[valentine]

This isnt one of my usual Anti-Philly rants like you’re probably thinking.

This is straight up – No bias.

But it seems like the team is distancing itself from Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. Less stuff on their social network sites and media etc. 

Take today for example…the 76ers instagram page shows Coach Brown, Simmons and Embiid being all friendly together at the NFL. Why wasnt Nerlens invited to the football game?

Maybe I’m reading too much into it.

But Ive got a feeling both of those guys are as good as gone. Neither will play so much as a practice game in a 76ers uniform.

I wonder what both players will say publicly about their time in Philly upon their exit. 

On a scale of 1 to 5 snowflakes…how frosty will their exit be?

 

 

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

The they should get rid of Simmons. That dude is another Anthony Randolph if I’ve ever seen one.

[negguaryParticipant]

 just to neg you…. 🙂

[OhCanada-Participant]

 I have noticed Okafor and Noel are not getting much attention compared to Simmons, Saric and Embiid but thus maybe more of a marketing strategy for the 76ers to finally sell tickets. Let’s face it Noel and Okafor didn’t win many games last year so putting those two faces on your NFL broadcast is not quite as appealing as putting Simmons and Embiid. They resemble hope or optimism while Oak and Noel currently resemble failure. 

[The Scare Crow RisesParticipant]

 Distancing themselves?

Going on the record that the GM trades two very good big men before the preseason begins?

Who many trades have ever been made before preseason began?

Then to assume they’re trading them both NOW, because they didn’t make it to the Eagles Vs Browns game?

Nerlens would be the only one I consider trading and only if you’re 100% sure Embiid stays healthy and you’re getting back a nice young G in return…

Then again why trade anyone this year? Let’s see what the market for Noel is at Deadline and offseason…

In short, you should stick to talking about things you know, like how to make a Mad Max cosplay costume for under 20 bucks, and how to properly throw a Boomerang to your pet Dingo whie siphoning gas for your mobile home… 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChoppyParticipant]

 Question: What do you call a boomerang that won’t come back?

Answer: A stick.

 

[Hype Machine]

Lol pet dingo…

It would only fight with my pet wombat.

 

 

[markfitz14Participant]

Embid will be limited to begin anyway so Noel and Oak will play a lot. 76ers will prbly trade one around the deadline once Embid can play more minutes. There just aren’t many teams with young guards available to trade. So they have no trade partner unless they take a draft pick from the trade partner. Which they really don’t want to do.

 

  

[ashock34Participant]

 The Sixers are in a sweet spot right now. I cant remember a team coming into the season with two players who have a legit chance to win the ROY in Simmons and Embiid. Add to that the addition of Saric and Luwawu, whom I think will stick and WOW! Mucho talent! Im really interested to see what happens with the PG spots. Secretly Im rooting for Cat Barber to win a spot on the team. He is from Hampton VA, the same area as A.I. and people down there make comparisons to A.I. . As far as a trade involving one of the big fellas, I hope Jah sticks bc you just cant teach those moves. I also heard he lost about 10 lbs of baby fat and feels he has something to prove! Bring it Jah! I remember how he destroyed Townes in thier two matchups. Like I said, nothing but blue skies baby!

[CDPHParticipant]

I think there’s some truth to that, but specifically with Noel.  

I’m a Sixers fan and Okafor has been around the guys a good amount this summer.  Noel on the other hand has been completely absent.  It’s been a theory of mine for some time that the team has already told Noel he’s the one who’s going to be dealt first.  

Deepish Thoughts

 

 

 

  

[ashock34Participant]

 CDPH you are spot on. If your not a Philly fan you dont realize just how or what player relationships are being formed. Oak has lost alot of baby fat. He is hanging out with Ben and Joel. Last year was a learning year for him but man can that cat score. A better attitude on D is all he needs as well as Big Ben getting him the ball as well as our improved guard play aka free agent signings. Last year he was a man on an island. Hay Danny Ainge! I have one message for you. You should have taken the deal Brian offered you on draft night.  Suck it Danny!

[binetParticipant]

 Brett Brown said recently that Nerlens has to develop to be more like Biyombo.

That tells a lot. I don’t think any sixers fan think Nerlens is not already a way better player than Biyombo, and I doubt any Okafor hater would say that they would prefer Biyombo to Okafor. Biyombo will probably never start an NBA game. He is a decent defensive minded backup but not good enough to start…

This also means that Brett Brown as a coach is not considering Nerlens a good player/starter right now…

In addition to all the buzz being more around the new guys or Okafor who is always present when the team is doing charity or anything, there is absolutely no doubt he is the one being traded, and probably traded cheap.

 

 

 

 

[omphalosParticipant]

I hope Noel ends up in Boston. Would allow Horford to move to the 4, Noel to anchor thenD and pair with Jaylen Brown going forward.

But I think Okafor goes and Noel stays – Embiid is going to be a star and Okafor wouldn’t mesh well with another post-up beast.

Honestly, I think Colangelo gives Okafor the boot as soon as Embiid establishes himself because he really doesn’t fit what they’re trying to do.

 

 

[binetParticipant]

 I think Boston wants to play with Horford at the 5 honestly. And I also think Horford signing is what led to end the discussions between the two teams.

 It’s true Boston could want a better backup Center and could let go a player like Smart to try Terry Rozier, Demetrius Jackson and the rest of the promising guards. But they won’t have Noel unless they are giving up one more asset, which they won’t give for only a backup guy. Note also they could very easily get Greg Monroe.

Monroe is not the same profile, but as a decent to very good backup C who could play next to Horford he is n paper better than Nerlens. And they would probably have to give up way less assets.

For the sixers there are not a lot of teams/players that make sense, and since Horford signed, the Celtics should now longer be the team with which trade.

Sixers FA taken into account the only trade that would make sense would be for a very good 2or3 veteran, that is somehow on the market. The PG issue should be addressed after next year’s draft and Sergio’s contract end. The only realistic target in my opinion would be Danny Green from the Spurs. And the Spurs will probably want Okafor for that guy.

 

 

 

 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

Its hardly a secret that the Sixers don’t consider Okafor a part of their long-term plans. He wasn’t the player they wanted to draft to begin with and clearly doesn’t fit what they are tying to build. They have been trying to move him all summer but they haven’t been able to come up with what they deem to be a suitable offer. While he is definitely a talented player, players like Okafor just aren’t as coveted as they used to be.

I believe the Sixers would definitely prefer to trade Okafor and keep Noel but at this point they will likely trade whichever one will get them the most in return (which is likely Noel). They need to find a way to clear their frontcourt logjam and balance their roster.

 

[ashock34Participant]

 Well Dazz, I can think of worse things to have goin on instead of a glut of talented big men. How bout a shortage of talented big men, aka Celtics. The problem with trading one of these bigs is that the other teams perception of your situation is not always realistic. Danny Ainge thinks that we must be desperate to move one of the bigs when in fact we are not. Whats going to happen if we dont? The world wont end. Heck it probably would be smart to stay put until we know more about Embiid. The right trade will come along, until then Im betting Okafor and Noel will benefit from the presence of Simmons and better outside shooting guards. Also, a team like the C’s just might find themselves in a tight situation whereby a big goes down and they are in a bad way. "Phone rings and its Danny, Hey Brian remember that deal you proposed, well Ive thought about it and…………        Smart play is hold and wait for a sellers market to develop.

 

[properbreaksParticipant]

If the Sixers are dying to trade Okafur I really don’t get it. You are a terrible team that can’t score, yet you want to trade the only guy that was on your team who could score, and he was a rookie at that. Basketball is basketball. The philosophy of big guys aren’t important anymore because of the success of Golden St. or whatever really doesn’t make sense. They kick all of this new NBA jive, but what happened to Golden St in the playoffs? They won 73 games and couldn’t win the championship.

If Embid who has been injured and out for 2 entire years isn’t healthy, which I wouldn’t assume he would be because I don’t even know of a guy who was out for 2 whole seasons and got back to 100 percent health, who do you have to score?

[properbreaksParticipant]

If the Sixers are dying to trade Okafur I really don’t get it. You are a terrible team that can’t score, yet you want to trade the only guy that was on your team who could score, and he was a rookie at that. Basketball is basketball. The philosophy of big guys aren’t important anymore because of the success of Golden St. or whatever really doesn’t make sense. They kick all of this new NBA jive, but what happened to Golden St in the playoffs? They won 73 games and couldn’t win the championship.

If Embid who has been injured and out for 2 entire years isn’t healthy, which I wouldn’t assume he would be because I don’t even know of a guy who was out for 2 whole seasons and got back to 100 percent health, who do you have to score?

[ashock34Participant]

 Right on prop. I have a suspicion that all this trade hype regarding one of the Sixers bigs is wishful thinking by Celtic fans wanting to fill their weak ass frontcourt dilema. We are not going to give one of these guys away and if the trade of Sam Bradford should show you, one never knows when a team will lose a player and be in a special need sort of way. Okafor is a scoring savant! Ya ya, limited on D and all of that but you can learn to play better D and or rebound and a lot of that comes from attitude. You just cant coach up a big to handle the rock and move in the post like Oak! Now with some semblance of a team around him, Im willing to bet he goes off this year and the likes of Danny Ainge will have to poney up big time to get him.

[HitsterParticipant]

Noel is eligible for his second contract now which will kick in next summer. If Philly are open to trading him then do they look to get him locked down I wonder. Noel’s contract value could fluctuate a lot over the next season so getting the right level of deal for him could be a risk.

If I was Philly then I’d start putting a few opening offers on the table for him, see what his people say and negotiate from there. Noel has had injury issues so might be tempted to take a new extension to get financial security.

I agree that Noel might be the odd man out, the Oak offers scoring and is a decent passer so would give Coach Brown a nice contrast alongside Embiid.

[piratejpParticipant]

I don’t see the rush. Having all three allows the 76ers to keep minutes down in the hope it keeps all 3 healthy. Plus, their differing styles give the 76ers a lot of different ways to potentially beat teams. I think I’d ride it out a little longer and see what I actually have (especially considering the dearth of talent around them up to this point, which potentially skews both proper evaluation and development) before making any deal that is short of a no-brainer. 

[ashock34Participant]

 Totally agree!

[HitsterParticipant]

 I’m actually looking forward to seeing Embiid in action as much as Simmons. We have waited so long and just want to see him sound and playing.

[Author]

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