Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Nerlens Noel

Stein’s Latest: Motiejunas, B. Lopez, Raptors, Adams

November 4th, 2016 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

After passing along a few details on the latest contract negotiations between the Rockets and Donatas Motiejunas earlier today, Marc Stein fleshed out that report in his latest piece for ESPN.com. According to Stein, November 23 is viewed as an unofficial deadline for Motiejunas to sign, since he wouldn’t be trade-eligible this season if he inks a deal after that date. Players signing free agent contracts are ineligible to be moved for three months after the deal is finalized.

Additionally, as we speculated, the Rockets are reluctant to guarantee any seasons beyond year one in an offer for Motiejunas, sources tell Stein. The forward’s history of back issues plays a significant part in that stance.

Stein has several more updates within his latest piece, so let’s dive in and round them up…

  • Some rival executives are “increasingly convinced” that the Nets are willing to trade Brook Lopez before this season’s trade deadline, writes Stein. At this point, Brooklyn is believed to be fielding calls, rather than making them — the club is doing its due diligence rather than shopping its standout center. Stein adds that rumblings about potential Boston interest in Lopez have been shot down by Celtics sources, though the ESPN scribe still believe the C’s are worth keeping an eye on.
  • The Raptors have expressed interest in Sixers big man Nerlens Noel, but sources indicate to Stein that Toronto prefers to give its younger players a chance to play more minutes and fill the void created by Jared Sullinger‘s injury. If rookies like Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam aren’t up to the task, perhaps the Raps’ interest in Noel will grow.
  • Steven Adams‘ new extension with the Thunder features a 7.5% trade kicker, so he’d get a bonus if he’s traded by Oklahoma City over the life of the four-year deal, per Stein.
Retweet 10 Share 0 Send via email0

Sixers, Nerlens Noel Not Discussing Extension

October 30th, 2016 at 7:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers seem willing to let Nerlens Noel become a restricted free agent next summer, posts Jeff Goodman on ESPN Now. The two sides aren’t discussing a rookie-scale extension and the deadline is at midnight Eastern time on Monday.

Noel has frequently been cited as a potential trade candidate because of the looming extension and Philadelphia’s logjam of big men with Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor. Noel criticized the team at the start of training camp for drafting so many young centers, and several observers feel like he is the most expendable of the three.

Noel is missing the start of the season after undergoing surgery on Monday for an inflamed plica above his left knee. He was projected to be out of action for three to five weeks. Noel is making nearly $4.4MM this season in the final year of his rookie contract.

 

Retweet 6 Share 0 Send via email0

Stein’s Latest: Blazers, Gay, Noel, Rubio, Cousins

October 28th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest column at ESPN.com, Marc Stein offers up 10 “fearless predictions,” forecasting 20 triple-doubles this season for Russell Westbrook, a win total in the low-60s for the Warriors, and a single player (James Harden) leading the league in both points and assists per game. A few of Stein’s predictions for the 2016/17 league year also relate to player movement, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

  • Many “league observers” believe that the Trail Blazers‘ aggressive spending this offseason was more about collecting assets than anything else, says Stein. Portland has an excess of wings and big men, and is considered the team most likely to make a trade this season, according to the ESPN scribe. It would certainly make sense for the Blazers to move one of their bigger long-term contracts — they already have nearly $130MM in guaranteed money on their cap for next year (2017/18).
  • Stein suggests he expects Rudy Gay (Kings), Nerlens Noel (Sixers), and Ricky Rubio (Wolves) to be dealt at some point this season. All three players have been the subject of plenty of trade rumors so far in 2016.
  • While he’s less confident about a DeMarcus Cousins trade, Stein says that February figures to be dominated by trade speculation about the Kings big man. As Stein notes, Sacramento is “determined” to contend for the playoffs this season, so if the team remains in the hunt in February, perhaps Cousins stays put. But if the Kings hang onto him, they’ll have to be confident they have a chance to re-sign him, since his trade value would take a hit in the final year of his contract, Stein writes.
Retweet 5 Share 0 Send via email0

Atlantic Rumors: Lopez, Knicks, Sixers, Siakam

October 27th, 2016 at 9:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets center Brook Lopez doesn’t seem to fit into new coach Kenny Atkinson’s motion offense, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Lopez played just 21 minutes, fewer than eight of his teammates, in Brooklyn’s opener on Wednesday against the Celtics. He scored only one basket, an odd sight for a player who averaged 20.6 PPG last season. Lopez is making $21.16MM this season and $22.6MM in the final year of his contract in 2017/18. “It’s a learning process. It’s both of us: It’s him learning a totally new system and us integrating him into a new system,’’ Atkinson told Lewis. “But I have complete confidence that as the season goes on, you’re going to see a better Brook. He’s going to understand it more.”

 In other news around the Atlantic Division:
  • Developing Kristaps Porzingis should be Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek’s top priority this season but it will difficult with two ball-dominant players like Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony in the lineup, Chris Mannix of The Vertical opines. Hornacek is intent on improving Porzingis’ post moves in order to punish teams using smaller defenders on him, Mannix notes. But rival coaches are skeptical that Hornacek’s hybrid triangle offense will allow him to take advantage of mismatches, Mannix continues. Those coaches also believe Porzingis is better suited at center but the signing of Joakim Noah limits that possibility, Mannix adds.
  • Hornacek isn’t surprised that Rose struggled to run the offense in the season-opening loss to the Cavaliers, Barbara Barker of Newsday reports. Rose had just one assist in the Knicks’ opening-night loss to the Cavaliers and later expressed frustration over the offensive scheme. Hornacek said it was a product of Rose missing a good portion of the preseason because of his sexual assault civil trial in Los Angeles, Barker continues. “If we expected anything different, we’d be crazy,” Hornacek told Barker and other beat reporters. “He hasn’t seen a lot of this stuff.”
  • Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor didn’t play together in the Sixers’ opening-night loss to the Thunder because both were on minutes limits, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Coach Brett Brown wants to play them together in certain situations but Embiid is being brought along slowly after missing two seasons with foot issues, while Okafor just returned from knee soreness, Pompey adds. “It’s not intelligent to play them together now when you only have X amount of minutes with both of them,” Brown said to Pompey.
  • Rookie Pascal Siakam started ahead of Patrick Patterson at power forward for the Raptors in their opener to keep Patterson in his normal role, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Siakam grabbed nine rebounds in 22 minutes.
Retweet 8 Share 0 Send via email0

Nerlens Noel To Have Surgery, Out 3 to 5 Weeks

October 23rd, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers big man Nerlens Noel will have surgery Monday and is expected to miss three to five weeks, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Noel, who hasn’t played or practiced since October 6th, will have a procedure to take care of an inflamed plica above his left knee. An updated recovery time will be issued after the surgery. Noel, who is also recovering from a strained groin, has appeared in just one game this preseason.

The procedure means Noel will be inactive through the October 31st deadline for a rookie contract extension. A report this week said he and the team have not held any discussions about extending his contract. If no agreement is reached, he will become a restricted free agent next summer. Noel made headlines at the start of camp when he criticized the Sixers for having three young centers on the team and has seen his name mentioned repeatedly in trade rumors.

Retweet 8 Share 0 Send via email0

Sixers Injury Updates: Noel, Bayless, Simmons

October 21st, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers have a number of key personnel dealing with injury woes. The team issued a press release today on three of those players, updating their statuses:

  • Beginning with Nerlens Noel, the center has been diagnosed with an inflamed plica on his left knee after consulting with multiple specialists. Noel has elected to address the injury via a minor surgical procedure, which will be performed in the near future, per the team. Philadelphia did not provide a timetable for how long the big man would be out of action, though, it is reasonable to expect an update after the surgery has been performed. Noel has also been nursing a strained groin, so some time in street clothes was already in the cards for the player. The loss of Noel will give the team an opportunity to see how Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid perform together, though, Embiid’s playing time will be limited as the team will play it safe with the former No. 3 overall pick.
  • Philadelphia provided an update on another former lottery pick — Ben Simmons. The forward, who underwent successful surgery to repair an acute Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot on October 4th, recently had his two-week, post-operative exam. Simmons had his sutures removed and is continuing to progress with his day-to-day rehabilitation and recovery under the guidance of Sixers Director of Performance Research & Development Dr. David T. Martin, and Sixers Director of Physiotherapy and Clinical Diagnostics Scott Epsley, the team relays. According to a report from Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Simmons is currently projected to return to basketball activities in January.
  • Finally, the Sixers relayed that Jerryd Bayless will pursue a non-surgical option to address the nagging issues he is experiencing with his injured left wrist. Bayless has been limited to non-contact, individualized workouts since training camp due to the ligament injury. The guard will continue to rehab the wrist and will be re-evaluated in two weeks time, per the release.
Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Okafor, Noel, Henderson

October 20th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers’ logjam at center has been the story surrounding the team for most of the offseason, but with the regular season just a few days away, the team hasn’t made a move to address its crowded frontcourt depth chart. With Joel Embiid looking good in preseason action and finally prepared to make his NBA debut, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer revisits the situation. As Pompey notes, in the short term, there should be enough minutes to go around, since Embiid’s playing time will be limited and Nerlens Noel‘s groin strain continues to keep him sidelined. When Noel returns, however, it’s expected to be an issue.

If the Sixers don’t make a trade anytime soon, there’s a good chance we’ll see two of Embiid, Noel, and Jahlil Okafor on the court at the same time, and one league executive suggests to Pompey that a pairing of Embiid and Okafor isn’t ideal. Noel and Okafor weren’t particularly effective playing together last year either, so the executive says the most effective duo would likely be Noel and Embiid: “Nerlens can guard the fours and keep Embiid around the rim. And on the offensive end, Embiid can step out more and Nerlens can be more around the basket. … It would be an athletic and great defensive combination.”

As the Sixers figure out how to manage their rotation up front, here’s more from out of Philadelphia:

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Sixers, Nerlens Noel Not Discussing Extension

October 18th, 2016 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Among the players eligible for rookie-scale extension until October 31, Nerlens Noel is one of the more interesting candidates. The 22-year-old is a promising rebounder and defender whose offensive game still needs some work, and he also plays for a team whose frontcourt is loaded with young talent. Given the uncertainty surrounding Noel, it makes sense that he and the Sixers have yet to engage in extension negotiations, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“It’s not really something that we’ve discussed, given some of the concerns that I think Nerlens has had, right now,” Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said. “There’s been very little – if any – discussion with his agents about any extension scenarios.”

Noel’s “concerns” that Colangelo mentions likely refer to the comments the big man made at the start of training camp about the Sixers’ logjam at center. Noel called the situation “silly” and expressed surprise that Philadelphia hadn’t made a trade. Presumably, while he’d like to secure a payday, Noel will be reluctant to sign long-term with the Sixers unless he gets a clearer sense of how the team plans to resolve that situation.

If Noel receives certain assurances from the Sixers about the team’s future, perhaps he and the team will open extension negotiations sometime within the next couple weeks. It’s also possible – albeit not particularly likely – that Philadelphia trades him before the October 31 extension deadline, allowing to ink an extension with a new team. That sort of move is rare, but not unprecedented. For instance, the Rockets signed James Harden to a max extension in October 2012, just days after acquiring him from the Thunder.

For now though, it seems as if the most likely scenario for Noel and the Sixers is for Halloween’s extension deadline to pass without a deal, putting Noel on track to become a restricted free agent in 2017, either with Philadelphia or another club.

Retweet 5 Share 0 Send via email0

Sixers Notes: Okafor, Noel, McConnell, Rodriguez

October 15th, 2016 at 5:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers coach Brett Brown expects second-year center Jahlil Okafor to be ready by opening night, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly. Okafor is still experiencing soreness in his right knee related to the operation he had in March. Brown said his progress is encouraging, but he will probably begin the season with a minutes restriction (Twitter link). The team is less optimistic about Nerlens Noel, who was scratched from a game last week with a strained groin and may not be able to play in the October 26th opener.

There’s more news out of Philadelphia:

  • Brown is still working out roles for backup point guards T.J. McConnell and Sergio Rodriguez, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jerryd Bayless, who signed a three-year, $27MM deal this summer, is still projected as the starter, although he will be sidelined for a while with a wrist injury. McConnell has been announced as the starting point guard for opening night, but Rodriguez will get the start in tonight’s preseason game with the Pistons. The coach warned fans not to read anything into the decisions. “There’s no sort of madness from a discipline standpoint, from a performance standout,” Brown said. “It’s just that we’ve got a few [preseason] games left. I want to see Sergio more at the start of a game with that group we have been looking at, bring T.J. off the bench and really let him be bothersome defensively as he is. That’s the only motive behind that.”
  • The Sixers are still planning to take it easy with Joel Embiid, but they haven’t ruled out playing him in back-to-back games, Pompey tweets. Philadelphia plans to keep Embiid on a minutes restriction to reduce the risk of problems with the foot injury that cost him his first two NBA seasons.
  • Former Sixers guard Pierre Jackson will play in Croatia this season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Jackson signed with Cedevita Zagreb, the defending champions in Croatia. Philadelphia waived the 25-year-old point guard before the start of the past two seasons.
Retweet 5 Share 0 Send via email0

Nerlens Noel: Sixers’ Center Logjam Is “Silly”

September 26th, 2016 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

1:12pm: Responding today to Noel’s comments, Colangelo reiterated that he’s not shopping any specific players, suggesting that – as a new GM – he was simply gauging league-wide interest in his players (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com). Colangelo added that the situation shouldn’t be affected by Noel’s comments, and that Embiid’s health will be a major factor in the Sixers’ plans (Twitter links via Bodner and Pompey). The team isn’t in a rush to make any moves, per Colangelo (Twitter link via Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com).

Meanwhile, Noel doubled down on his earlier comments this afternoon. While he stressed he isn’t unhappy in Philadelphia, the big man said he doesn’t see “any way of it working” when asked again about the center logjam (Twitter link via Bodner).

8:37am: With Joel Embiid poised to make his NBA debut this season, the Sixers are stacked at the center position, as Embiid joins Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor in the rotation. The logjam at the position has resulted in plenty of trade rumors involving Noel and Okafor this offseason, but the team has yet to make a move. And as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Noel is starting to publicly question when a move will happen.

“I think it’s just silly… this situation that we are in now with three starting centers,” Noel said. “With the departure of [former GM] Sam Hinkie, I would have figured that management would be able to get something done this summer. … I think something needs to happen.”

According to Noel, he’s not asking to be traded himself, or demanding that the Sixers make a move immediately. However, it sounds as if he views a deal as inevitable, since it doesn’t make sense for the club to play out the season with all three players, assuming they all stay healthy. According to Noel, it’s the equivalent of having “three starting quarterbacks.”

“I feel like it definitely needs to be figured out,” Noel said. “I think at the end of the day, again, you have three starting-caliber centers. 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.”

Although GM Bryan Colangelo has suggested in the past that heading into the season with Okafor, Noel, and Embiid all on the roster isn’t necessarily ideal, the Sixers also like all three players and don’t want to sell one of them for below market value. Appearing on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast last week, Colangelo denied aggressively shopping Okafor and Noel, adding that the team’s desire to make a deal has been overstated and calling it a “high-class problem” to have three promising young centers.

Noel tells Pompey that he knows he “was shopped,” though that could be a question of semantics — it’s not clear whether the Sixers were instigating trade discussions or simply talking to teams that called to ask about their bigs. According to Pompey, Noel’s name has come up in trade talks with the Celtics, Suns, Hawks, and Rockets, but Philadelphia turned down multiple offers for the 22-year-old. Another source tells Pompey that the Sixers have also spoken to the Raptors and Spurs.

While it remains possible that the Sixers will make a move prior to the regular season, the club had been hoping to make it until at least December 15, per Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). That would give Okafor and Embiid time to prove they’re fully healthy, and it would allow players who signed new deals this offseason to become trade-eligible, opening the door for more possible scenarios.

Retweet 11 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts