Nerlens Noel is aware that to earn lucratively, he needs the right guy to make contract negotiations. He did that by turning to renowned player agent Rich Paul, the same guy who handles stars like LeBron James, Tristan Thompson, and Eric Bledsoe.

Things haven’t exactly gone smoothly for the NBA forward, a name that regularly crops up in trade rumors. Since being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Dallas Mavericks last February, it seemed that the 23-year-old found a perfect place to fit in. That may still hold up if he and the Mavs get the numbers right.

No low balling

When Noel arrived in Dallas, he showed potential to be one of the cornerstones of the franchise. However, the matter of haggling for good pay came to mind and such could be the reason behind Paul’s entry.

It turns out, Noel was already offered a contract by the Mavericks. According to Basketball Insiders, the 6-foot-11 player was dangled a $17.5 million annual paycheck. Those seem big numbers for any ordinary player. With the right guidance, Noel can be a star for any team.

He showed glimpses of that in Philly. The only problem is that he jockeyed for playing time with other big men. Regardless, he showed potential with the ability to play both ends of the court.

With Dallas, he gets more playing time and room to improve.

He has a tested coach in Rick Carlisle and his averages (8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds) should get a boost next season. With more time given to learn Carlisle’s system, Noel should improve on those numbers, not to mention other facets of his game.

How much should he be worth?

If he opts to stay, Noel can get as much as $146 million for five years in Dallas.

That is far better compared to the contract he can get from other teams – pegged at $109 million for four years.

He could sign offer sheets from other teams at some point, something Dallas would need to match. For now, it will be too early to tell the proper amount Noel would get once his current deal runs out.

The task of doing the numbers crunch falls into the hands of Rich Paul.

The player-agent has been known to play hardball with teams. A clear example is Tristan Thompson, someone who got the deal he wanted with the Cavs.

As most know, that took some time to get done. The case could be the same with Noel once it is time to jack up the numbers. To make things easier, the former sixth round pick of the 2013 NBA draft may have to improve on his numbers – starting his 2017-18 NBA season.
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