Nerlens Noel has not started off on the right foot in Dallas. The center was traded to the Mavericks from the 76ers at the trade deadline and he has not done the best job of fitting in with his new team.
On Wednesday, Noel was removed from the starting lineup because he arrived ten minutes late to the team flight after going to the wrong airport.
Noel will have a chance to redeem himself on Friday as the Mavs host the Memphis Grizzlies. But head coach Rick Carlisle isn’t letting this go without some shots.
Following via Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram:
“We’ll see if he can find the arena in the morning,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said after Thursday’s practice.
So, Carlisle decided to start Dorian Finney-Smith against the Hawks instead of Noel.
“I’ve got to say, Elton Brand has been the guy mentoring him for two years,” Carlisle said. “I sent Elton a text this morning saying you didn’t do a very good job mentoring this kid.”
Well, that doesn’t sound like the greatest introduction between Carlisle and Noel.
We know Carlisle is a bit of a strict coach and he has not always gotten along with his players. But we also know that the Mavs have high hopes that Noel can lead them into the post-Dirk Nowitzki era, whenever that comes to fruition. This seems like a case of Carlisle attempting to coach Noel into being more professional. It can be argued that that should be a private matter but that’s Carlisle’s style.
