After passing along a few items from out of the Atlantic division on Sunday afternoon, we’ve got a few more notes to round up this morning, so let’s dive in…
- Nerlens Noel remains a trade candidate for the Sixers, but if the 22-year-old remains in Philadelphia for the final year of his rookie contract, head coach Brett Brown wants to see him emulate another big man who just parlayed a breakout contract year into a big new contract: Bismack Biyombo. As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer details, Brown compared Noel to Biyombo and Hall-of-Fame center Dikembe Mutombo, praising his physical gifts. “Do your job and we will help you,” Brown said. “The league will reward that. The 76ers will reward that. He will be rewarded for playing like that.”
- Given the massive rebuild undertaken by the franchise, Brett Brown‘s record during his first three seasons with the Sixers can’t really be held against him. However, with excitement and expectations increasing in Philadelphia, the job Brown does with this year’s roster may go a long way to determining whether he’ll be the team’s long-term coach, suggests Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News.
- Having signed a one-year deal with the Knicks this summer, Brandon Jennings recently said on The Stashed’s 33rd & 7th podcast with Anthony Donahue that he’s “more hungry than ever” to prove what he can do on the court (link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com).
- A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com identifies Terry Rozier as a Celtics player worth keeping an eye on in camp. Rozier is one of 16 players with guaranteed contracts heading into camp, and Blakely thinks Rozier may be a potential trade candidate if the C’s don’t plan on having him get regular playing time this season.