The Sixers are off to an 0-15 start, and while the sun may always shine in Philadelphia, this is a franchise clearly in the shade the last few seasons. In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton looked at the frontcourt pairing of Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel and concluded that the two play better when not sharing the court. This is certainly a problem for the team and coach Brett Brown, seeing as the two big men are easily the team’s best players, and it is looking more and more like GM Sam Hinkie will need to make a trade in order to change the team’s dynamic and balance out its roster.
This leads me to the topic for today: Should the Sixers trade Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel? If so, then which player should GM Sam Hinkie look to part with?
Okafor is clearly the better offensive player of the two, and he appears to have the higher overall upside as well. Plus, he’s in just the first year of his rookie scale deal, which means a team acquiring him would control his rights longer than Noel’s, who is eligible for restricted free agency in 2017/18. Dealing away Okafor so soon after using the No. 3 overall pick on him would almost certainly upset the team’s fanbase further, as well as cast more doubt on the viability of Hinkie’s build-through-losing strategy. The only tangible benefit to making such a move is that Okafor would likely bring back a higher return if shipped out of town.
What are your thoughts? Should the team trade either Okafor or Noel, or is the sample size too small to judge adequately if the two young big men can coexist alongside one another for the long term? If you believe a move needs to be made, which big man should Hinkie focus on trading and why? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Since Okafor is a much more exceptional talent I would trade Noel for a draft pick. And I don’t mean a future draft pick. We are very unlikely to get the Lakers pick in 2016, so perhaps we could trade Noel for Jamal Murray, in addition to having our own 1 – 4 pic.
The Lakers pick is only protected if it falls in the top 3, and while they suck, they are not guaranteed that position. (as a knicks fan, I am painfully aware of this). Noel’s trade value is not really that high around the league because of his offensive ineptitude, but Okafor is the one that would fit best beside a hopefully healthy Embiid and Dario Saric next season. You guys need guards pretty badly and Noel might get you one, but not an elite level guy to help build your franchise. Orlando might be interested in swapping Noel for Hezonja if he continues to flounder, which would be a great win for Hinke, but all the top lottery names this coming season are guys that play positions you already have covered, so then what? Trade down for future picks and take Kris Dunn in the Mid lottery? I dont know what is going on in Philly to be honest, but I commend you all for sticking with the team.
I wouldn’t trade either of them. They need to find a way to make it work. Having those 2 both down low every game is a luxury I wouldn’t want to part with. And, with Embiid coming back next year, they could either use him as a big man off the bench or let him re establish his value and trade him next season. They have too many needs I think for 1 trade to patch them all. Need a combo of draft picks, Noel, Okafor, and a free agent in the next year or 2.
Noel is not smart enough to play at a NBA level. Dude makes boneheaded plays all game long. Noel is tall and athletic but he’s not a basketball player.
It’s really difficult to play 2 big men together in the current NBA unless you’ve got an athletic stretch four. If you’re going to trade one of them, Noel would probably be the most obvious choice. But it’s got to deliver a starter at another position to make it worth the Sixers’ while.
I’d swap whichever of them would bring the greatest return, but I wouldn’t be out there looking for a deal if I were Hinkie. I’d let other teams make the first move and gauge how much they really want either of them. The Sixers seem to have the organizational patience to go on for years to come without winning many games, so there’s no hurry to make a deal here. I suspect some team will come hard after either Okafor or Noel soon enough, and Hinkie can strike at that point.
I want to copy/paste my response from something I said a couple of days ago, but this site is cutting off comments for some reason
Sorry about that. Can you link to the post where you’re trying to copy that comment from? That’ll help us get that fixed.
It’s been happening for the last 2-3 days. For some reason, a read more button comes up, but nothing happens when you click on it. That isnt just with my own posts….the post I was speaking about here was from this article: link to hoopsrumors.com
Sample size is too small, and this is a coaching issue. Bigs have played together for years and made it work. You’ve got to work together to be a Sampson/Olajuwon or Duncan/Robinson combo.
As a season ticket holder- yeah that’s me lol- I think the sample size is much too small to give up on the pair already. Noel doesn’t need the ball in his hands to bring value to this team. Let him do what he does on the defensive end and worry about put-backs and rebounding and let Jah do his thing on the offensive end. They are both young enough to make considerable strides with their weaknesses. The biggest problem with this team is Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall being injured right now. TJ McConnell has done an admiral job but he is what he is. However when he is on the bench and Isiah Canaan is mis-cast as a PG, the team is just god-awful. Now IF, and that’s a big I-F, Joel Embiid comes back healthy a choice will have to be made. But until then, let them both get minutes and gain experience.
You can’t trade either, yet. It’s way too early and they can learn to coexist. What all sixers fans need to be doing right now, which is paramount to our existence, is praying we get the Lakers pick. They look absolutely awful and I’m worried they land in the top 3.
If we don’t get the Lakers pick… I see them signing some FAs and getting somewhat back in contention in the west. Yes I realize how talented the 2017 class could be(I’m already salivating at the pick we’ll already have after tanking again in 2017) and even if it’s in the back of the lottery or top 15, could still be impactful(that’s how deep it’s going to be) but we need this pick now to solidify a back court piece sooner rather than later. Philly is struggling to handle it but I want to give a lot of credit to the majority of the Sixers media guys(Liberty ballers, Derek Bodner, sorry if I missed anyone) who are helping the incompetent people in our city understand that we need to trust in the process and massaging the situation. Much like the exact opposite the majority of philly media is doing with Chip Kelly right now, smh @everyone(les,ESP,Berman,WIP,Eskin,Roob)
The only deal I can think of that I would consider trading Noel/Jah would be involving Antetekoumpo but Milwaukee would never do anything of the sort. That’s wishful thinking for you. I haven’t seen enough of 19 year old Jah to know if I would trade him or Noel. Defense wins and Noel can be great on that end of things. There’s never been a more talented young low post offensive talent like Jah and he has so much time to improve at 19 yrs.
Let them learn and hopefully we can keep their attitudes/minds right to let this happen. We still have them both under control for enough time to see this for at least a full season then make a move, hopefully not necessary.
Embiid – lol, if he gets healthy that’s a nice problem to have. Not ready to even entertain that thought.
So much praying needed in Philly right now, you guys.
This should keep all 3 big men & just add some vets next year, spend some money in free agency get a PG, this team will have 4 number 1 picks you can’t win with a team full of young guys…. But if loom to trade 1 of the 2 how about Noel to the bucks for parker???