Where is Nerlens?

[Unbreakable99]

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.

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

[Ericb5]

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.

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

Okafor has a feel for the game offensively, and not defensively, and Noel is the inverse.

Why do we need to bicker about that?


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[Unbreakable99]

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.

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

Okafor has a feel for the game offensively, and not defensively, and Noel is the inverse.

Why do we need to bicker about that?


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Noel has a feel for the game on offense and defense. The other guy said Noel has no feel for the game. He's wrong. Okafor only has it on the offensive end.

[broseph13]

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.

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

Defense comes down to 90% effort/10% skill and is BY FAR easier than offense to improve upon. Okafor likely isn't good on defense because he just doesn't care enough; Noel is a disaster on offense because he just doesn't have the skills.

[LloydFree]

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.

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

No, his previous statement was "asinine". This statement was merely dumb, but par for the course.

[Ericb5]

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

Okafor has a feel for the game offensively, and not defensively, and Noel is the inverse.

Why do we need to bicker about that?


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Noel has a feel for the game on offense and defense. The other guy said Noel has no feel for the game. He's wrong. Okafor only has it on the offensive end.

I don't know how you can say that he has a feel for the game on offense. Since he is completely devoid of any offensive skill it is pretty difficult to assess how well he understands offense. You are left to assume that he understands things that he can't execute.

[broseph13]

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

Okafor has a feel for the game offensively, and not defensively, and Noel is the inverse.

Why do we need to bicker about that?


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Noel has a feel for the game on offense and defense. The other guy said Noel has no feel for the game. He's wrong. Okafor only has it on the offensive end.

Are you Noel's agent? The guy is clueless on the offensive end...looks like he just started playing basketball last year with the ball in his hands.

[Unbreakable99]

Okafor has a feel for the game offensively, and not defensively, and Noel is the inverse.

Why do we need to bicker about that?


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Noel has a feel for the game on offense and defense. The other guy said Noel has no feel for the game. He's wrong. Okafor only has it on the offensive end.

I don't know how you can say that he has a feel for the game on offense. Since he is completely devoid of any offensive skill it is pretty difficult to assess how well he understands offense. You are left to assume that he understands things that he can't execute.

DeAndre Jordan does not have a good arsenal of offensive moves but he has a feel for the offense. He gets plenty of lobs. He knows how to move without the ball. Noel is pretty similar that he gets a lot of points on lobs. Noel knows how to move without the ball and knows his role and knows his limitations. That doesn't mean he has no feel for the game. He has a great feel for the game.

[Unbreakable99]

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.

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

Defense comes down to 90% effort/10% skill and is BY FAR easier than offense to improve upon. Okafor likely isn't good on defense because he just doesn't care enough; Noel is a disaster on offense because he just doesn't have the skills.

If defense is so easy then why are there only so few great defenders? It's not just effort. You have to have the skills to play defense.

[broseph13]

This is an asinine statement. I'm willing to bet that more GMs and coaches and analysts think Noel has a better feel for the game. Okafor has no awareness on defense. He doesn't have as much of a feel for the game that Noel does.

Defense comes down to 90% effort/10% skill and is BY FAR easier than offense to improve upon. Okafor likely isn't good on defense because he just doesn't care enough; Noel is a disaster on offense because he just doesn't have the skills.

If defense is so easy then why are there only so few great defenders? It's not just effort. You have to have the skills to play defense.

Why? Because they are the only one's who have decided to devote their time and effort to defense. Offensive skills are generally what gets guys paid and noticed so that's what most players have always focused on. For example, I'm sure a guy like Harden, who plays no defense, could be a great defensive player if he really cared enough, but he's more focused on scoring and just lets other guys handle the defensive end.

At the end of the day, most ball players focus more on what shows up on the stat sheet.

[Unbreakable99]

Defense comes down to 90% effort/10% skill and is BY FAR easier than offense to improve upon. Okafor likely isn't good on defense because he just doesn't care enough; Noel is a disaster on offense because he just doesn't have the skills.

If defense is so easy then why are there only so few great defenders? It's not just effort. You have to have the skills to play defense.

Why? Because they are the only one's who have decided to devote their time and effort to defense. Offensive skills are generally what gets guys paid and noticed so that's what most players have always focused on. For example, I'm sure a guy like Harden, who plays no defense, could be a great defensive player if he really cared enough, but he's more focused on scoring and just lets other guys handle the defensive end.

It doesn't work like that. Coach Brown could tell Okafor to not worry about scoring and only give 100% on defense. He will never be even in the same league as Noel on that end.

[broseph13]

If defense is so easy then why are there only so few great defenders? It's not just effort. You have to have the skills to play defense.

Why? Because they are the only one's who have decided to devote their time and effort to defense. Offensive skills are generally what gets guys paid and noticed so that's what most players have always focused on. For example, I'm sure a guy like Harden, who plays no defense, could be a great defensive player if he really cared enough, but he's more focused on scoring and just lets other guys handle the defensive end.

It doesn't work like that. Coach Brown could tell Okafor to not worry about scoring and only give 100% on defense. He will never be even in the same league as Noel on that end.

No one said he'd be in the same league as Noel on defense, but overall, Okafor is the better player with more upside. Noel will probably never play in an all-star game but the same is probable for Okafor.

Look, even Noel knows he's the least talented of the 3. How do I know that? Because he's clearly worried about getting minutes with Okafor and Embiid on the roster. Do you think Noel would care if he were talented and confident enough to believe that he's truly better than both and could go in and take a starting spot away from Okafor or Embiid? Nope, he knows he's inferior which is why he has issues with the team having 3 bigs and has subtly stated that he wants out or at least wants one of them out; he knows he's the least talented. A truly talented player would just be like "hey...I can't control what management does, but I do know that I'm going to go in, work hard, and earn my minutes."

[Unbreakable99]

Why? Because they are the only one's who have decided to devote their time and effort to defense. Offensive skills are generally what gets guys paid and noticed so that's what most players have always focused on. For example, I'm sure a guy like Harden, who plays no defense, could be a great defensive player if he really cared enough, but he's more focused on scoring and just lets other guys handle the defensive end.

It doesn't work like that. Coach Brown could tell Okafor to not worry about scoring and only give 100% on defense. He will never be even in the same league as Noel on that end.

No one said he'd be in the same league as Noel on defense, but overall, Okafor is the better player with more upside. Noel will probably never play in an all-star game but the same is probable for Okafor.

Look, even Noel knows he's the least talented of the 3. How do I know that? Because he's clearly worried about getting minutes with Okafor and Embiid on the roster. Do you think Noel would care if he were talented and confident enough to believe that he's truly better than both and could go in and take a starting spot away from Okafor or Embiid? Nope, he knows he's inferior which is why he has issues with the team having 3 bigs and has subtly stated that he wants out or at least wants one of them out; he knows he's the least talented. A truly talented player would just be like "hey...I can't control what management does, but I do know that I'm going to go in, work hard, and earn my minutes."

Noel knows he's better than Okafor at this time. What he says is true. All 3 Centers can't coexist.

[Ericb5]

Noel has a feel for the game on offense and defense. The other guy said Noel has no feel for the game. He's wrong. Okafor only has it on the offensive end.

I don't know how you can say that he has a feel for the game on offense. Since he is completely devoid of any offensive skill it is pretty difficult to assess how well he understands offense. You are left to assume that he understands things that he can't execute.

DeAndre Jordan does not have a good arsenal of offensive moves but he has a feel for the offense. He gets plenty of lobs. He knows how to move without the ball. Noel is pretty similar that he gets a lot of points on lobs. Noel knows how to move without the ball and knows his role and knows his limitations. That doesn't mean he has no feel for the game. He has a great feel for the game.

I don't think that being able to roll to the basket for lobs is anything other than just doing the one thing that you can do. Deandre also plays with a HOF caliber PG and they have a long relationship.

I personally don't think there is anyone on the team outside of Simmons and Embiid that I would say that their feel for the game is a strength.


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[Easymoney]

It doesn't work like that. Coach Brown could tell Okafor to not worry about scoring and only give 100% on defense. He will never be even in the same league as Noel on that end.

No one said he'd be in the same league as Noel on defense, but overall, Okafor is the better player with more upside. Noel will probably never play in an all-star game but the same is probable for Okafor.

Look, even Noel knows he's the least talented of the 3. How do I know that? Because he's clearly worried about getting minutes with Okafor and Embiid on the roster. Do you think Noel would care if he were talented and confident enough to believe that he's truly better than both and could go in and take a starting spot away from Okafor or Embiid? Nope, he knows he's inferior which is why he has issues with the team having 3 bigs and has subtly stated that he wants out or at least wants one of them out; he knows he's the least talented. A truly talented player would just be like "hey...I can't control what management does, but I do know that I'm going to go in, work hard, and earn my minutes."

Noel knows he's better than Okafor at this time. What he says is true. All 3 Centers can't coexist.

Noel is not being a good teammate by being so negative right before the start of training camp. On one hand you have a player whining because he's scared to compete and on the other you have one trying to be a vocal leader on our team.

Jah actually talked with Simmons Tuesday, right before camp, about communicating with his teammates on the floor. It can be arguable that Simmons is a major reason why Jah could ultimately be traded, yet he wants him to succeed simply because he wants to win. This is the type of "feel for the game" that I want our players to have.

[GoSixersBro]

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.

Didn't Miami lock up Whiteside this summer?


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[broseph13]

It doesn't work like that. Coach Brown could tell Okafor to not worry about scoring and only give 100% on defense. He will never be even in the same league as Noel on that end.

No one said he'd be in the same league as Noel on defense, but overall, Okafor is the better player with more upside. Noel will probably never play in an all-star game but the same is probable for Okafor.

Look, even Noel knows he's the least talented of the 3. How do I know that? Because he's clearly worried about getting minutes with Okafor and Embiid on the roster. Do you think Noel would care if he were talented and confident enough to believe that he's truly better than both and could go in and take a starting spot away from Okafor or Embiid? Nope, he knows he's inferior which is why he has issues with the team having 3 bigs and has subtly stated that he wants out or at least wants one of them out; he knows he's the least talented. A truly talented player would just be like "hey...I can't control what management does, but I do know that I'm going to go in, work hard, and earn my minutes."

Noel knows he's better than Okafor at this time. What he says is true. All 3 Centers can't coexist.

1) The team really only has 2 centers and a very questionable third. Right now, it's more like 2.5 centers, not 3...let's see Embiid play a full season before talking about 3 centers can't coexist. Embiid hasn't played in 2 years...you don't know what he can do or how long he can stay healthy. Any logically thinking person realizes this and understands that you don't ship out a healthy big without knowing with 100% certainty if another is definitely healthy.

2) Noel clearly fears losing his starting job. His public statements prove that. As I said, a truly talented player wouldn't say anything about coexisting; rather, they'd say "hey, that's for management to decide...I'm going to just go out here, work hard, and earn my minutes." Instead, your boy feels threatened and therefore is trying to push the envelope by suggesting that he's not happy with potentially losing his starting position.

[Gsraider]

Didn't Miami lock up Whiteside this summer?

That's a good point and forgot about him. I was thinking primarily about Bosh, but Noel and Whiteside are too similar. Oh well. Only 28 other options.

[Chris4Vikes]

It was reported on draft night that Ainge offered #3 for Noel and Lakers' pick. I assume Sixers' fans still think that was a bad trade for Philly, or any second thoughts?

I am just genuinely asking and not trying to stir up anything further.

[Wrangor]

It was reported on draft night that Ainge offered #3 for Noel and Lakers' pick. I assume Sixers' fans still think that was a bad trade for Philly, or any second thoughts?

I am just genuinely asking and not trying to stir up anything further.

That is an awful trade. Lakers pick is going to be close in value and you are throwing in a massive chip in Noel.


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