When the Dallas Mavericks traded for Nerlens Noel last February, they did so intending to make him a franchise cornerstone. He was called a “Tyson Chandler starter kit,” the highest praise possible in the Mavericks’ lackluster history of centers.
Nerlens Noel can’t explain why the Mavericks aren’t playing him more
Noel has been the most productive Maverick through four games. He was supposed to be a core piece of this team. Why isn’t he playing more?
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
“It was absolutely a move for the future,” Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson said after making the trade.
It’s increasingly hard to see that future in Dallas for Noel, though. On Monday against the Golden State Warriors, Noel only played 12 minutes, his lowest total in four games this season and second straight outing with minutes in the teens.
“Just matchups,” Rick Carlisle said about Noel’s minutes after the game. “You can’t put him out there on [Draymond] Green. It’s just one of those nights. Houston played these guys opening night and they just told Nene before the game, it’s not a good night for you and he didn’t play at all. He could play tonight with [Zaza] Pachulia out there and [JaVale] McGee. [David] West is a bad matchup because of all the picking and popping. That’s the reason, pretty simple.”
But up until now, Noel has been viewed as a player who could defend those exact type of players. The 6’11 center is mobile and versatile, supposedly capable of switching onto smaller forwards and even guards in a pinch. Besides, the Warriors played non-shooting centers — Pachulia, McGee, and Jordan Bell — a combined 35 minutes last night.
“I feel like I can handle anybody,” Noel told SB Nation after the game.
The Warriors are matchup nightmares for every team in the league, but the Mavericks exacerbated the problem by playing Dirk Nowitzki 29 minutes and Dwight Powell 19 on Monday. In Noel’s 12 minutes, he recorded eight points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
Noel has a new public approach to his lack of minutes
Last December, two games into his return from injury for the Philadelphia 76ers, Noel used the media to complain about a lack of playing time.
“I think I’m too good to be playing eight minutes,” Noel said last December. “That’s crazy. Need to figure this shit out.”
In a new situation under a new head coach, Noel has a different approach that won’t grab headlines.
“From my point of view, me and Dirk could play well together. I think he’s a high IQ basketball player just like I am. We could play off each other,” Noel told SB Nation. “I think I’m a very capable player, but at the same time, I want to help my team win in the best fashion possible, just like it is tonight. Whatever it is, whatever it is, I just want to cheer my teammates on and give the best effort to win.”
Noel has couched all of his public responses with team-first phrases like that since training camp, when Carlisle announced that Noel would be coming off the bench. Noel has been criticized for immaturity, including a bizarre story involving a Philadelphia rental house and one moment last spring where he showed up late to a Mavericks team plane. (He had gone to the wrong airport.) In this way, Noel holding his tongue shows growth.
Still, this summer and subsequent start to the season has put a dent in the idea of Noel as the Mavericks’ new franchise cornerstone. Dallas reportedly offered him a four-year deal worth around $17 million annually, while Noel was set on a max contract. Noel’s old agent suggested he take it, so Noel eventually fired him. The sides never returned to the first reported offer, and Noel signed a one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer in late August. Though a restricted free agent this summer, the qualifying offer will allow Noel to become unrestricted next July.
If Noel thought of himself as a max player last summer, it’s not hard to inflect what he thinks about playing less than 20 minutes per game.
Why the Mavericks aren’t playing Noel more
There’s a reason that Noel isn’t starting, and it’s a matchup-based one. Nowitzki can only guard centers defensively at this point of his 20-year career, and Harrison Barnes has played best as a power forward. Noel doesn’t fit into a starting five with Nowitzki, even if the two could play together in other lineups.
The obvious solution is to bench Nowitzki, and if Nowitzki’s shooting slump continues — 30 percent from the floor through four games — that move could be more likely. Nowitzki is a living Mavericks legend and a decision to bench him wouldn’t be taken lightly, but he has indicted in the past that he would be willing to cede his starting spot it if it was best for the team.
Even if Noel isn’t a starter, 12 minutes is too low for someone who has been among the team’s few productive players. Per 36 minutes, Noel is averaging 17 points, 14.1 rebounds, 2.9 steals, and 2.4 blocks, all on 72 percent shooting. He has earned more playing time than 19 minutes per game.
It’s possible Carlisle doesn’t trust Noel, who is still prone to occasional mental lapses. Perhaps playing Noel fewer minutes than Powell, a notoriously hard worker, is a message being sent about Noel’s work ethic.
Noel told SB Nation that he didn’t know he would only receive 12 minutes against Golden State, his second-lowest minutes total since joining Dallas.
“[I came in thinking] things would play out to the best and I’d be a big factor in the game,” Noel said. “But I mean, I did my best to be the biggest factor while I was in there.”
In theory, Noel would fit well next to the young core that Dallas is building — being a deadly roll threat for Dennis Smith Jr. and a great frontcourt partner for Barnes. But more and more, it’s looking like just that: a theory.
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