Where is Nerlens?

[LloydFree]

I can't wait to see the games. These ....'s are gonna be playing like there hair is on fire trying to out do each other.

[broseph13]

I think Noel wants to be payed, this is his main concern with the frontcourt logjam.
What I have not yet figured out is if he wants to go out from th Sixers or if he wants that Okafor will be traded.

In other words: is he invested with the team (as long as he is payed of course) or he is tired after 3 losing years and he prefer to reboot his career away from Philly?

Most likely, Noel is simply worried about becoming a bench player with Okafor and a healthy Embiid on the team. Noel knows he's the least talented out of the 3 and it has him worried since he could very well end up becoming a bench player who plays 20 min a night this upcoming season...which would almost certainly result in him not getting a max/near max extension.

[kriss73]

I think Noel wants to be payed, this is his main concern with the frontcourt logjam.
What I have not yet figured out is if he wants to go out from th Sixers or if he wants that Okafor will be traded.

In other words: is he invested with the team (as long as he is payed of course) or he is tired after 3 losing years and he prefer to reboot his career away from Philly?

Most likely, Noel is simply worried about becoming a bench player with Okafor and a healthy Embiid on the team. Noel knows he's the least talented out of the 3 and it has him worried since he could very well end up becoming a bench player who plays 20 min a night this upcoming season...which would almost certainly result in him not getting a max/near max extension.

If this is really his mindset, it's the "Sam Bradford" mindset.
I don't care his overall talent or the potential loss of value in a trade, you don't build a winning team with this kind of mindset.
Specially if you're a 22 years old guy entering in your third year of career.

This kind of mindset is not good both for the team and for Noel's career.

The only win-win situation is that Noel goes out and plays as good as he can.
If he plays hard he will gain his minutes. And if he plays well his trade value or his next contract will skyrocket.

[Chris4Vikes]

how about lowering expectation to no trade with Boston? that boat has sailed. and as Brand says, Noel doesn't exactly hold the cards here. he did seem to back down some today. he'll compete with the other guys, and we'll see how this all falls out. a lot can happen between now and the trade deadline.

I agree. I think the issue is some fans continue throwing out trades like the nets 2017 for Noel which we all know is not going to happen. We then proceede to discuss which guard prospect is going to be taken with that pick. It's jut a waste of time. No team is going to trade a potential high lottery pick for Noel given his contract status. Now that's not to say the sixers could not get a good return if they decide to move him.

Sixers fans delude themselve by suggesting a Nets pick, but Celtics fans delude themselves by suggesting Rozier.

If the Celtics are going to get Noel it will have to be for Smart or Bradley. That is completely reasonable, and if we can't get that much than we can trade with a team out west.

This is not reasonable. Noel has one year left on his Rookie deal, while Smart has two years. Bradley has 2 years left on his deal also.

The Sixers have zero leverage. They can keep Noel, but someone will offer him big money after the season. Will the Sixers match? No way. Pay a back-up center huge money who does not want to be there? The Sixers must trade him, and everyone knows it. Sixers' levrage and Noel's value is declining daily.

The Celtics can wait until the off-season and get Noel for just money.

[Sixerscan]

Celtic fans talk about leverage more than the other 29 team fans combined.

Red Sox fans do it too I've noticed. Must be a Boston thing.

[Ericb5]

I agree. I think the issue is some fans continue throwing out trades like the nets 2017 for Noel which we all know is not going to happen. We then proceede to discuss which guard prospect is going to be taken with that pick. It's jut a waste of time. No team is going to trade a potential high lottery pick for Noel given his contract status. Now that's not to say the sixers could not get a good return if they decide to move him.

Sixers fans delude themselve by suggesting a Nets pick, but Celtics fans delude themselves by suggesting Rozier.

If the Celtics are going to get Noel it will have to be for Smart or Bradley. That is completely reasonable, and if we can't get that much than we can trade with a team out west.

This is not reasonable. Noel has one year left on his Rookie deal, while Smart has two years. Bradley has 2 years left on his deal also.

The Sixers have zero leverage. They can keep Noel, but someone will offer him big money after the season. Will the Sixers match? No way. Pay a back-up center huge money who does not want to be there? The Sixers must trade him, and everyone knows it. Sixers' levrage and Noel's value is declining daily.

The Celtics can wait until the off-season and get Noel for just money.

Noel is a better player, with more potential than both of them so the contract status isn't a big deal. Let's not forget that you guys have a glut of guards too.

We obviously don't have any leverage here, but that doesn't mean that we are going to trade him for Rozier, to a division rival no less.

There are many teams that want Noel, and will give him a big deal. The deciding factor will be who offers the most appealing package.

We could also end up keeping him and trading Okafor.


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[rzzzzz]

The Celtics can wait until the off-season.

and blow off another post season.

meanwhile, Celtics players get closer to the end of their own contracts. and older as they wait for either the great fantasy free agent signing or for a draft pick to suddenly emerge as a top 5 player. actually, i give Danny a lot more credit than that. he knows he's got to swing for the fences, because building incrementally is the game's shortest odds.

[spikeslovechild]

Sixers fans delude themselve by suggesting a Nets pick, but Celtics fans delude themselves by suggesting Rozier.

If the Celtics are going to get Noel it will have to be for Smart or Bradley. That is completely reasonable, and if we can't get that much than we can trade with a team out west.

This is not reasonable. Noel has one year left on his Rookie deal, while Smart has two years. Bradley has 2 years left on his deal also.

The Sixers have zero leverage. They can keep Noel, but someone will offer him big money after the season. Will the Sixers match? No way. Pay a back-up center huge money who does not want to be there? The Sixers must trade him, and everyone knows it. Sixers' levrage and Noel's value is declining daily.

The Celtics can wait until the off-season and get Noel for just money.

Noel is a better player, with more potential than both of them so the contract status isn't a big deal. Let's not forget that you guys have a glut of guards too.

We obviously don't have any leverage here, but that doesn't mean that we are going to trade him for Rozier, to a division rival no less.

There are many teams that want Noel, and will give him a big deal. The deciding factor will be who offers the most appealing package.

We could also end up keeping him and trading Okafor.


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I said this a hundred times and I think after Noel and BC comments it sort of puts it to rest. We may end up trading both of them but it's hard to envison a scenario where it makes sense to trade Okafor and keep Noel even if Embiid went down.

I do think eventually if Brown vison comes to pass Okafor will need to be moved as well. He could play PF forward for us but if he can't then he's a backup PF/C who long term is not going to be happy in that role and we already have a glut at the position which is going to cause a problem for players like Saric when it comes to minutes.

So yeah I can easily see a scenario in which both Okafor and Noel are moved at this point especially after Browns comments. I can kind of see a scenario where Okafor is kept due to his rookie deal for a short time at least where the Sixers still get major suprplus value from him as super sub.

I don't see how it makes sense to keep Noel. If embiid is healthy he's a 115-18 minute player. If he's not why would you sign Noel to a max extension when you still have Okafor on his rookie deal for three more years. It just doesn't make sense to keep him. The only way I see him being kept is if the offers aren't there via trade and he struggles during the season. If his value dips into backup money 8-11 million I could see him being retained eventhough he wouldn't be happy. He is still a RFA at that point we hold all the cards

[Gsraider]

This is not reasonable. Noel has one year left on his Rookie deal, while Smart has two years. Bradley has 2 years left on his deal also.

The Sixers have zero leverage. They can keep Noel, but someone will offer him big money after the season. Will the Sixers match? No way. Pay a back-up center huge money who does not want to be there? The Sixers must trade him, and everyone knows it. Sixers' levrage and Noel's value is declining daily.

The Celtics can wait until the off-season and get Noel for just money.

This is pretty laughable, but not overly surprising. The Sixers surely have lost some leverage by Noel speaking out and the leaguewide view that Philly has to make a move, but just the same, Philly doesn't have to make a move right now and teams like Boston are more in a grey area than Philly is. Following the signing of Horford, Boston is currently either the 2nd or 3rd best team in the Eastern Conference on paper, but clearly not good enough to knock of CLE. Meanwhile, Philly is considered on the upswing, but generally considered a team that will have a win total somewhere in the 20's. Where is the pressure? Sure, Noel may be unhappy but the 76ers own his rights and I think other fans are kidding themselves if they think Philly would absolutely not match an offer given to Noel, particularly if it's from a rival. Philly has tons of money and is not a destination just yet, so why not match and retain an asset? Just the same, if Okafor is trade and/or injured again or Embid cannot stay healthy, Noel could be a Sixer for the long haul. For now, Boston needs to make a move more than Philly does because they have more pressure on them to figure out how to surpass the Cavs while they have a window open to them. The Sixers will be battling with the Nets.

So, if Ainge wants to offer nothing and the rest of the league follows suit, Philly just holds Noel for awhile and if they feel compelled to move him at a discount at some point, they can always do that to a team in the Western Conference, who will have every incentive to match any offer given to Noel. So, Boston can't simply wait until next season, but I hope they do. We can talk about guys like Smart or Bradley all day long, but that doesn't really excite me as a Sixer fan anyway. That ship sailed on draft night. Ainge is playing poker and I get it, but he could also get a player that could conceivably put his team on par with CLE and fit seamlessly alongside Horford. He thinks he has leverage and good for him. He doesn't. As BC has at least proven to this point, he's not going to submit to that and while I do think he ultimately trades Noel or Okafor, I just assume he does it out west.

[spikeslovechild]

If we are talking about teams I think the GSW are a perfect fit. At this point I'd take two future firsts to move him eventhough they are likely garbage and essentially second round picks.

I just want him off the team.

[eagledeegle]

I agree. I think the issue is some fans continue throwing out trades like the nets 2017 for Noel which we all know is not going to happen. We then proceede to discuss which guard prospect is going to be taken with that pick. It's jut a waste of time. No team is going to trade a potential high lottery pick for Noel given his contract status. Now that's not to say the sixers could not get a good return if they decide to move him.

Sixers fans delude themselve by suggesting a Nets pick, but Celtics fans delude themselves by suggesting Rozier.

If the Celtics are going to get Noel it will have to be for Smart or Bradley. That is completely reasonable, and if we can't get that much than we can trade with a team out west.

This is not reasonable. Noel has one year left on his Rookie deal, while Smart has two years. Bradley has 2 years left on his deal also.

The Sixers have zero leverage. They can keep Noel, but someone will offer him big money after the season. Will the Sixers match? No way. Pay a back-up center huge money who does not want to be there? The Sixers must trade him, and everyone knows it. Sixers' levrage and Noel's value is declining daily.

The Celtics can wait until the off-season and get Noel for just money.

Why wouldn't the Sixers match if he has a good year?.... we have a TON of money next year. Conversely, If you like someone enough to trade for him, why wouldn't you match or extend yourselves??? He's a RFA, so matching gets you 2. Contracts are not a huge devaluing factor. Especially if you really like someone and think they can help your team.

Answer me this.... would you intend to start Noel at center if you traded for him? If the answer is yes, which it likely is.... why on earth would the Sixers accept anything less than a player who can start on their team (or a good enough pick to get a starter)??? No one on these boards has been greedy.... no one is looking for a star in return... and throwing Bradley/Smart's names out there is completely reasonable.... especially in a trade to a division rival.

In saying this.... I'm not worried. Something will get done. Something more reasonable than Terry Rozier. lol

[Ericb5]

If we are talking about teams I think the GSW are a perfect fit. At this point I'd take two future firsts to move him eventhough they are likely garbage and essentially second round picks.

I just want him off the team.

We can cut bait at the deadline if need be, but we don't have to do that now.

The thing is that Noel can be a difference maker today to a team needing a rim protector. At the deadline he will be one of the few difference makers on the market, and teams heading to the playoffs will want him.

If the Celtics are leading the division and they think that they are going to compete with the Cavs to go to the finals then Noel will be very appealing to them.

He won't be a problem in the locker room in the mean time, but if he is then we may have to act faster, but I don't think he will be.



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[spikeslovechild]

Sixers fans delude themselve by suggesting a Nets pick, but Celtics fans delude themselves by suggesting Rozier.

If the Celtics are going to get Noel it will have to be for Smart or Bradley. That is completely reasonable, and if we can't get that much than we can trade with a team out west.

This is not reasonable. Noel has one year left on his Rookie deal, while Smart has two years. Bradley has 2 years left on his deal also.

The Sixers have zero leverage. They can keep Noel, but someone will offer him big money after the season. Will the Sixers match? No way. Pay a back-up center huge money who does not want to be there? The Sixers must trade him, and everyone knows it. Sixers' levrage and Noel's value is declining daily.

The Celtics can wait until the off-season and get Noel for just money.

Why wouldn't the Sixers match if he has a good year?.... we have a TON of money next year. Conversely, If you like someone enough to trade for him, why wouldn't you match or extend yourselves??? He's a RFA, so matching gets you 2. Contracts are not a huge devaluing factor. Especially if you really like someone and think they can help your team.

Answer me this.... would you intend to start Noel at center if you traded for him? If the answer is yes, which it likely is.... why on earth would the Sixers accept anything less than a player who can start on their team (or a good enough pick to get a starter)??? No one on these boards has been greedy.... no one is looking for a star in return... and throwing Bradley/Smart's names out there is completely reasonable.... especially in a trade to a division rival.

In saying this.... I'm not worried. Something will get done. Something more reasonable than Terry Rozier. lol

There are also some teams with pretty shaky centers at the moment who fashion themselves contenders. The GSW who I already mentioned. The spurs have 36 year old Gasol then Dedman behind him. The Rockets could really use some help inside. Clint Capela is a nice piece but they need more at the position.

The Caviliers have TT but Chris Anderson is their backup. That isn't going to get it done. Anderson can't play.

[Unbreakable99]

I think Noel wants to be payed, this is his main concern with the frontcourt logjam.
What I have not yet figured out is if he wants to go out from th Sixers or if he wants that Okafor will be traded.

In other words: is he invested with the team (as long as he is payed of course) or he is tired after 3 losing years and he prefer to reboot his career away from Philly?

Most likely, Noel is simply worried about becoming a bench player with Okafor and a healthy Embiid on the team. Noel knows he's the least talented out of the 3 and it has him worried since he could very well end up becoming a bench player who plays 20 min a night this upcoming season...which would almost certainly result in him not getting a max/near max extension.

Out if the three Okafor is the least talented. Noel was ranked 84th by SI. Okafor was t ranked in the top 100. Talk to me when Okafor is compared to the likes of David Robinson like Noel has on defense. You do realize basketball is a two way sport right? Noel has more talent than Okafor.

[Gsraider]

There are also some teams with pretty shaky centers at the moment who fashion themselves contenders. The GSW who I already mentioned. The spurs have 36 year old Gasol then Dedman behind him. The Rockets could really use some help inside. Clint Capela is a nice piece but they need more at the position.

The Caviliers have TT but Chris Anderson is their backup. That isn't going to get it done. Anderson can't play.

And there are also teams like MIA that have seemingly lost C. Bosh to injury and although not contenders, could start their rebirth with a modern day 5 like Noel, particularly if the price tag is low. Riley is not afraid to make bold moves too. Not to mention, if he goes to a location like MIA, the odds of him re-upping with them become greater due to the environment. Granted, that puts him in Philly's backyard too, but also on a team that has miles to go unlike Boston. I have no idea what they could offer, but the point is, Boston is hardly the only game in town and has no more leverage over Philly than the other 29 teams in the league do.

Sometimes I think fans write things in the hopes that they can convince themselves of it first. Then, if they get validation, they believe it can somehow gain some traction. The fact is, Boston had Noel or Okafor if they wanted one of them on draft night. Now, we not only don't know if they even want one of those guys, but if Philly would even be interested in what Boston would offer anyway at this point. To suggest that they somehow have leverage at this point is not only comical, but proven out by the fact that both Noel and Okafor are still Sixers.

[broseph13]

I think Noel wants to be payed, this is his main concern with the frontcourt logjam.
What I have not yet figured out is if he wants to go out from th Sixers or if he wants that Okafor will be traded.

In other words: is he invested with the team (as long as he is payed of course) or he is tired after 3 losing years and he prefer to reboot his career away from Philly?

Most likely, Noel is simply worried about becoming a bench player with Okafor and a healthy Embiid on the team. Noel knows he's the least talented out of the 3 and it has him worried since he could very well end up becoming a bench player who plays 20 min a night this upcoming season...which would almost certainly result in him not getting a max/near max extension.

Out if the three Okafor is the least talented. Noel was ranked 84th by SI. Okafor was t ranked in the top 100. Talk to me when Okafor is compared to the likes of David Robinson like Noel has on defense. You do realize basketball is a two way sport right? Noel has more talent than Okafor.

Forget about SI rankings....Noel has no feel for the game, terrible hands, zero offensive skills, and AT BEST will become Tyson Chandler 2.0. Okafor, on the other hand, could easily become a 20/10 guy with okay defense (defense is the easiest area in basketball to improve upon) who makes 4-6 all-star teams and multiple all-NBA teams by the end of his career.

Okafor is the guy with more talent and upside and everyone, except you and a few other jokers who don't know basketball, knows it.

[Unbreakable99]

Most likely, Noel is simply worried about becoming a bench player with Okafor and a healthy Embiid on the team. Noel knows he's the least talented out of the 3 and it has him worried since he could very well end up becoming a bench player who plays 20 min a night this upcoming season...which would almost certainly result in him not getting a max/near max extension.

Out if the three Okafor is the least talented. Noel was ranked 84th by SI. Okafor was t ranked in the top 100. Talk to me when Okafor is compared to the likes of David Robinson like Noel has on defense. You do realize basketball is a two way sport right? Noel has more talent than Okafor.

Forget about SI rankings....Noel has no feel for the game, terrible hands, zero offensive skills, and AT BEST will become Tyson Chandler 2.0. Okafor, on the other hand, could easily become a 20/10 guy with okay defense (defense is the easiest area in basketball to improve upon) who makes 4-6 all-star teams and multiple all-NBA teams by the end of his career.

Okafor is the guy with more talent and upside and everyone, except you and a few other jokers who don't know basketball, knows it.

Noel has no feel for the game but he's more sought after than Okafor? Ok. Noel has no feel for the game but the offense is better with him on the court than Okafor? Noel has no feel for the game but the defense is better with him on the court than Okafor? Noel makes the team better on both ends than Okafor does. Ridiculous statement. How can he have no feel for the game but have the best defensive seasons with guys like David Robinson? Noel has no feel for the game but he gets steals at a high rate? Are you serious? Noel has no feel for the game but he's a good shot blocker? Are you serious? Only people who don't know much about basketball say Noel doesn't have skill and has no feel for the game.

[mksp]

Noel has a far superior "feel" for the game, even offensively.

Okafor is just a more talented, skilled player on offense.

[broseph13]

Out if the three Okafor is the least talented. Noel was ranked 84th by SI. Okafor was t ranked in the top 100. Talk to me when Okafor is compared to the likes of David Robinson like Noel has on defense. You do realize basketball is a two way sport right? Noel has more talent than Okafor.

Forget about SI rankings....Noel has no feel for the game, terrible hands, zero offensive skills, and AT BEST will become Tyson Chandler 2.0. Okafor, on the other hand, could easily become a 20/10 guy with okay defense (defense is the easiest area in basketball to improve upon) who makes 4-6 all-star teams and multiple all-NBA teams by the end of his career.

Okafor is the guy with more talent and upside and everyone, except you and a few other jokers who don't know basketball, knows it.

Noel has no feel for the game but he's more sought after than Okafor? Ok. Noel has no feel for the game but the offense is better with him on the court than Okafor? Noel has no feel for the game but the defense is better with him on the court than Okafor? Noel makes the team better on both ends than Okafor does. Ridiculous statement. How can he have no feel for the game but have the best defensive seasons with guys like David Robinson? Noel has no feel for the game but he gets steals at a high rate? Are you serious? Noel has no feel for the game but he's a good shot blocker? Are you serious? Only people who don't know much about basketball say Noel doesn't have skill and has no feel for the game.

Look, if you can't dribble, can't shoot, have bad hands, and zero post moves, you have little/no feel for the game. That's not to say that he' lacks efficiency on the defensive end, but claiming that he actually has a good "feel for the game" is absurd.

Bottom line: Noel is more of a run and jump athlete than an actual basketball player and his skillset proves that. He's kind of like the guy at most high schools who has never played basketball, but the coaches notice his height and length so they convince him to play and tell him to just put his hands up and try to block/alter shots while on defense and get some rebounds.

[Sixerscan]

He has pretty phenomenal hands and timing on defense. He's not just a shot blocker he gets lots of deflections and steals for a center while rarely being in foul trouble.