Nerlens Noel signs one-year deal with Dallas for no apparent reason

Nerlens Noel has signed his one-year offer from the Mavs for about $4 million. The question here remains why Noel would take less money after switching agents, apparently having a lot of money on the table, and having interest from other teams. I wonder if Noel is hoping to latch on Dallas, and he is taking this offer to prove that he is owed even more money. Dirk Nowitzki is almost retired, and this could be Noel's chance to earn more money than he could have imagined.

Changing agents helps

Noel fired his agent in favor of Rich Paul. The agent who is one of LeBron James' friends could give Noel a chance to make a lot of money on the open market, and he appears to have a lot of bargaining power that other agents do not have. Paul could create a situation in which he is haranging the Mavericks for more money at the end of the season, and he would be in prime position to force them to pay Noel before going somewhere else. I cannot predict the future, but it appears that Noel wants to force the hand of the Mavericks for as much cash as he can get.

I know he is unhappy in Dallas

He could be much happier in Dallas if he were paid a lot of money to play a game for what is turning into a bad team. I think plenty of us could get over our workplace squabbles if we were making that much money. I cannot account for how unhappy Dallas is with Noel, but I can say that money solves a lot of problems in sports. Someone who goes to a team for the cash can get over a few of the worst points of their new franchise simply because the money is so good. Also remember that there is no state income tax in Texas, and he will make even more money than he was scheduled to make to begin with.

Mark Cuban needs a new direction

He might not believe that Noel is the new direction for the team, but he may want to have a solid young player on the team.

Signing Noel would give the Mavericks young pieces to work with, and they could decide how they want to proceed after they have become a young squad that does not feature Dirk. I believe the Mavericks need to start over completely, and that would require not paying Noel at all. Some other team will pay him, and the Mavs can have carte blanche to do what they like.

Noel is working the system

Rich Paul has proven that he is capable of getting more money for his players, and Nerlens Noel needs every bit of Paul's ability to get the money that he deserves. A player of his caliber should be paid properly by the team that wants a big center. Perhaps Dallas is the right landing spot after all.