National Basketball Association

3 Signs Nerlens Noel is Going to be Traded

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:14 p.m. ET

Fansided, Josh Wilson/FanSided via The Sixer Sense

The Philadelphia 76ers need to trade a big man, and lots of signs are pointing towards it being Nerlens Noel as the man out.

Just one day ago, I talked about three distinct signs that seem to indicate Jahlil Okafor is the big man to be traded by the Philadelphia 76ers. Today, I want to look at the other side, and how there’s some signs out there that say quite the opposite, meaning that Noel would be the odd man out of the Sixers logjam in the frontcourt.

Among these two sides, one thing is quite clear — a big man needs to be moved. With Joel Embiid asserting himself as the cornerstone of the franchise, it’s become clear through experimentation that he becomes less of a great player when placed alongside players like Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel, both players that are all too similar to Embiid to offer any sort of interesting dynamic on the floor.

While most fans have stuck behind Noel for his ability to protect the rim and be incredible in transition, the crowd behind sticking with Okafor is growing because of Noel’s past negative comments about the team and his inability to be a team player.

Whatever the case is, Sixers fans can agree on one thing — at least one of these players needs to be moved before the trade deadline, and it doesn’t seem like too much talking is going on for the Sixers. The Sixers are either being incredibly secretive, or really need to start dialing some league buddies.

Still, there’s some signs we can draw up that indicate Noel is leaving. Here’s some possible indicators that it’s not actually Okafor, but Noel who is on his way out.

Apr 5, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) warms up before action against the New Orleans Pelicans at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Playing time is sellers’ showcase

It’s no secret that as of late, the minutes have been on the rise for Nerlens Noel. While that’s all fine and dandy, and seems to be an indication that the Sixers want to keep him around, it may indicate just the opposite.

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Since Noel missed the first portion of the season, a lot of teams were skeptical of him being a player to trade for and get good value out of, especially as Noel came off of recovering from a surgery on his knee — which has been problematic for him since before he even came into the NBA.

His bad attitude wasn’t helping either, showing teams that might have been interested in him prior to this season that he might be a locker room trouble.

There’s two ways to look at an increase in playing time for Noel. On one hand, it looks like it feels — the team is sticking with Noel because he simply fits best with all of the pieces that are currently in place. On the other hand, it could be a showcase of sorts for the Sixers leading up to a trade for Noel. The Sixers want to maximize their value for whatever big man they end up trading, and as a result, they need to play their players that they’re looking to barter with.

Who’s going to trade for a player that plays 8 minutes a night in garbage time? There’s no indication of what that player can or can not do with significant minutes in a starter role or sixth man role for teams who are looking to shop.

The issue with this — if the Sixers are playing him to showcase his talents — is that the Sixers are playing incredibly well as of late, and it looks like a big part of that is due to the intense rim protection at all times brought about by Embiid in the first unit, and Noel in the second. Since Okafor has gone to the bench and Noel has gone to the regular rotation, the team has been great, and that’s no coincidence.

That analysis — the fact that the Sixers may be playing him to showcase him — may be a bit of a stretch, but it’s something that’s been discussed by fans quite a bit. Whether or not that is the reasoning for Noel getting more minutes is not confirmed by any reports, but it’s a decent reasoning.

Comments about team

Noel has been, perhaps, the most relevant critical voice of the Sixers organization since before this season began. One day before media day this season, Noel came out to Keith Pompey in a report saying that there was no way the Sixers’ trio of big men would work effectively.

The next day, he showed up with a bad attitude on media day, and then was away from the team for the first several months of the season nursing his injury in Alabama. He separated himself from the team not only with his words, but also with where he decided to rehabilitate his knee.

When Noel came back, he was eased into the lineup with very few minutes to start. He was clearly not pleased with that, and after a couple nights of 0-10 minutes, Noel said to the media that the team needed to, “figure this sh– out.”

No team wants a player around that’s going to give them a bad look, and so far this season, Noel has done just that. While he could have addressed these things behind closed doors — and who knows, maybe he did attempt to do so with the Sixers — he decided to take things public, making a disaster to clean up for the PR department and for head coach Brett Brown.

While no team should ship a player out for comments alone, having a regular tendency to speak out against the team to the media is not a good look. The Sixers might look at that as a reason to try to trade him.

Teams need rim protecters

The biggest sign that the Sixers are going to trade Noel rather than the other option in Jahlil Okafor is that teams around the league are not looking for a player like Okafor right now, they’re looking for a rim protector like Noel. The things Noel brings to the table defensively are on a much higher level than what Okafor brings to the table in any area of the game.

It’s the same reason why Noel’s name has been the only one to specifically pop up in rumors, not Okafor’s. There may be little value on both players at the moment, but there’s even less of a value on Okafor than there is on Noel. Noel’s ability to lift an entire defense up seemingly by himself is valuable to just about any team, especially as the trade deadline nears for teams looking to compete in the playoffs that want to bolster their defense heading in.

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in Noel’s rim protecting abilities, and the Portland Trail Blazers fans have made it clear that his services on the defensive end would be welcome.

What this means for the Sixers is that even though they know Noel might be the better player for them moving forward, they might have to stick with Okafor because of him having no value on the trade market.

While Okafor may prove to be a decent offensively gifted center off of the bench for a team in the NBA, there’s just not much of a trade value on him right now, especially with teams knowing that the Sixers have to move a big man. Unfortunately for the Sixers, Noel is the best fit, but that’s because he’s the most balanced player all around as far as his skill set is concerned. For that reason, other teams want him more than they do Noel, and it’s more likely that the Sixers find a satisfying deal with Noel than Okafor.