Former Philadelphia 76ers big man Nerlens Noel has spent the last half of the season with the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas traded center Andrew Bogut and forward Justin Anderson to the Sixers in exchange for the young center. During his tenure in Dallas, Noel averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while also adding a steal and a block per game.
This summer, Noel is a restricted free agent. Dallas does have their qualifying offer of $4.2 million extended, but many reports during the year stated that Noel is looking for a maximum deal. That deal would likely be around four years, $100 million.
Nerlens Noel and the Mavericks are "not close" to a deal, several league sources tell me.
— tim cato (@tim_cato) July 12, 2017
It was suspected that the Mavericks were going to put a priority on re-signing Noel this summer. However, as Tim Cato from SB Nation reports, the two sides are not even close to a deal.
This does make sense. Noel will presumably reject anything other than the absolute max, which might be too much money for him. Noel's biggest forte is definitely defense, but his offensive game is painfully limited. He is a good screen-setter and a solid finisher around the rim, but does not have much range, range that is a necessity in the modern NBA.
In terms of other teams, there is not much interest out there for Noel. There are only a handful of teams that even have max room to sign him. In addition to that, Dallas can match any offer sheet Noel signs.
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