Nerlens Noel Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyler’s Latest: Noel, Allen, Gay, Afflalo, Dragic

December 19th, 2016 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we passed along an update from Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders on the Nerlens Noel situation, with Kyler reporting that the Sixers and Noel’s new representatives were working together to try to reach a resolution. Kyler’s full NBA AM piece at Basketball Insiders is chock full of other news and rumors, so we’ll round up a few more highlights below. Let’s dive in…

Following up on Noel, Kyler suggests the Raptors are a team to watch, though Toronto wouldn’t want to risk affecting its team chemistry by moving a core piece. If the Sixers are interested in one or two of the Raptors’ young players or non-core pieces, a deal could be possible, sources tell Kyler. The Trail Blazers may also be eyeing Noel.
Although the Grizzlies are listening to inquiries on Tony Allen, they don’t necessarily want to move him, sources tell Kyler. Still, the team recognizes that his modest salary, expiring contract, and on-court play could make him a valuable trade chip.
The Thunder and Magic are both believed to be keeping an eye on the market for a scoring threat, per Kyler. Kings forward Rudy Gay is a player to watch, as many league insiders still believe he’s the most likely player to be dealt by the deadline, even if it doesn’t happen until February.
Another Kings scorer, Arron Afflalo, isn’t thrilled with his current role, and may be angling for a trade, Kyler reports. A Sunday report suggested that Afflalo had refused to enter a recent game against Houston, and Kyler says there’s a “growing rift” between the veteran guard and the Sacramento coaching staff.
According to Kyler, the prevailing belief around the NBA is that the Heat will explore moving Goran Dragic before the trade deadline. However, Heat sources say they’re not ready to blow up the roster at this point, and insist keeping the point guard as a veteran leader is a viable option

Sixers Rumors: Noel, Holmes, Korkmaz

December 19th, 2016 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Nerlens Noel recently changed agents, and his new representatives are working together with the team to try to find a potential trade for the disgruntled big man, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Given the 76ers’ lack of leveraage, the team will have a hard time extracting decent value in any deal, and there’s no sense that anything is close right now, according to Kyler. Still, he adds that “there is some urgency to getting the public dispute resolved.” For now, Noel is not a part of the Sixers’ regular rotation.

Here’s more out of Philadelphia:

The decision to remove Noel from the rotation drew most of the headlines, but Richaun Holmes is also the victim of the numbers game in Philadelphia, having logged back-to-back DNP-CDs. As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer details, head coach Brett Brown suggested last night that he feels worse for Holmes than Noel, who missed the first month and a half of the season with a knee injury. “Richaun has been here since Day 1,” Brown said. “I feel that is something that’s on my mind as much as Nerlens.”
There’s plenty of blame to go around in the Noel situation, according to Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com, who notes that Noel, Brown, former GM Sam Hinkie, and current GM Bryan Colangelo all played a part.
International basketball reporter David Pick has an update on Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Furkan Korkmaz, tweeting that the 2016 first-rounder – who is playing in Turkey – has been traded from Anadolu Efes to Banvit.

Atlantic Notes: Noel, Sixers, Noah, Celtics

December 18th, 2016 at 10:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers’ decision to remove Nerlens Noel from the rotation is baffling and short-sighted, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. The team didn’t even attempt to take a long look at him playing alongside either Joel Embiid or Jahlil Okafor before benching him, Cooney continues. Philadelphia’s coaching staff and front office simply quit on the process of trying to mesh the skills of the three big men and that doesn’t send a good message to the other players, Cooney adds. Cooney hedged on his position, saying there might be something more to the decision than has been revealed publicly.

In other developments around the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers’ chances of getting the Lakers’ first-round pick have dropped from 91% to 66.6% because of Los Angeles’ losing streak, according to Neil Johnson of ESPN Analytics. The Lakers originally dealt the pick to the Suns in 2012 while acquiring guard Steve Nash. Philadelphia acquired the pick in 2015 in a three-way deal with the Suns and Bucks. The pick is top three protected in the next draft and unprotected in 2018. The Lakers’ expected draft position per BPI is currently 4.8, according to Johnson, meaning the Sixers would get the No. 4 or No. 5 pick from L.A. if the odds hold up.
Joakim Noah has been a major bust and the Knicks center may soon lose his starting job, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Coach Jeff Hornacek said to Berman and other media members that Noah’s starting status is “something we have to keep our eye on.’’ Noah, who was signed to a four-year, $72MM contract as a free agent, has been a major liability on offense, which more than offsets the occasional energy boost he provides with his rebounding and defense, Berman adds.
Teams have a better chance of retaining their top free agents under the new CBA and that could hurt the Celtics’ chances of becoming a top contender, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald opines. The Celtics were able to land Al Horford and make a serious run for Kevin Durant but that probably wouldn’t have happened if the new CBA had been in place this past summer, Bulpett continues. It will be tougher to attract top free agents in the future, which will force the Celtics to rely on trades and the draft to improve, Bulpett adds.

Nerlens Noel Out Of Sixers’ Rotation

December 18th, 2016 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Nerlens Noel is one of the NBA’s top trade candidates, but it seems the Sixers won’t be showcasing him for potential suitors in the immediate future. Earlier today, head coach Brett Brown told reporters, including Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, that he doesn’t expect to use Noel in tonight’s game against Brooklyn unless someone gets into foul trouble, and will likely keep him out of the rotation for the foreseeable future.

According to Brown, the decision wasn’t a direct reaction to Noel’s comments after Friday’s game. The fourth-year big man – frustrated by playing just eight minutes in the first game all season in which he, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor were all healthy – suggested the Sixers “need to figure this s–t out.” Although the updated rotation may not be punishment for those comments, it seems Brown took Noel’s suggestion to heart, attempting to figure out a way to put the team in the best position to win (Twitter link via Christopher A. Vito).

The situation in Philadelphia will likely remain fluid. If either Embiid or Okafor is forced to miss time with an injury, or Embiid is rested for a night, Noel figures to get a chance to play. Still, it’s somewhat surprising that the Sixers wouldn’t find a way to get the former sixth overall pick regular minutes. Based on Noel’s apparent unhappiness and his looming free agency, he seems very likely to be moved by February’s trade deadline, and keeping him on the bench certainly won’t improve his trade value.

While the move may hurt Noel, it could have a positive impact on Embiid, the Sixers’ franchise center. The third-year big man hasn’t thrived playing alongside Okafor so far, suggesting after Wednesday’s game that he didn’t love “standing on the perimeter” when the two bigs were on the court together. Keeping Noel out of the rotation should reduce the amount of time Embiid and Okafor share the floor.

For his part, Noel said tonight that he’ll handle the decision like a pro and will continue to work on his game, adding that “everyone knew it was going to come to this” (Twitter link via Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News).

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Noel, Celtics, Noah

December 18th, 2016 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers‘ plan to use Joel Embiid at power forward with Jahlil Okafor at center is off to a terrible start, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The new alignment takes Embiid away from the basket on offense, where he isn’t comfortable, and leaves Okafor to protect the rim on defense, which he isn’t equipped to do. “This is a work in progress,” Embiid said. “I’m not sure why we changed it. But I’m going to do whatever they want.” Pompey points out that the team was playing its best ball in two seasons, with back-to-back road wins, before that was derailed by the lineup change. “We decided to do this as an organization to see if it has a chance for working,” said coach Brett Brown. “How long we [keep] doing it? I don’t know. But we are going to go on trying it, certainly [Sunday against the Nets]. I think we can all step back and make a better assessment after that.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Nerlens Noel is doing everything he can to get traded out of Philadelphia, states A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Blakely added that the Celtics are among many teams that are watching the situation with the Sixers closely. Noel complained to the media Friday after seeing just eight minutes of playing time in a loss to the Lakers.
The Celtics are 8-3 when coach Brad Stevens‘ preferred starting lineup is all healthy, but he hasn’t been able to find the right bench combination, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN. Boston is losing ground in the second quarters of many games, and the three-guard lineup that Stevens sometimes favors has been particularly bad.
Knicks center Joakim Noah played just 11 minutes in Saturday’s loss at Denver, notes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. He was pulled from the game early after having trouble keeping up with the Nuggets’ pace in the high-altitude setting. After signing a four-year, $72MM deal over the summer, Noah is averaging just 21.2 minutes and 4.4 points per game. “We’re not getting off to great starts. That’s not on Jo. We’re trying to find the right combination to get us going,” coach Jeff Hornacek said.

Atlantic Notes: Noel, Embiid, Celtics, Biyombo

December 17th, 2016 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers coach Brett Brown met with Nerlens Noel today in the wake of his comments about the team’s logjam in the frontcourt, writes Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly. Now that Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor are healthy, Brown faces a challenge in finding enough playing time to satisfy all three. Noel lashed out after seeing just eight minutes of action in Friday’s game with the Lakers. The coach said Noel displayed “tremendous maturity” and “a lot of class” in today’s discussion. “He’s highly competitive, he’s in a very unusual situation,” Brown said. “The fact that it came out as soon as it did caught me off guard. We’ve discussed it and I’ll be surprised if everybody’s not seeing how we all need to handle this better going forward.”

There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:

Embiid is angry about the Sixers‘ blowout loss in an ESPN game Friday and talked about the need to “change the culture” in Philadelphia, Camerato relays in a separate story. “The last national televised game we had, it was the same thing,” Embiid said. “I don’t know if it was the pressure of that or if it’s just, I don’t really know, but that’s the second game in a row we weren’t focused, especially on the bigger stage.”
Noel, not DeMarcus Cousins, is the big man the Celtics ought to pursue in trade, argues A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Noel would be the rim protector that Boston needs, Blakely states, and an unidentified assistant GM told him that Noel’s complaints are understandable given the abundance of young big men in Philadelphia. Cousins, on the other hand, has a short temper and a history of trouble and wouldn’t be a good fit with the current Celtics roster, according to the writer.
Magic center Bismack Biyombo has great memories of the single season he spent with the Raptors, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Biyombo helped Toronto advance to the Eastern Conference finals last season before a signing a four-year $72MM deal with Orlando in July. The 6’9″ center, who will face his former team for the first time Sunday night, said he was exchanging messages with Kyle Lowry DeMar DeRozan and other teammates all the way up to the start of free agency. “The expectation that everybody [had] was that I was going back there,” Biyombo said. “I had conversations with teammates before free agency was open. An hour before free agency was open I was still talking to all my teammates. Ten minutes before free agency opened they were still talking to me. So the expectations was high. But in the end, it was tough.”

Nerlens Noel Upset About Playing Time

December 17th, 2016 at 8:53am CST by Austin Kent

It didn’t take long for the logjam in Philadelphia’s frontcourt to go south. The 76ers had been largely shielded from their inevitable fate for the first 20 games of the season as 22-year-old Nerlens Noel rehabilitated from a knee injury out of sight and out of mind. Now that the third-year veteran is back and able to play, he has expressed frustration with the conditions to which he’s returned.

Not only is Noel being used less than he had been in his first two seasons (30.8 and 29.3 MPG, respectively), he’s been plugged in the lineup alongside other big men like Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor.

“I just want to play basketball,” Noel told CSN Philly’s Jessica Camerato after playing eight minutes in a loss to the Lakers. “I’m not an eight-minute player so I don’t know what that’s about. […] I need to be on the court playing basketball. I think I’m too good to be playing eight minutes. Like, no, that’s crazy. That’s crazy. That’s crazy. They need to figure this s–t out.”

Throughout the first month and a half of the 2016/17 campaign, Noel’s absence allowed head coach Brett Brown to utilize various combinations of other power forwards and centers without having to balance this final piece. Now that Noel’s back, however, players like Richaun Holmes and Dario Saric, too, have seen their roles adjusted. Holmes saw a DNP-CD Friday, while Saric has been shifted down to small forward.

Displeasure with the club’s new rotation doesn’t seem limited to just Noel, either. Rookie Embiid has voiced his own concerns with the modified rotation. As Philadelphia Magazine’s Derek Bodner tweeted Friday night, Embiid expressed subtle displeasure with the defensive effort of his teammates after the loss and, per Camerato, he wasn’t pleased with his own performance “standing on the perimeter” in Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors either.

The Noel comments serves as the latest example that something appears likely to give in Philadelphia, whether that means the club limits Noel’s playing time in an effort to showcase and eventually trade Okafor, or – more likely – to just deal Noel, as has been rumored for months. Basketball Insiders’ Steve Kyler speculates that two of the most likely trade partners for Noel would be the Raptors or Wizards.

Sixers Big Man Nerlens Noel Changes Agents

December 15th, 2016 at 10:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers center Nerlens Noel has parted ways with agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports and is expected to sign with Dan Fegan, multiple sources told Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).

The timing of Noel’s decision to switch agents is intriguing. Noel can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Sixers, as expected, extend his qualifying offer of approximately $5.85MM.

He has expressed reservations about Philadelphia’s frontcourt logjam with fellow lottery picks Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid, among others, also fighting for playing time at the power positions.

This could be a signal that Noel will push harder for a trade, or he might simply feel Fegan will negotiate a better deal for him over the summer.

As Luke Adams detailed in our Trade Candidate series, there have been rumblings about Noel’s desire to be dealt. Both Marc Stein of ESPN.com and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders have reported that Noel would prefer to be moved.

According to recent tweets by Kyler, all indications are that Noel wants to be traded this season, and the Sixers will do everything they can to accommodate him (Twitter links).

Philadelphia’s Big Three could all be available for the first time against the Lakers on Friday. Coach Brett Brown declared that he can successfully juggle their playing time if they make sacrifices. However, it’s generally assumed the Sixers will eventually deal one of them. Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer opined this week that Okafor will likely be the odd man out because his skill set doesn’t mesh with either Noel or Embiid.

Noel made his season debut on Sunday after undergoing knee surgery during training camp, playing 10 minutes against the Pistons. He missed the Sixers’ game against the Raptors on Wednesday with an ankle injury.

Sixers Notes: Okafor, Simmons, Noel

December 14th, 2016 at 9:05pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jahlil Okafor could be the odd man out in Philadelphia, Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. Sielski notes that Okafor is not a fit next to either Nerlens Noel or Joel Embiid, and he’s the worst defender of the three players.

Noel had previously expressed concerns about the frontcourt logjam, but it appears he is now more open to playing alongside his teammates. Embiid, who is likely to get pushed to power forward for the time being, regardless of whether Noel or Okafor is traded, has no concerns over the logjam.

“I’ve always wanted to be a point guard,” Embiid exclaimed. “So that gives me a chance to get the ball, iso, play one-on-one from the three-point line, the pull-up jumpers. I’ll be more of a spacer, more of a stretch four.”

Here’s more from Philadelphia:

Ben Simmons took a major step forward in his recovery from a fractured right foot, Brian Seltzer of NBA.com writes. Simmons was able to shoot foul shots without a walking boot for the first time since suffering the Jones fracture.
Coach Brett Brown is pleased with Simmons’ understanding of the game, Selzer adds in the same piece. “From a non-medical standpoint and just his coach, the evolution that he and I have been able to have in a classroom and on a court, in talking things through over the past few months, is fantastic,” Brown said.
John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines how the Sixers have failed in previous drafts. The scribe breaks down the team’s last six drafts and finds the team missed out on top talent in nearly every one.
Earlier today, we learned that rival teams were discouraged with the results of their research on Noel and the Sixers may not be able to get much in return for him as a result.

Sixers Coach Thinks Three Centers Can Coexist

December 14th, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Nerlens Noel has been ruled out of tonight’s game against Toronto due to an ankle sprain, but there’s a good chance he’ll be back on the floor on Friday. If he is, it will likely be the first game of the season in which the Sixers will have Noel, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor all healthy and available. And according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, head coach Brett Brown believes the three young centers can coexist, contrary to popular belief.

“[It can work] if they buy in and let me coach them and put them in positions where they truly have a chance to succeed,” Brown said. As Pompey writes, Embiid would be the starting center and franchise player in this scenario, with Okafor providing an offensive spark and Noel as a defensive specialist off the bench.

As for Noel, who has been critical in the past of the club’s roster construction, expressing skepticism about how the frontcourt rotation will work, he has changed his tune a little, according to Pompey. Based on recent practices, Noel believes two of the bigs will be on the floor together at once, running a high-low offense.

“I think a new offense is something good,” Noel said. “It’s something that can really somewhat work with the big trailing, the big at the free-throw line. So I think it’s more compact, and spacing will definitely be a key factor.

“I wasn’t curious before,” Noel said, “but now that we are actually here, I guess that I am curious, whatever that means. But we will let that play out as long as it needs to.”

While Brown is optimistic and Noel is willing to give it a shot, there’s still plenty of doubt about whether Embiid, Okafor, and Noel can coexist. One of them will likely be moved at some point, and Noel looks like the strongest candidate to go. In a podcast this week, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported that some potential suitors doing research on Noel were wary of his habits and the way he carries himself, so perhaps his latest comments reflect a conscious effort to convey a positive attitude.