Nerlens Noel takes $4.1M qualifying offer from Mavericks

[arkuo]

I think what they're saying is Dirk is our starting center (for now) and while Dirk cant start 82 games, I think Noel will start some games during the season over Mejiri and Withey while Dirk takes a break.

Either that or Cuban is hell bent on giving Cousins the max regardless of what happens. Because a good young starting center is hard to find right now.

Then again a bench role would probably put the pressure on Nerlens to not veto a trade so Dallas can trade him somewhere he can start and get back some talent.

[Darren]

When a young center does not go to voluntary practice, he's not going to reward with playing time. He doesn't want to be there. Why bother? It's nothing about Cousins but Noel. Starting Dirk at 5 is a perfect excuse to save faces here and there. It's that simple.

[arkuo]

^the thing that I understand with voluntary practice is it is optional. Now if he misses training camp on purpose then its a totally different story.

Cuban is acting like Trump. If Curry doesnt want to go to the white house then he's suddenly not invited anyway. If Noel doesnt go to voluntary practice voluntarily then he's not wanted anyway.

[JamesConway]

(...) If we aren't starting him we won't be resigning him so might as well get something for him.

100% agree. But we're probably looking at a very limited asking price that we'll be able to demand. After signing the QO Noel basically has a trade veto-clause and he'd also lose any bird rights after getting traded.

I highly doubt that we could get more than a 2nd rounder for him now.

I agree....if we can get two 2nd rounders we'd essentially get back what we gave up for him and I'd be fine with that. There is an outside chance a contender might give up a late 1st round pick for him but yeah, he won't get much for him.

I honestly think Mejri and Withey together could make up a lot of what we lose in Noel as a bench player if Dirk is our primary center.

Another aspect: the second it becomes clear Powell hasn't turned himself into a jump shooting PF over the summer his minutes will become even less frequent than they were last season thus further killing his value. If Dirk starts at the 5, Noel comes into the game around the 6 minute-mark or whenever Dirk takes his first breather then there is even less of a role for Powell here than it was last season. On top of that you also got Mejri (who Imo is clearly superior to Powell at the 5) and Withey and you have crated just another ugly roster consequence.

This decisions stinks on so many levels...

[HMFFL]

When a young center does not go to voluntary practice, he's not going to reward with playing time. He doesn't want to be there. Why bother? It's nothing about Cousins but Noel. Starting Dirk at 5 is a perfect excuse to save faces here and there. It's that simple.

Dirk starting at center makes me cringe.
The minutes could be limited, but it sets us up to fail early on, so I have nothing positive to say about it. Noel should want to be there and have the desire to prove that he wants to be our starting 5 now and for the long-term.

[Darren]

When a young center does not go to voluntary practice, he's not going to reward with playing time. He doesn't want to be there. Why bother? It's nothing about Cousins but Noel. Starting Dirk at 5 is a perfect excuse to save faces here and there. It's that simple.

Dirk starting at center makes me cringe.
The minutes could be limited, but it sets us up to fail early on, so I have nothing positive to say about it. Noel should want to be there and have the desire to prove that he wants to be our starting 5 now and for the long-term.

Is it supposed to be the goal? From all indications, Noel takes QO because he wants to go. I don't think he wants to prove anything to remain here.

[Darren]

http://hoopshype.com/2017/09/26/dennis-smith-jr-seth-curry-may-start-for-mavs-but-not-nerlens-noel/

So, Seth Curry could get the final starting spots. Dirk-Barnes-Matthews-Curry-Smith is the starting 5. Let's see what happens then.

[Darren]

The Mavs makes it very clear now. They accomodate Dennis Smith as a core piece. Surrounding him with 4 shooters with rooms to operate in paint would make things a lot more easy for Smith. Meanwhile, Smith's ability to rebound also make it possible to play without a true center. We'll see. I expect entertaining style of play. We may have some fun out of small ball. I expect some lob passes / transition baskets to Barnes this season playing without a center early.

[DBoys]

When a young center does not go to voluntary practice, he's not going to reward with playing time. He doesn't want to be there. Why bother? It's nothing about Cousins but Noel. Starting Dirk at 5 is a perfect excuse to save faces here and there. It's that simple.

Dirk starting at center makes me cringe.
The minutes could be limited, but it sets us up to fail early on, so I have nothing positive to say about it. Noel should want to be there and have the desire to prove that he wants to be our starting 5 now and for the long-term.

"it sets us up to fail early on"?

How about,
it sets us up to tank early on.

It's not like this is a contender incurring damage. Drama or an odd lineup that turns this into a 20-win season may be a blessing, not a curse.

I do agree with those who roast NN for missing voluntary workouts. If you go above and beyond, it shows a commitment. The pre-camp voluntary workouts are where teammates bond, and where there are informal games and interaction with the veterans, with the youngsters, and with the PG who might make you look better if he is more familiar with your game and preferences. If you only do the bare minimum, don't expect a big salary (not only from Dallas, but from anyone - because word gets around).

[arkuo]

http://hoopshype.com/2017/09/26/dennis-smith-jr-seth-curry-may-start-for-mavs-but-not-nerlens-noel/

So, Seth Curry could get the final starting spots. Dirk-Barnes-Matthews-Curry-Smith is the starting 5. Let's see what happens then.

Dennis and Seth, I can see working because of the inside outisde thing. And whatever speed we lose with Dirk at the 5 we gain with the speed of our backcourt. Wes at the 3 though kinda says we're tanking early. If Noel isnt staying then a Top 5 pick of Ayton or Bamba would be nice.

[Pointguard01]

http://hoopshype.com/2017/09/26/dennis-smith-jr-seth-curry-may-start-for-mavs-but-not-nerlens-noel/

So, Seth Curry could get the final starting spots. Dirk-Barnes-Matthews-Curry-Smith is the starting 5. Let's see what happens then.

Noel will still play starter minutes.

G- Smith (30) | Barea (18)
G- Curry (30) | Harris (14) | Yogi (4)
F- Matthews (34) |Finney-Smith (14)
F- Barnes (35) | Nowitzki (7) | Powell/Kleber (5)
C- Nowitzki (18) | Noel (30)

I'm really not sure how the Barea/Harris/Yogi situation will play out but I'm sure we'll see some different rotations from time-to-time. Also, when Dirk/Harris/Barea/Matthews sit, more people will get PT. Harris and Barea are also a year older, so we'll have to see how much they can give. If they aren't strong, our bench could be SUPER weak.

[Darren]

http://hoopshype.com/2017/09/26/dennis-smith-jr-seth-curry-may-start-for-mavs-but-not-nerlens-noel/

So, Seth Curry could get the final starting spots. Dirk-Barnes-Matthews-Curry-Smith is the starting 5. Let's see what happens then.

Noel will still play starter minutes.

G- Smith (30) | Barea (18)
G- Curry (30) | Harris (14) | Yogi (4)
F- Matthews (34) |Finney-Smith (14)
F- Barnes (35) | Nowitzki (7) | Powell/Kleber (5)
C- Nowitzki (18) | Noel (30)

I'm really not sure how the Barea/Harris/Yogi situation will play out but I'm sure we'll see some different rotations from time-to-time. Also, when Dirk/Harris/Barea/Matthews sit, more people will get PT. Harris and Barea are also a year older, so we'll have to see how much they can give. If they aren't strong, our bench could be SUPER weak.

It depends on what route we're taking and how Noel responds in practice. I don't see Noel average important important until today. He doesn't seem to want to be there. And we're keen on top few pick. It's business. The minutes are distributed to the benefit of the franchise going forward. As of now, I think 18 mins for NN is possible. He averaged this number last season.

Another reason for Dirk starting, to me, is because we want Dirk to stay with us a little longer. We want Dirk to have funs coming season despite all tanking needs. Quite possibly, we will see Dirk starting before we get a go-to guy at frontcourt.

[Pinkyring]

And he is missing a open scrimmage because its a scheduled rest day..... really at 23, yet 40 yr old dirk is playing, im ready for noel to gtfo

[HMFFL]

When a young center does not go to voluntary practice, he's not going to reward with playing time. He doesn't want to be there. Why bother? It's nothing about Cousins but Noel. Starting Dirk at 5 is a perfect excuse to save faces here and there. It's that simple.

Dirk starting at center makes me cringe.
The minutes could be limited, but it sets us up to fail early on, so I have nothing positive to say about it. Noel should want to be there and have the desire to prove that he wants to be our starting 5 now and for the long-term.

"it sets us up to fail early on"?

How about,
it sets us up to tank early on.

It's not like this is a contender incurring damage. Drama or an odd lineup that turns this into a 20-win season may be a blessing, not a curse.

I do agree with those who roast NN for missing voluntary workouts. If you go above and beyond, it shows a commitment. The pre-camp voluntary workouts are where teammates bond, and where there are informal games and interaction with the veterans, with the youngsters, and with the PG who might make you look better if he is more familiar with your game and preferences. If you only do the bare minimum, don't expect a big salary (not only from Dallas, but from anyone - because word gets around).

Valid point.
Tanking makes sense but it will occur naturally without us attempting to do so.
Am I fine with is forcing it to happen? Not at all. My main issue with our potential starting lineup is Dirk starting like I stated. While I doubt anybody in the league is going to be gunning to hurt Dirk, I feel he needs to have a much different role, and not at the 5 starting the game.

[DBoys]

"I feel he needs to have a much different role, and not at the 5 starting the game."

Why would you want to see Dirk playing the wrong position, and sitting on the bench to start the game? For better or worse, Dirk is a 5 now. They determined last year that he can't defend the 4 at all, and he's still a nightmare for the 5s to defend, so he's become a 5. And he'll start, because he's better in his normal routine and also simply because he's Dirk.

Personally, I don't see anything at all wrong in that setup, since it's who he is and how he needs to be used now. And if that someway means several fewer wins in a year when there was no hope of being worth a spit no matter what you do, I certainly don't worry about it. Nothing lost. And maybe a plus, with the extra losses.

[Teffer10]

Dirk starting at center makes me cringe.
The minutes could be limited, but it sets us up to fail early on, so I have nothing positive to say about it. Noel should want to be there and have the desire to prove that he wants to be our starting 5 now and for the long-term.

"it sets us up to fail early on"?

How about,
it sets us up to tank early on.

It's not like this is a contender incurring damage. Drama or an odd lineup that turns this into a 20-win season may be a blessing, not a curse.

I do agree with those who roast NN for missing voluntary workouts. If you go above and beyond, it shows a commitment. The pre-camp voluntary workouts are where teammates bond, and where there are informal games and interaction with the veterans, with the youngsters, and with the PG who might make you look better if he is more familiar with your game and preferences. If you only do the bare minimum, don't expect a big salary (not only from Dallas, but from anyone - because word gets around).

Valid point.
Tanking makes sense but it will occur naturally without us attempting to do so.
Am I fine with is forcing it to happen? Not at all. My main issue with our potential starting lineup is Dirk starting like I stated. While I doubt anybody in the league is going to be gunning to hurt Dirk, I feel he needs to have a much different role, and not at the 5 starting the game.

The biggest problem I have with Dirk starting at the 5 is Barnes at the 4 and Wes at the 3.
That starting unit will pressure us to have jack rabbit starts to games offensively because we won't be stopping anyone defensively and rebounding will be almost non-existent again.
I'd almost rather have DFS start at SF if Dirk is our center because he is bigger and more athletic than Wes and at least gives us a little chance in the frontcourt.

[arkuo]

^ Well If Cuban is tanking then we get a chance to get a pick at 3 to 5 rather than a pick from 8 to 10. Either that or Dirk just plays 12 to 15 mins for half the season and Noel gets all the remaining mins even if he comes off the bench.

A pick from 3 to 5 means a decent shot at Deandre Ayton. Currently if we pick 9 we get a shot at Kevin Knox. Kid looks like a raw Kawhi Leonard.

[2011Champs]

Don't overthink "starting lineups" at this point. Carlisle will probably have a dozen different starting lineups by mid season.

[Mr B]

Don't overthink "starting lineups" at this point. Carlisle will probably have a dozen different starting lineups by mid season.

Yea I wouldn't put too much stock into who they're saying who's going to start right now. And he might have that many starting lineups half way through the preseason.

[daoneandonly]

"it sets us up to fail early on"?

How about,
it sets us up to tank early on.

It's not like this is a contender incurring damage. Drama or an odd lineup that turns this into a 20-win season may be a blessing, not a curse.

I do agree with those who roast NN for missing voluntary workouts. If you go above and beyond, it shows a commitment. The pre-camp voluntary workouts are where teammates bond, and where there are informal games and interaction with the veterans, with the youngsters, and with the PG who might make you look better if he is more familiar with your game and preferences. If you only do the bare minimum, don't expect a big salary (not only from Dallas, but from anyone - because word gets around).

Valid point.
Tanking makes sense but it will occur naturally without us attempting to do so.
Am I fine with is forcing it to happen? Not at all. My main issue with our potential starting lineup is Dirk starting like I stated. While I doubt anybody in the league is going to be gunning to hurt Dirk, I feel he needs to have a much different role, and not at the 5 starting the game.

The biggest problem I have with Dirk starting at the 5 is Barnes at the 4 and Wes at the 3.
That starting unit will pressure us to have jack rabbit starts to games offensively because we won't be stopping anyone defensively and rebounding will be almost non-existent again.
I'd almost rather have DFS start at SF if Dirk is our center because he is bigger and more athletic than Wes and at least gives us a little chance in the frontcourt.

Agree with this, we were a pathetic rebounding team last year and this potential lineup only exasperates that and make sour D a crap fest. If Minny would do Wes Matthews for Gorgui Dieng, take it, Wes gets a shot at the playoffs, whereas Gorgui Dieng can be our starting PF, fit decently with Dirk, and help out with our rebounding and defensive woes. Most importantly, it allows our best player Barnes to play his real position and gets Wes out of town.