Nerlens Noel seems like the odd man out in Philadelphia and while he hasn’t come out and demanded a trade, he clearly wouldn’t mind a change of scenery.
“I feel like it definitely needs to be figured out,” Noel said of the Sixers’ roster during training camp. “I think at the end of the day, again, you have three starting-caliber centers (Noel, Jahlil Okafor, and Joel Embiid). And it’s just not going to work to anybody’s advantage having that on the same team. That’s how I’m looking at it. I’m not opposed to anything, but things need to be situated.”
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors detailed the perils of trading for the former No. 6 overall pick in his Trade Candidate piece. Noel reportedly doesn’t have a ton of value of the trade market with his injury history and his looming restricted free agency causing concerns. Still, Adams notes that getting back something in a trade is better than nothing for Philly, as Noel doesn’t appear to have a long-term future with the franchise.
So that leads us to tonight’s topic: Which teams should make an offer for Noel? What could Philly reasonably expect to get back in return for the 22-year-old?
Adams names Phoenix as an intriguing landing spot for Noel. The Suns could afford a pricey new contract for Noel and they could offer up Brandon Knight for him since the backcourt rotation of Knight, Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker hasn’t netted positive results for the team this season. Knight is likely the best player the Sixers could receive in return for Noel, though that’s just my speculation. However, it’s unclear whether Philadelphia would even want to acquire Knight since the franchise isn’t in a position to be competitive now and the point guard’s upside is limited.
Noel also carried limited upside, but his defense would be welcomed on many teams. The Warriors and Blazers are among the teams that could use his services, though each team would likely have to send back substantial salary in order to accommodate a deal, as Adams notes.
Construct your best Noel trade and let us know the details in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Chris, Knight for Noel would be a ridiculous trade for Philly and further proof they are a dismal franchise. They can get a good back court player for Noel if they remain patient. I would offer Noel to the Lakers for Lew Williams and Jordan Clarkson once D. Russell returns. Those two players would help Philly more than Knight and the Lakers may play ball.
Clarkson alone would be a great addition. I’m a huge fan of his game, though the Lakers have something nice going for them. I think they wait until the offseason to make that kind of move, which is too late for a Noel trade, but there’s always a chance.
No way Lakers do that. Clarkson>Noel and Williams is a main bench piece for us. Without him we would’ve lost at least 4 more games this year
The lakers will not trade Clarkson for a low upside player like Noel. Clarkson is the biggest part of the lakers bench this season and without him they are not as effective. I also don’t see how Noel will fit on the lakers. This will not be done
Why would the Sixers trade Noel to the lakers? Makes no sense. Noel would instantly improve their defense and make them a better team and the Sixers own the Lakers pick. So then instead if this were to happen it would need to be for a good Lakers player. None of the Lakers guards/wings make sense as the Sixers will have two lottery picks in a guard/wing heavy draft.
Suns make a lot of sense here they want to get rid of knight so bad it hurts. Knight for Noel and a future first or maybe second would get it done.
I’m not sure the Sixers can get that much for him. Everyone knows they have to make a deal.
Everyone knows? Lol. Sixers don’t want/need Knight right now. Sixers want one last high lottery pick and Knoght doesn’t help there.
Marcus Smart for Noel straight up.
I’m sure the Sixers would love to do this!
A big guy with a defensive skill set that 25 teams are in search of for a guard that is a career 35% shooter.
Not to say Smart doesn’t have upside, but it is a horrible fit with Simmons. Noel is not a blue chip player, but I think the Sixers can do better.
Noel for Smart makes zero sense for the Sixers but is fantastic for the Celtics.
Noel has had knee issues and is a RFA. He’s good, but they can’t expect a ton back. Smart would certainly fit anywhere, including Philly.
The problem with what you are saying is the Celtics need a Noel type player much more than the Sixers need a Smart type player.
Noel to Minnesota for Rubio. Rubio is on a team friendly deal and MN would have the cap room to match any RFA offer. Rubio could eventually be flipped for a shooter or someone who would fit better with Simmons when he returns. Noel and Towns would be a fun pairing for MN.
3 team trade:
Dallas gets: Nerlens Noel
Philadelphia gets: Ricky Rubio
Minnesota gets: Wesley Matthews
I don’t hate that trade, though I’m not sure why Minnesota would take on Matthews’ deal. He’s not playing well this season.
T-wolves are desperate for some wing shooters. They might make it out of desperation but it would be a terrible trade for them. They can get more for Rubio.
PHI would cut MIN out and just takes Matthews.
Why would Philly want Rubio? They need shooters to pair with Simmons. Wesley Matthews makes some sense, but i don’t know if Noel alone would get it done.
I don’t care at this point, just trade him
If the Sixers had traded him earlier, they should have packaged Noel together with other exciting people to get the Celtics third pick this past NBA draft.
They could have had a backcourt of Dunn and Murray.
However, they didn’t want to do it.
SMH
There is no way the 76ers would’ve been able to pull off a trade for the 3rd overall pick with Noel and “other exciting people”. Who are these “other exciting people” you speak of? The 1st overall would’ve obviously been off the table, Embiid would’ve been (most likely) off the table and Okafor would not have been enough (as it does nothing to solve Noel/Okafor’s chemistry issues). Also, assuming a backcourt of Murray and Dunn also would’ve meant passing on Simmons.
Sorry you take Simmons over Dunn and Murray and over anyone else in the draft. Noel/Okafor “chemistry” is not really an issue as long as a embiid is around.
What would the Lakers have to give to get him? Williams and a second rounder?
Sixers do not want to make the Lakers better so it would have to really be a deal that makes sense for Philly. Lakers defense is terrible and Noel would be some much needed medicine. As in, Lou plus a 2nd isn’t it.
Noel to the Blazers for Allen Crabbe and Shabazz Napier
You’re looking more at a deal where Philly acquires an expiring/bad contract and a conditional 1st round pick at best. They need to make a move. They have absolutely no leverage in this situation. They’re probably not going to get a very good player in return. Knight would be a best case scenario type deal and there’s no way LA trades Clarkson for Noel when they have Randle at the 4 and just gave a monster contract to Mozgov to play the 5. Does Mozgov deserve that deal? Probably not. Is he better than Noel? Probably not. But they’re not going to take on Nerlens Noel, who’s probably going to get paid pretty handsomely next summer, after shelling out big deals to Mozgov, Deng and Clarkson just this past summer.
On point.
Totally agree that it was pretty absurd to give deng and mozgov those deals. Means picks in 17 and 19 are gone, cap space tied up, 30+ year olds locked up in decline already.
Sixers biggest need obviously is for a wing so moving Noel means trying to get back a young player who can start at the 2 or the 3. They’ve got all of their own future 1st rounders, the Lakers 1st rounder this year, Sacramento’s 1st rounder in 2019 (1st overall?) plus EIGHT other teams 2nd rounders over the next five years PLUS tons of cap space. So with all of that said they could put together a package to acquire ALMOST anybody they want (Cleveland isn’t trading LeBron, Golden State isn’t trading Curry obv) but they *could* conceivably put together a trade for guys like Blake Griffin or Russell Westbrook. They’re looking for a guy to pair with Embiid, Simmons, and this year’s #1 (Lonzo Ball maybe?). This would all be moot if Sam Hinkie had taken the Greek Freak instead of Noel or MCW but I digress. They aren’t trading with Boston (same division) or the Lakers (they own their 1st rounder) and they don’t need guys like Lou Williams (hilarious though), Rubio or B Knight. If Minnesota wants to talk about Kris Dunn or Zach Lavine the Sixers would be interested. If Portland wants to dangle Crabbe, maybe Terrence Ross from Toronto or Harrison Barnes from Dallas, a Kyle Anderson and Jonathan Simmons combo package from San Antonio or straight up for DeAndre Bembry, the possibilities are pretty much wide open kind of all depends on how aggressive Philly wants to be. The notion that there won’t be suitors or that Philly has no leverage is bunk. If Noel stays healthy between now and the trade deadline expect a bidding war.
Blake Griffin wouldn’t be an option because Noel’s skillset would not mesh with Deandre Jordan’s. If we’re talking Russell Westbrook, Noel plus future picks is not enough. Westbrook isn’t getting traded this year so Noel isn’t even an option. If the 76ers want Westbrook, is starts with one of Embiid or Simmons. Anything not starting with those two for Westbrook is laughable.
Casual fans in BOS and LA = “sixers have no leverage bro!”
Real world = check the talent ledger, incoming future picks, available cap space combined with the need/demand for athletic defensive bigs and let’s discuss who has the leverage.
The Sixers don’t have leverage purely with Noel because of his pending RFA. Noel will most likely get a decent offer sheet floated his way. At that point, the Sixers have to decide if they keep him and continue with their three bigs/try to trade Okafor(since they can’t trade Noel for a year after he signs the offer sheet) or if they let him walk for nothing. Yes there is a need/demand for athletic defensive bigs, but most likely, the price the 76ers are asking for is too high for teams when combined with the fact that Noel needs a new contract at the end of the year. Not many teams are going to sacrifice young assets and give Noel the big contract he’s going to get. Unless a team sees Noel as the final piece this year, teams would probably be better off trying to sign him as a RFA rather than trade him and then try to sign him.
It is in the sixers interest to sign Noel and keep him as a defensive big to spell Embiid. As the season progresses, inevitably injuries will occur to playoff teams and/or teams with lofty aspirations already miss a defensive athletic big will get more desperate. The pressure will be on them, not on the rebuilding sixers who have nothing to lose with several more picks coming. This suggests that the leverage will be with the sixers, not with other teams.
Philly has absolutely no leverage. Everyone knows Philly isn’t going to keep him. No team is going to offer up good, talented players for a guy they can just try and snag in free agency. And yeah if you want to bring Philly’s draft picks into it then obviously they could do better. But that wasn’t the purpose of this conversation. The question was about what Philly could get for Nerlens Noel. Not Nerlens Noel and other assets. I could go on and on about the type of players Philly could get if they started selling draft picks. But that wouldnt be responding to the article correctly.
Ha! Sorry. You can’t suggest that Noel is “going to get paid pretty handsomely next summer” and then turn around and say “Philly doesn’t have any leverage”. You can’t have it both ways. If he’s going to get paid handsomely then that implies he could help multiple teams. I also didn’t realize you decided the rules about what Philly could do if they want to trade Noel. It’s myopic and utterly laughable to suggest they won’t be dictating his movement which means they’ll target a player they want and decide how to acquire that player(s) not simply peddle him for pennies on the dollar. That’s not how the world works.
Everyone knows? Lol
I would still rather trade Okafor instead of Noel. Noel is a high energy guy that would serve as a perfect backup center, compared to Okafor who serves no defensive hope and cannot operate without a ton of space. Don’t see the 76ers getting an equal return for either midseason, they should hold off until the offseason use Okafor to move up in the draft in case they don’t get #1 to take Fultz/Ball or acquire another pick and then resign Noel to a reasonable deal prior to FA. No reason to rush to sign a mediocre player in Knight or Rubio. TRUST THE PROCESS!
I say give up noel or noel and a pick for zach lavine.
Noel will end up a blazer. My bet is they send Allen crabbe and the cavs 1st they own. It will go down as a sign and trade also.
Allan crabbe and layton for Nerlens
this I would be on board with
Noel for buddy hield u can throw other players in like Covington or Jahlil an the laker pick to the celtics for the Brooklyn pick an Marcus as a throw in an hope he develops a shot an resign Noel cuz him an Joel with Simmons defensively could work as well on the offensive end
If the Sixers need perimeter shooting, they might want to inquire about the Warrior’s Patrick McCaw. One of the biggest steals in the draft and is under team control for cheap for a few years.
Why would I want Allen Crabbe? Worse across the board from last year’s PER 36, which wasn’t great anyway and grossly overpaid.
Target: Jae Crowder, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight.
I’d like a smaller trade non-Nerlens obv. for a Tim Frazier – he’s shooting much better for the last two years since he left PHL.
i’d love jae crowder. i wouldn’t HATE crabbe, but he is most definitely grossly overpaid. my dream scenario looks like this:
PHI gets: lavine, minny 1st (with protection, tbd)
MIN gets: noel, deng
LAL get: okafor
thibs is rumored to be interested in a vet he’s familiar with – hello deng. noel would also bolster that defense and could definitely play 5 next to KAT’s 4. the lakers need a center and deng isn’t playing all that well anyway, that seems like a pretty fair swap (in terms of value) to me. and philly could get a coveted young combo guard who can shoot, which is exactly what they need, and a decent pick to boot.
I wouldn’t be so quick to trade Noel atleast see what he can do with Joel. The sixers defense could be elite with Joel, Nerlens an Simmons. The sixers can match an offer he gets this offseason or pull off a sign an trade. But don’t just trade him for some shooter when he can do so much more for this team then just some other shooter. The guy does everything on the court he gets steals, blocks, rebounds an can out jump a lot of ppl, yea he needs to get stronger an can’t shoot but he will be defensive player of the year one day!