Nerlens Noel Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nerlens Noel Likely To Miss 2013/14 Season

October 21st, 2013 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

For the second consecutive year, the Sixers might be without their star center for the entire season. New coach Brett Brown indicated to reporters that rookie big man Nerlens Noel is likely to miss all of his first season in the NBA, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports. While Brown said nothing is set in stone, it appears to be a longshot that Noel will suit up in 2013/14.

Noel, 19, was long expected to be the No. 1 pick in the draft after his freshman year at Kentucky. However, a vicious ACL tear in February spelled the end of his season and knocked him down a few pegs on everyone’s draft boards. The Pelicans, already armed with Anthony Davis at the five, drafted Noel and later shipped him and their 2014 first-round pick to Philadelphia for Jrue Holiday and the rights to Pierre Jackson.

Despite playing only half the season, Noel was selected to the Freshman All-America team alongside UNLV’s Anthony Bennett (Cavs), UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad (Timberwolves), Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart, and Kansas’ Ben McLemore (Kings).

Sixers Sign Michael Carter-Williams

September 24th, 2013 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers have officially signed rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams, according to the team's director of public relations Michael Preston (Twitter link). The Sixers also formally confirmed the signing of Nerlens Noel, which we heard about last week.

Noel and Carter-Williams had long been the only two first-rounders who remained unsigned, with the exception of those players who are spending the 2013/14 season overseas. Now that both players are officially under contract, the Sixers are carrying 11 players on guaranteed deals. At least six more players with partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed contracts will be in camp with the club starting next week.

Carter-Williams, the 11th overall pick out of Syracuse, is set to earn about $2.2MM in his rookie season, assuming he signed for the maximum allowable 120% of his cap hold. Our breakdown of rookie-scale salaries has the details.

Sixers Sign Nerlens Noel

September 19th, 2013 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Over two and a half months after drafting him, the Sixers have officially signed Nerlens Noel to a rookie-scale contract, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via Twitter). As our chart of rookie salaries shows, that should put Noel in line for a first-year salary worth about $3.17MM.

Noel, 19, played 24 games for the Wildcats in his freshman year at Kentucky before a torn ACL sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Before the injury, he averaged 10.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 4.4 BPG, and was viewed as the frontrunner to be the No. 1 pick. However, on draft night, he fell to the Pelicans at sixth overall, and was immediately sent to Philadelphia in a trade for Jrue Holiday.

While Noel has signed, there's still no word on whether Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia's other lottery pick has officially inked his deal yet.

Odds & Ends: Roster Spots, Hunt, Mavericks

August 29th, 2013 at 11:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter) points out that the Lakers, Bulls, and 76ers are the three teams that still need to sign players in order to reach the league minimum of 13 players by opening night, although it's worth noting that L.A. is still yet to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly and Philadelphia is in the same boat with Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. Also, as we pointed out a few days ago, Dexter Pittman accepted a training camp invite with Chicago and could fill that 13th roster spot if they end up offering him a guaranteed contract.

Here are more of tonight's news and notes from around the league:

Jeff Haubner of ESPN.com offers a two part preview of the upcoming FIBA Americas tournament.
Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel notes that the Bucks/Suns deal keeps Milwaukee about $1.9MM under the salary cap and saves Phoenix around $5.6MM in cap space. Gardner also has more comments from Caron Butler regarding his happiness with the trade.
Former 76ers star Charles Barkley isn't happy with the way his former team handled their assistant coaching situation, saying that those who were released upon the Brett Brown hiring had worked for the team the entire summer and therefore didn't have the opportunity to look for another job (Michael Kaskey-Blomain of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Keith Schlosser of RidiculousUpside.com takes a look at Kyle Hunt, who while eligible for the D-League draft in the fall is also looking to earn an NBA training camp invite.
Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW suggests Mavericks fans should be happy with 45 wins and a 7th seed in the Western Conference next season.
Ben Couch of BrooklynNets.com provides a brief breakdown of the Nets' depth at the center position, profiling Brook Lopez, Andray Blatche, and Mason Plumlee.
Former Knick and now a member of the Canadian men's national basketball team, Andy Rautins tells Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun about how prepared he and his teammates feel heading into the FIBA Americas tournament.
NBA.com posted an article from Atlanta-based freelance writer Jon Cooper about Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer. Though he stressed the importance of forming good relationships with each player up to the 15th man, Budenholzer specifically mentioned Al Horford and Jeff Teague as two players that he's very much looking forward to working with.
Suns.com passes along an article from the archives which delves into the mind of the late former Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.

Pelicans, Sixers Finalize Trade

July 12th, 2013 at 8:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans and Sixers have officially announced their swap involving Jrue Holiday and Nerlens Noel, a trade that was agreed upon on draft night but held up until after the July Moratorium. The Pelicans bring aboard Holiday and Pierre Jackson, the 42nd pick in last month's draft, in exchange for Noel and a 2014 first-round draft choice. The 2014 pick will remain with the Pelicans if it falls in the top five.

The delay in finalizing the trade stemmed from the Pelicans' inability to absorb Holiday's $9,213,484 salary until the NBA's calendar flipped over to 2013/14 this month, and the newlywed Holiday's honeymoon caused a further holdup. The 23-year-old point guard is now finally entrenched in New Orleans, where he'll begin drawing paychecks from the four-year, $41MM extension he signed last October with the Sixers a few months before making his first All-Star appearance.

Noel, who seemed the odds-on favorite to become the No. 1 pick last month, heads to Philadelphia after slipping to the No. 6 spot in the draft. The 7'0" center from Kentucky will miss the first part of the season recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in his only collegiate season. The 5'10" Jackson, the other 2013 draftee involved in the swap, heads to New Orleans after distinguishing himself as a point guard at Baylor.

That protection attached to the 2014 first-rounder extends in perpetuity, so if the Pelicans wind up with a string of top-five picks over the next few years, they won't have to give them up, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. For additional details about the swap, see our post about the initial agreement.

Atlantic Rumors: Sixers, Bynum, C’s, Knicks, Nets

July 10th, 2013 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Atlantic teams have been among the clubs finalizing deals agreed to during the moratorium today, including the Sixers officially making a trade with the Pelicans and the Knicks and Raptors formally completing their Andrea Bargnani swap. As teams and players continue to put pen to paper, let's round up a few items of note out of the division…

When the Sixers agreed to send Jrue Holiday to the Pelicans in exchange for Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first-rounder, Noel wasn't the only player Philadelphia would have accepted with that No. 6 overall pick. According to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com, the Sixers would also have made the deal if New Orleans was able to select Anthony Bennett or Victor Oladipo. Those two players, of course, ultimately went first and second overall.
The Sixers continue to keep their options open and have "absolutely not" ruled out re-signing Andrew Bynum, a source tells Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld (Twitter link). That seems like a long shot to me, but Philadelphia should still have plenty of cap room to make a move.
Michael Curry has yet to formally interview for the Sixers' head coaching job, but expects to talk to GM Sam Hinkie after Summer League play, tweets Lynam.
Although the Celtics could have their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available, GM Danny Ainge says minimum-salary signings are more likely, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
The Knicks are interested in Tyrus Thomas, who was officially released via the amnesty clause by the Bobcats today, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. New York won't have a chance to place a claim on Thomas, but could negotiate a new deal with him if he clears amnesty waivers.
Don't expect Andrei Kirilenko to be the Nets' "Plan B" after the team failed to lock up Bojan Bogdanovic. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News says (via Twitter) that there's nothing happening between Kirilenko and Brooklyn.

Pelicans To Acquire Jrue Holiday For Noel, ’14 Pick

July 10th, 2013 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10TH, 2:08pm: The trade between the Pelicans and Sixers is now official, according to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter). However, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News says (via Twitter) that it won't be finalized until at least tomorrow, since Holiday is on his honeymoon and is unavailable to complete the paperwork.

JUNE 28TH, 6:17pm: Sixers GM Sam Hinkie has confirmed that the 2014 first-rounder headed from New Orleans to Philadelphia is top-five protected, reports Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).

1:07am: The deal won't become official until July 10th, tweets Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. That makes sense, since the Pelicans won't have room to absorb Holiday's salary until their cap room becomes available in July.

JUNE 27TH, 7:52pm: Ford now tweets that the pick headed to Philadelphia is top-five protected for 2014, and ESPN.com's Marc Stein backs up the report (via Twitter).

7:33pm: ESPN.com's Chad Ford tweets that the 2014 first-rounder headed to Philadelphia is top-three protected, while TNT's David Aldridge tweets it's lottery-protected. Given Wojnarowski's assertion that the protection is "light," Ford's report makes more sense, but we'll have to wait for confirmation.

7:26pm: The Pelicans will also receive this year's 42nd overall pick from the Sixers in the deal, tweets Wojnarowski.

7:22pm: After unexpectedly snagging Nerlens Noel sixth overall, the Pelicans will send him to the 76ers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (all Twitter links). The Pelicans will receive Jrue Holiday and will also send a 2014 first-round pick in 2014 to Philadelphia, Wojnarowski reports, adding that the pick is expected to have "light protection" (Twitter link). Chris Broussard of ESPN.com first tweeted that Noel would be on the move.

Odds & Ends: Mayo, Martin, Noel, Bulls

June 30th, 2013 at 8:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's the latest from around the Association as we gear up for the start of free agency..

The Jazz, Bucks, Timberwolves, Clippers, Blazers, Bobcats, and Bulls are all likely suitors for Mavs guard O.J. Mayo, USA Today's Sam Amick tweets. Mayo is expected to turn down his $4.2MM option this summer and it makes a lot of sense considering the number of teams with major cap space to burn.
Kevin Martin is expected to draw interest from the Bucks, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Mavericks, and Pistons, as well as the Thunder, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Before Nerlens Noel fell to pick No. 6, the Pelicans were entertaining the idea of trading that selection to the Bobcats for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe notes amid his weekly roundup.
Drastic change isn't likely to blow through the Windy City for the Bulls this summer, writes Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. There's still a lot of moving pieces for the club, but the major shifting probably won't come until the summer of 2014 for the Bulls.
The Wizards face some tough decisions with free agency approaching, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Washington obviously won't be in play for any of the elite free agents this summer and they have their sights set on less-thrilling goals, like retaining small forward Martell Webster.
We hear similar news out of Portland, where Joe Freeman of The Oregonian cautions fans not to expect anything too crazy out of the Blazers. Of course, there have been rumblings over LaMarcus Aldridge's discontent.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Nets, Deng, Webster

June 28th, 2013 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

Based on the direction in which the Sixers are heading, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn't expect the Heat to ever see the lottery-protected first-round pick they acquired a year ago for Arnett Moultrie. With Jrue Holiday on his way to New Orleans and the Sixers not expected to re-sign Andrew Bynum, the young roster is unlikely to earn a playoff spot in 2014, thereby keeping its first-rounder. If Philadelphia's first-rounder lands in the lottery in '14, the Sixers will instead convey their 2015 and 2016 second-rounders to Miami.

Here are a few more Friday updates from around the Eastern Conference:

The Nets have agreed to terms with three assistant coaches, the team announced today in a press release. Lawrence Frank, Roy Rogers, and Eric Hughes will join Jason Kidd's staff.
Scott Gleeson of USA Today has an interesting behind-the-scenes look of draft day from Nerlens Noel's perspective, including Noel's reaction to slipping to No. 6 and being traded to the 76ers. Sean Deveney of the Sporting News has a similar look at Thursday's events from the perspective of Philadelphia's other first-round pick, Michael Carter-Williams.
Trade rumors have swirled around Luol Deng in recent weeks, but Bulls GM Gar Forman says Deng remains a "big piece of what we're doing moving forward," as Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald writes.
After the Wizards drafted a pair of wings last night, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wonders if there will be room for the team to bring back Martell Webster.

Mid-Draft Rumors: Noel, 76ers, Warriors, Suns

June 27th, 2013 at 7:46pm CST by Luke Adams

You can follow tonight's draft picks right here, but we're hearing plenty of other rumblings outside of the picks themselves. Let's round up a few….

One executive whose team passed on Nerlens Noel told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the Kentucky big man is actually healthier than Anthony Bennett or Alex Len, so injury concerns weren't the reason Noel slipped.
The blockbuster trade the Sixers made, acquiring Noel and a 2014 first-rounder for Jrue Holiday, signals one reason the team hasn't hired a coach yet, tweets Broussard. With a rebuild seemingly on the way, the 76ers wanted a new head coach to know what he was getting into.
The Warriors are receiving calls on Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes, but value both players "very, very, very highly," according to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter).
The Suns drafted Alex Len to keep him, and have no deals in place, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
A Luke Ridnour/Ekpe Udoh swap between the Timberwolves and Bucks won't happen tonight, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
The Cavs are in the process of trying to move up from No. 19, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.