Report: Noel hires agent Rich Paul as contract stalemate continues

Nerlens Noel wants to see some action.

Noel, a restricted free agent of the Dallas Mavericks, remains without a contract and has swapped representation to Rich Paul of Klutch Sports to expedite a deal, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.

The Mavericks fully intend to retain Noel, but they don't want to overpay when they're essentially bidding against themselves. Noel has been unable to find an offer sheet to force the Mavericks into matching, and Dallas hasn't made a substantial offer themselves, hence the stalemate.

Paul should be able to help break the deadlock. The business partner of LeBron James was able to negotiate player-friendly contracts for both Tristan Thompson and Eric Bledsoe when they held little leverage as restricted free agents. Paul is not shy of holdouts to ensure teams pay top dollar for his clients.

Dallas acquired Noel last season at the trade deadline with the explicit purpose of re-signing him and keeping him as a core piece moving forward. The 23-year-old center holds career averages of 10 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.

Noel was previously represented by Happy Walters.