but the fact remains that he didn't get one because of certain factors.
If Noel ever wants to demand that kind of salary, there are things he has to do in order to earn it.
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