[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

Sorry, new chain.  Site kinda slow these days and had to scroll way down to read anything new.  Several people listed some trade options for the Sixers with Noel…

Here is the current Sixer depth chart:

PG:  Bayless, Sergio, McConnell

G:  Henderson, Stauskas, Hollis Thompson

SF:  Simmons, Covington, Grant

PF:  Okafor, Saric

C:  Embiid, Noel

They can play around with their bigmen if they trade Noel.  I actually like their PGs, but obviously can upgrade in the most competetive position in the sport there, and also can add a shooting guard.

They need scorers, offensive production is weak besides the big men.  The big men need Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Kobe, etc, the supporting cast. 

I am willing to trade Noel for some perimeter scorers that can hit big shots.  Surprisingly, besides the obvious names like Korver and Reddick, Danny Green, maybe Wes Matthews, there aren’t many vets in the league that can knockdown a set 3 point shot, shooting is at a premium and GSW unsurprisingly has the monopoly.

I scoured some rosters on ESPN Trade machine, this is in addition to some of the trades already mentioned:

Noel for:

CHI:  McDermott / Portis/Gibson.  Chicago is thin at bigman.  McDermott is that shooter Philly needs more than Chicago.  I might evne do this trade for McDermott straight up.  He’s a Kerr/Paxson type, a natural shooter, which we thought Stauskas was going ot be, but Stauskas mentally isn’t right.  It also sets a defensive tone and allows them to play Butler and Wade together more.

CLE:  Kevin Love.  I’ll get killed for this and I’m not sure the trade works I just know Philly has the cap space for it.  Kevin Love can’t play defense, his rebounding is overrated, and I think Lebron played insane two years ago in the finals without the Kyrie and Love.  Kyrie is the scorer they need, and Cleveland is lacking a defensive presence like a Nerlens Noel.  I think Cleveland is better off trading Love and getting a defensive stopper.  Thats how Cleveland plays, they are a shut you down team.  

MIA:  Winslow.  I know others propose McRoberts, who can score but I think blocks development of Saric and Simmons.  Winslow is a good 3, not a great 3.  Miami can find a replacement for him just like they found Deng.  The loss of Bosh means they need to replace the big, and Noel is a nice fit there.

MIL:  Middleton.  He recently signed.  I have problems with the way Milwaukee is put together.  They have way too many guys that need the ball.  Middleton is one of their true scorers and they just signed him, BUT, what about Jabari, what about Giannis?  They still don’t have an identity.  Middleton is their true scorer, and they already have Henson in addition to Monroe, so I’m just throwing it out there.  Maybe they want to move a piece, and I think Middleton is more likely to go than Jabari or Giannis.

TOR:  Corey Joseph.  Its a shame because Philly could have signed this dude.  He’s a very solid guard.  Toronto has no bigmen right now.  You want a premium defender you can get him.  I like Joseph as an upgrade over all our guards.

WAS:  Porter or Oubre.  Not happy with either of these guys.  Just a possibility.  Unless Brett Brown can really get the most out of these guys.

DEN:  Will Barton and Nurkic:  Denver is like Milwaukee.  Stacked at guard and bigmen but full of talent just not coherent.  Mudiay, Harris, and Jamal Murray and Nurkic and Jokic and Faried.  I might evne take just Will Barton since there arent’ many options for a Noel trade.  But I think Denver might want to unload one of their bigs.  I like Will Barton as an athletic player that Philly is missing from the guard spot.  Nurkic was an aw shucks maybe they’ll throw him in to clear up their logjam of bigs.  Nurkic is nasty though, I like him a lot.

MEM:  Tony Allen.  Randolph has 1 more year and is aging.  Mark Gasol is there to stay.  They have always been defense oriented, and as good as Allen is, Memphis has to get younger.  I’d float it out there.  

PHX:  Knight + TJ Warren.  Clear up the logjam of talent PHX has.  Paying Knight a lot of money, and he can shoot.  So can Warren.  So can a lot of guys PHX. Aging team that has Bender and Chriss, and Chandler, but they can grow with a younger nucleus.  Warren can really help the Sixers with a midrange game that they’ll lack.  I like this trade a lot!

POR:  Aminu.  Portland is freakish long, has Vonleh too, but Noel is a step above Vonleh on defensive side.  Aminu can score, he’s a do it all guy, I feel he’d be utilized better in Philly, although I think he’s similar to Saric and Simmons in a half court set.  I just love this dude and think he can ball.  I’d take Aminu on my squad.

UT:  Hood.  This makes no sense because they have Gobert, but they have Gordon Heyward.  I love Hood.  The guy can score from anywhere.  I want Hood, maybe Utah wants Noel?  

 

Reaching on several of these.  But I really like the PHX, DEN, CHI, or MIL trades.  All of those teams need a shakeup, as do the Sixers with their talent.  The rest is just for your viewing and to get us thinking.

Some of the other trades already proposed bored me a little.  The Sixers need upgrade at Guard and SF, meaning they need shooters, or guys that can get their own shots, midrange.

Hood, Warren, McDermott, or Middleton would be ideal.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

[SubZeroParticipant]

I can’t tell how you’re valuing Noel based on some of these trades. No way Miami trades Winslow for him, and no way does Philly trade him for just Aminu or Tony Allen.

Haven’t checked to see if it would even work, but I like the trade with the Suns. It would make Phoenix even rawer but shift the focus even more to developing their young guys, and Philly would get more offense from the perimeter (which is probably their #1 concern right now)

[kerrstParticipant]

 but they are not giving up an integral piece of their team like Corey Joseph.  Terrence Ross and a protected 1st round pick would make more sense.  Philly could use a shooter and Toronto needs a backup shot blocking center.

[binetParticipant]

 Terrence Ross has very little value honestly. Even in a roster like the 76ers he won’t start anyway, and they should prefer developping someone like Luwawu. With the recent scrimmages showcasing a lot of Simmons-Saric lign ups also, it’s very likely he would get even less minutes in Philadelphia than what he has in Toronto.

Nerlens would probably start over Valanciunas, that’s valuable of at least Corey Joseph.

Toronto will probably trade with the 76ers only if they feel out of contention after a few games, and in this case, even trading Joseph or Kyle Lowry would make sense.

I think the Sullinger plan, which they chose this summer, is a better fit right now (offense off-the-bench) and way less risky for them.

 

 

 

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Dude, you routinely list Okafor as a 4.  He is a 5 and only a 5.  He can’t even guard 5’s and you think the better matchup for him would be at 4?

What about Okafors game makes you think he is a PF besides having to play out of position due to the logjam they currently have?

 

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

I realize this sin’t the 90s, but Oakley, Larry Johnson, Rodman, Malone were all 4s.

This new NBA requires you to get out on the perimeter and Okafor definitely can’t do that, but teams also have to play him defensively.  Last year, Okafor was just murdering smaller 4s like Kevin Love and even Ibaka.  I’ll take that mismatch and just play either Simmons or Embiid on the stretch 4 while Oak hangs around the paint.

Okafor can’t guard Draymond, but nobody on GSW can guard Okafor.  I’m fine with him at the 4.

Philly has no perimeter scoring and as you said spacing, but IF Embiid is healthy, they will be monsters in the paint.

Opening night Philly vs OKC, which will be the best big-men matchup in the league.  Adams on Embiid, and I guess Kanter on Okafor.  Kanter….on Okafor.  Horrible both ways, but at least the Sixers defensively can play Okafor on Adamns and watch Embiid crush Kanter.

I see the Sixers killing teams in the paint.  Sergio and Simmons will drive and dish to the two bigmen.

You can’t find Okafor skills, and Noel’s skills are sort of washed with the presence of Embiid in the paint.

I like Barton and even Wilson Chandler for Noel.

Or Warren and Knight for Noel.  

PHX builds around Booker, Bledsoe, Bender, Chhris, and Noel.  Sick team.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

I realize this sin’t the 90s, but Oakley, Larry Johnson, Rodman, Malone were all 4s.

—————————————————————————————————-

What the hell does that have to do with Okafor’s ability to play 4? Not trying to be a jerk…I just honestly don’t see your train of thought.

 

 

 

[Mr. 19134Participant]

I disagree and Okafor had no problem playing guarding 5s in the post he got are up on PnRs.  His defense actually hoy better when Brown switched him to the 4 n put Noel at the 5 cuz he had the foot speed n length to compensate for being late on switches plus a shotblocker behind him.

 

Offensively Jah Can clearly most 4 as he got most of his touches high post and had slimmed down with a revamped shot in camp

 

 

[TheLastWordParticipant]

I think it would be a mistake to trade Noel. His defensive abilities are special. He can guard 1 through 5.

[pokieParticipant]

 I’m goint to have to say that the Sixers are destined to trade Noel for one of the perimeter players they passed on while they were overstocking their frontcourt.

[binetParticipant]

 They have enough young and assets in their roster right now. While they have only 4 guys who are not "prospects". One of them is Elton Brand and should not play this season, or very little.

One of them is spanish, and clearly a gamble (a very good one in my opinion).

The 2 others are Bayless and Henderson. 2 decent players, who have proven to be worthy of place…on the bench!

They are likely to pick up to two high-lottery talent in the 2017 draft (lakers pick+their or Sacramento’s…), plus to welcome Turkish shooter Furkan Korkmaz.

That’s more than enough youth for the future, Noel is one of their more "veteran" players, so it makes the most sense to trade him for another seasoned pro (same with a Jahlil trade).

It makes also a lot of sense to wait and see given the market for bigs right now, as they need to figure out how their players will play together, most of them being new team members, and to keep the rare "veteran" of the team that deserves a starting spot as long as possible. Once they figure out who plays well with who, who do they need, and the market gets flooded with fringe-star players on team in rebuilding process, they should trade one of their big guys. And it will be Jahlil. Because by then, free agent-to-be Noel will be worthless, and rebuilding teams will want the upside and youth Jahlil provides.

If the trade happen soon enough, it may turn them into playoff contenders depending on who they get. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MopgrassParticipant]

 A lot of those teams have established centers. 

[CDPHParticipant]

 If the Bucks would do Middleton for Noel I would jump all over that.  I don’t even care that he could potentially miss the entire season.  He would fit incredibly well in Philadelphia.

Deep(ish) Thoughts

 

 

 

[binetParticipant]

 If Noel gets traded, which in my opinion is less likely because lots of Noel-like centers like John Henson are easy to get and not clearly worse, Noel has been in Philly for more years and the team needs a minimum of continuity, and also a trade would have been made by now (whereas Okafor’s health could have been a concern this summer), there are not that many teams that should want him, and even fewer that have a 3 point shooting wing to give.

I think it’s pretty clear given their summer signings the 76ers are not looking for a starting point guard yet. The plan is probably to see if they can develop Simmons into Magic 2.0, and if not to recruit their starting PG in the upcoming stacked draft.

Right now, the sixers lacks talented shooters: Stauskas has been atrocious, Covington is a work-in-progress that is clearly below league average as ‘top shooting option’, and they seem to count too much on Bayless decent shooting of last year. Luwawu could be good though, but they should still need one elite 3pt wing that can play both the 2 and the 3 and reliably score when Simmons and most of the team do not score.

Some teams have the right assets but don’t need or value Noel as much, and teams that would want Noel generally just don’t have a decent wing scorer to give.

Miami could be an interesting trade partner if Whiteside was not already so good they don’t need Noel,but Josh Richardson has this profile and they might want to rebuild around Winslow, swapping Richardson for Noel could make sense, in particular if they can trade Whiteside.

Washington could trade Bradley Beal, but it seems weird not to trade John Wall first if you go that ‘rebuilding’ route, though it makes a lot of sense after failing to acquire KD to rebuild, as they look like a team that will never step up. Beal’s new contract is also poisonous since he is very likely overpaid, but that’s probably also what would make that trade fair.

Trading for someone like rookie Buddy Hield and crossing fingers is probably the most probable trade scenario. Noel seems like a way better fit at center next to Davis than what the Pelicans currntly have, and the duo should anchor their defense pretty well. Giving up an unproven rookie is not that much to give. For the 76ers, they are giving a former #6 pick for this year’s #6 pick, which on paper is not a bad deal. The deal would probably be sweetened to balance rosters and depth, it’s even possible 76ers get back Jrue Holiday in the deal, who does not seem ready for a competitive season anyway with his wife issues (though I think he is too important in the Pelicans roster.). I would imagine something like Noel-Stauskas for Hield-Ajinça/Asik and a protected first-rounder (lottery protected that turns into a secound rounder after several years) or some pick swaps.

 

 

 

 

 

[ashock34Participant]

 Noel’s agent is trying to get him out of town, preferably to Boston bc that is Nerlen’s home town. Colangelo wants to hold off until Christmas to ensure that Embiid’s health is a thing of the past. So we have this media thing going on with the hopes that the vibe of the team will be more important to Colangelo than a fair trade package.  This is what I know about the Colangelos. They have been and will be one of the royal families in the NBA. Bryan will trade Noel when the deal is right and not before. He certainly will not be held hostage to Nerlens or his agent.  Noel should just play ball and do the best he can until the deal comes down and it will.  I really dont think anything will happen until Christmas if not later. I do know this, if Boston wants him they will have to pay a littel more than everyone else bc the Sixers will have to end up playing against Noel 12 times a year and no one wants to be reminded that they made a bad deal 12 times a year! My bet is he goes to LA, Phx or Houston. Toronto is an outside chance since Colangelo has ties there. Its a shame Danny Ainge wont pay up as he would really help that team. Ahhhh pride…. can be the ruin of things.

[doaner338Participant]

What does pride have to do with Ainge not wanting to over pay for a player that would not start for the C’s? Noel was taken way too early in the draft based on the handful of games that he played in college. Drafted on his potential and potential alone. He has shown no signs of growth in his years in the NBA on the offensive side of the ball. He is a poor fit on the Celtics team due to the fact he cannot shoot the ball outside of a dunk. Don’t get me wrong I would love him as my back-up center for defense. But if I have to give anything out of my core or 1st round stash I balk at that trade. I would consider giving a late 1st for him but it would be protected.

[TravelinTravParticipant]

 If I were Philly I wouldn’t trade anybody, the roster has 2 sets of twin towers. I realize it’s not the 80’s or 90’s but instead of trying to carbon copy other teams do your own thing. Granted 4 centers isn’t ideal(please don’t knit pick because their techniqully PF’s). I think Philly will be better than most  think and will be really good in 2 years. 2nd or 3rd best young team in the league. 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Is it just me or are people not really appreciating what Noel was doing when he was strictly playing the 5?  Now, let’s not confuse that with me saying that his trade value is equal to his playing value because it’s not.  His trade value is lowered because every other team knows the position that Philly is in.  They waited long enough to the point where he will be due an extension sooner than later as well.  So in a sense Philly killed his trade value..

BUT… his on court value is extremely high.  He can guard 1 – 5.  He protects the rim very well as a weakside defender.  He’s average on the glass but he beats opposing big men down the floor with ease.  The dude will probably average 10, 10 2 steals and 2 blocks in his prime and he is an above average passer, but a lot of what he does won’t show up in the box score.  The ability to switch and guard the perimeter has tremendous value in todays game.  And if you can’t shoot you better at least be a great roll man (he is) and run the floor extremely well (he does).

I wish he would end up on the Lakers.  He would be a great fit in the front court next to Randle and Ingram.  Unfortunately the Lakers have no talent to trade on the wing outside of Clarkson, Russell and Ingram that would entice the 76ers.  

 

 

[binetParticipant]

 It’s true Noel has shown he could defend at the 5, and well.

He cannot guard 1-5 though, he is fast enough but does not have the instincts or IQ to be a decent perimeter defender. That could change, but let’s be honest, his versatility is a work in progress.

The thing is even if he has shwon flashes, all of them where on a bad, losing team and therefore are worthless. He was not dominant on a bad team. Look how Kevin Love looks after moving from a bad team to an excellent one. He does not seem as good as Love did and the 76ers were clearly worse than Minnesota at the time.

Noel is far from guaranteed to start in any team on the league right now. Almost no team want to give up assets for someone who is still a gamble after 3 years in the league. After all, he came in the league the same year Rudy Gobert did. Both defensive Centers, completely different caliber.

Noel was probably the best player of his 10-72 team last year though, so it’s totally logic to want decent return for him, and that’s why he is not traded. No team want to give assets for a guy that has not yet proven elite level, and is on a contract year.

I personally love him and think he could develop into a player of Gobert or Whiteside’s caliber easily, but he does not have their trade value at all.

Teams that should want him also do not have a good shooting guard to give, so Philadelphia should keep their health insurance with Embiid and cardboard-knee Okafor…

I just hope the 76ers just trade Okafor. It makes the most sense and teams are still high on him, while it’s apparent the 76ers do not have the right guys to surround him. He just does not fit in a team with a running 4 running the point uptempo with nobody who can shoot. He does not fit with Noel, won’t fit with Embiid either, did not fit last year… The kid still could develop into a very intriguing player, and probably will in the right team. He would fit greatly alongside a giant stretch 4 like Porzingis or maybe Bender. It’s possible also that Sacramento decides to part with Cousins and rebuild, then he could be part of the package in a 3-team deal. Miami could trade Whiteside and reform the winning Duke duo Okafor-Winslow…

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[markfitz14Participant]

There just isn’t any team that will give up a good PG/SG or SF right now for Noel. I think maybe if another team has someone step up in a big way once the season starts. It might make someones Guard expendable. Either that or they may need to at least take a pick with another player in exchange for Noel. Yeah it would suck but it might be the best bet if they can’t get a good player in return.

[binetParticipant]

 This might seem strange because it has been their weak position ever since the MCW trade, but everything points out to Philly not wanting to recruit a starting PG.

The plan, and it’s more and more looking like this after the first days of camp, is to try Ben Simmons at PG during the course of the year and see if he can develop into Magic 2.0. And if he does not: fine, they have a talented versatile 4, and they have multiple draft picks to get their point guard of the future in the PG-heavy 2017 draft.

They recruited 2 PGs in Bayless and Rodriguez that could play lots of minutes and even have talks with Norris Cole. Sergio is definitely better than José Calderon a priori just looking at Spain Olympic Rotation and his role there, and Calderon has been a starting point guard recently, not in very good teams but not worse than this Philly team. Bayless has a backup is also solid. They even seem to plan on starting him, but that’s probably because he is more of a combo guard and they want Simmons to run the offense.

I think the piece they need and want in return for one of their bigs is an elite shooter. Right now they have no wing players who can shoot decently, and they lack a scorer as well, since Simmons did not seem like one in Summer League.

 

 

 

 

 

[markfitz14Participant]

But there aren’t any shooters on the market that are the quality of player that Noel is. I am just saying there is nobody on the market to trade for Noel. They will have to take pennys on the dollar or take a draft pick.  

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 Noel can’t even guard 5’s – he blocks 1 or 2 shots a game & it’s Always "off ball" – he can’t guard Any NBA Centers one V one b/c they just Rag Doll him, push him under the Rim & score on him

Noel is lazy, Never works to improve his game & has No one to blame but himself for the position he is in. 

Noel had All the playing time he wanted in 2014 AND 2015 b/c Okafor did not play the last 30 games of the year. Noel also had the chance to work Individually w/ the coaches b/c in 2014 they had no other young talent worth developing & Noel took advantage of NONE of it.

His game has actually regressed & I don’t believe he would start at Center for Any NBA team except those few that have Absolutely Nothing at Center – like Boston….

Let’s be honest about what is Really going on here…… Noel showed up at training camp thinking he had the #1 spot & Okafor reportedly DID take advantage & worked his rear end of all summer getting into the best shape of his life so he could play the up tempo game Brett BRown wants to play & Embiid is 100% Healthy…..

So Noel is getting his Butt handed to him in practice & he realizes that HE is the 3rd string Center & that he’s Not going to get playing time in a contract year – but that’s His problem – it’s not the Sixers problem b/c No One cares what 3rd stringers get upset about……

Phila is loaded w/ 5 or 6 High Lottery picks over the next 3 Drafts so I doubt they care what they get for Noel if he causes problems…… Former GM Sam Hinkie acquired Noel for Jru Holiday at the 2013 NBA Draft but, in the Same trade Hinkie also got Dario Saric & Re-acquired the 76ers #1 pick in 2017 which will probably be a Top 3 pick….. So even if they get Nothing for Noel – getting Dario Saric & what could be Markelle Fultz or Josh Hackson for broken down Jru Holiday is a pretty Great trade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MatosParticipant]

 How do you have Noel for Knight + Tucker in one senario and then straight up Noel for McDermott or Noel for Aminu in another senario?

 

 

 

 

[ashock34Participant]

 All the teams unwilling to trade any thing of value for Noel will be the first teams ready to sign him to a 100 million dollar contract

[TravelinTravParticipant]

 i like the trade to the Bulls idea, McDermott could be a great fit on Philly and Noel would be perfect for the Bulls.

[HitsterParticipant]

Noel would be a nice fit for the Bulls but Philly would want more than Doug McDermott in return. Simmons may well play as point forward but I don’t see him playing PG in the traditional backcourt position. Sure he’d have size advantage but he’d get torched by the quick small PGs. Giannis effectively plays PG role but does it nominally from SF position, I’d imagine that Simmons would do the same and Philly would look to get a shooting PG who could defend.

I still like Noel to T-Wolves to play PF if a suitable deal could be done.

Could Philly even package Noel and Lakers pick to see what top level talent that could yield?

[The Scare Crow RisesParticipant]

 IDK if Zach is a Thibodaux type of player, Noel could be a Joakim Noah type in Thibbs defensive system…

The 76ers would most likely have to add the Lakers pick and maybe a future 1st as well (unprotected pick in 2018) 

Lavine would look amazing running the break with Simmons and Saric, Okafor and Embiid would also create a lot of open shots for him too…

 

 

 

 

[MatosParticipant]

 With the level of talented PGs in next year’s draft, I can’t see the sixers giving up that Lakers pick. But if the T-Wolves wouldn’t take Noel for Lavine, I would offer Okafor instead. And if thats too much, then ask for an extra pick in return.

[markfitz14Participant]

One of the best trade ideas I’ve seen though for Noel. 76ers get a great piece this year. Which I think is huge for this team. It will be ok if they a lose a ton, but if they at least are having some fun winning  few and competing it will help all on the team. Ecspecially Simmons who certainly would benefit from having some better pieces in place this year. Would suck to lose that pick, But I think having a legit player on this young team this year can’t be underestimated.

[binetParticipant]

 LaVine is probably exactly what the 76ers do not require, they probably could and should try to to develop Luwawu into a better 2-guard, as his upside is higher in team needs: 3point shooting and defense. LaVine is the better player right now, but the sixers are still in developping mode so they should try the rookie before jumping on LaVine.

Noel is a good center but that is not what Minnesota needs. Yes, KAT could play 4, but what makes him and his team interesting is his skill level and athleticism as a Center. With LaVine and Wiggins, you have very, very athletic guys and an uptempo style of play, having a center that runs is the way to go. Yes, Nerlens is not a slow center, but big balling sliding KAT to the 4 is a poor choice with that kind of talent on the wings, plus other very fast players like Dunn, Muhammad likely off-the-bench. Minnesota’s strength is speed, and KAT fits as a 5.

You are asking a very high price for LaVine, there is absolutely no way he is worth that much. His value is around the Lakers pick value if that one connects, not more.

Also, Minnesota should trade in a win now approach, and try to get a proven veteran to surround their young core, in order to compete for that playoff spot asap. Noel is not that proven vet. Trading for Noel is a huge bet on multiple axis: true level of Noel in a non-tanking team? true fit of KAT at the PF spot? true fit of the Noel-KAT duo? Durability of Noel knee? 

Minnesota already has a decent young big in Dieng, and switching to Noel is not a given upgrade, though likely and it’s almost surely not as much as an upgrade than the downgrade of LaVine leaving on the Guard spot.

LaVine is exactly the type of player the sixers should not trade for. They are very likely to draft an elite guy at the 1 or 2 next season, possibly 2. They have Luwawu and soon Korkmaz as prospects for the shooting guard spots. He has better game value right now but that’s the role of Gerald Henderson and why he was signed, and GH is easier to push to the bench when one of their euro youngs blossoms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 Noel would be a good fit on a Thibs team with his defensive game and at the T-Wolves, he wouldn’t need to be a scoring threat. They’d feed him a few easy baskets to keep him ticking over and alongside KAT would form a good defensive combo.

If KG stays on the staff, imagine how much Noel would learn from KG and Thibs.

Personally with Simmons out, I don’t see the 76ers making any moves until he is back and Embiid and Saric have been bedded in.

 

 

[binetParticipant]

 I think that it’s strange also that Okafor did not play in the preseason opener, or was managed a lot (even more than Joel Embiid) during camp.

It could be that he is still injured but that is not what the team or the player are saying, and his post-move camp highlight is clearly not showing any knee issue.

Thus I began to wonder: what if the reason was just that he is the one traded and they absolutely need him to stay healthy until the trigger is pulled on that trade? That makes a lot of sense. The team that would be trading for him likely do not care about meaningless preseason showcase anyway, and the 76ers very much need to solve that logjam situation.

Same with Noel: it makes sense to showcase them during regular season to trade them, but not in the preseason, as usually game performance during these is meaningless. Taking care of your soon-to-be-traded guy’s health matters also more than building his worthless team chemistry during preseason.

 

 

 

 

[Author]

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