The Dallas Mavericks and restricted free agent Nerlens Noel remain stuck in a stalemate over his next contract, and Noel may play every card in his deck to get his way.

Noel is considering changing agents - which would mean moving away from Happy Walters - as his contractual dispute rounds into late August, reports Mike Fisher of Dallas Basketball.

It was reported elsewhere that Noel had already swapped representation, but Fisher reports that no final decision has been made.

Walters slammed the Mavericks for failing to make a proper offer as free agency slowed to a crawl in mid-July, but Noel may prefer a firmer negotiator with more aggressive tactics as he looks to secure the first major contract of his young career.

The Mavericks clearly have strong interest in re-signing Noel after dealing for him at the trade deadline last season. The team envisions him as an athletic finisher and an imposing shot-blocker in the mold of former Mavs center Tyson Chandler.

However, with Noel unable to secure a competing offer to force Dallas to match, the Mavericks hold little incentive to bid against themselves and hold a strong negotiating position.

Noel could become an unrestricted free agent if he took his $4.2-million qualifying offer from the Mavericks, but that's both a massive underpay and a huge risk given his injury history. The former No. 6 overall pick missed his rookie year recovering from a torn ACL and has sat out 46 games over the last two seasons.

The 23-year-old averaged 8.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and one block in 20.5 minutes per game last season.