2017 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Nerlens Noel: 1 year, $4.1 million (Dallas Mavericks)
Nerlens Noel clearly betting on himself with acceptance of $4.1M QO. He turned down 4-year, $70M Mavs offer made on July 1, sources say.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2017
After reaching a bit of an impasse with their restricted free agent Nerlens Noel, the Dallas Mavericks were forced to give the big man a one-year trial period to prove himself as the two sides agreed to let him play out the 2017-18 season on his $4.1 million qualifying offer.
This essentially means Noel will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, leaving the upcoming season as his last chance to prove to the Mavs (and other prospective suitors) that his potential is finally ready to materialize and that he can stay healthy. After reportedly turning down a four-year, $70 million offer, that’s quite a risk.
Noel averaged 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his 22-game stint in Big D last year, so he didn’t quite establish himself as a big-money big man, especially with the market drying up. Dallas gets another year with a talented center to see if he’s franchise material, which is somewhat disappointing if he really did reject that hefty offer, but could wind up saving the Mavs a ton of money in the long run if he never pans out.
Bourguet Grade: B+