Report: Multiple teams are considering offering Nerlens Noel max contract

Reports have surfaced that multiple teams are interested in offering Dallas Mavericks center Nerlens Noel a max contract.

NBA free agency won’t start until July 1, and, though we won’t see the nearly the splash Kevin Durant left when he jumped from Oklahoma City to Golden State, the fat contracts that will be dished out should cause enough ripples.

And it appears Nerlens Noel may be one of those ripples. Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com reports multiple NBA teams may try to lure the 23-year-old center from Dallas, who traded for him at this season’s deadline.

According to Fisher, under the new CBA — and estimating the jump of the next cap spike — the max contract the Mavericks can offer is $146 million over five years. Conversely, competing teams can offer about $109 million. And, as an added bonus for the Mavs, Noel is a restricted free agent, meaning the team can match any offers.

To understand how much money the Mavericks could offer compared to other teams, if Noel were to sign the max with Dallas, and every other potential max player waited just so I could make this point, he’d have the second-richest contract in NBA history, compared to the 14th in the NBA this season. Basically, the records for the richest contracts in the NBA will all need to be thrown out and rewritten.

For the Mavericks, it’s a smart move for them long-term, disregarding money. Noel’s ability to run the floor, protect the rim, roll to the basket and catch lobs fits perfectly within the Mavericks’ system. He could be the next great center in coach Rick Carlisle’s arsenal.

But, there comes with Noel’s situation some cause for concern. Since Noel is a restricted free agent, teams with more cap space can come and offer Noel their max, forcing the Mavericks to  either commit fully — in this case means 25 percent of the cap with eight percent annual raises — or lose out. That’s great for Noel’s side, who could use the leverage in negotiations.

Next: NBA Finals 2017: Power ranking Finals MVP possibilities

As for the Mavericks, we’ve seen as recently as last year what bidding wars can do. Prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, newly appointed Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks offered both the Portland Trail Blazers’ Allen Crabbe and the Miami Heat’s Tyler Johnson ridiculous contracts, forcing their respective teams to pony up and pay over value, which they did.  So while we don’t know what team Noel will play for in 17-18, we know some money is going to be tossed around.