Nerlens Noel To The Los Angeles Lakers: The People's Move
Nerlens Noel to the Los Angeles Lakers is the kind of move basketball fans like me dream about. But could it actually become a reality?
Have you ever looked at an NBA player and thought to yourself how it would make all the sense in the world if they played for another team?
Usually this is an exercise performed when watching DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings play. He’s literally wasting away in his current situation. Wouldn’t it be so much cooler to see him play for the Boston Celtics (realistic), or look at how he’d fit in as a member of the San Antonio Spurs (unrealistic)?
The point is, we all have players who we’d love to see wearing another team’s jersey. Some marriages of player and organization just make sense.
This is why I’m on the campaign trail early to put forward the notion that Nerlens Noel should play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
There’s also never been a better time for player and team to come together either.
Oct 4, 2016; Amherst, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) shoots the ball over Boston Celtics center Tyler Zeller (44) during the first half at William D. Mullins Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Starting with the facts, because this has to be grounded in some sort of reality if I want to be serious about it, Noel is a restricted free agent next summer.
Why this is important is because of the comments Noel made before the season to the media about there being too many bigs on his team and not enough minutes to go around.
Between Noel, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Ersan Ilyasova, there’s a lot of big guys who need love in a place that is literally called the City of Brotherly Love. Even Richaun Holmes got a shout-out and from the top brass before the season started.
So while the 76ers can match any potential offer for Noel next summer, is plunging money into a player who has already voiced his concerns over the way the team is run really a smart move?
Besides, in Embiid, Okafor and Ben Simmons, this team has two centers and a power forward who will require most of the available frontcourt minutes.
So if the team don’t plan on keeping him around beyond this season, surely trading him now to get something in return makes the most sense?
This is where the Los Angeles Lakers come in, because on paper at least they look like the perfect trade partner.
The 76ers are done bottoming out (we think, it’s kind of hard to tell what they’re doing, to be honest) and so are likely looking for more young talent to add to what they have. It just so happens that the Los Angeles Lakers have arguably more of that than anybody in the league right now.
In Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., the Lakers have five young guys with tons of potential.
They’ve started the season really well, so much so that even the most staunch anti-Lakers fans would have to admit they’ve been fun to watch.
Breaking up that hugely promising core is a risk, but with Timofey Mozgov, Tarik Black and Ivan Zubac as their centers, an upgrade here wouldn’t be such a bad idea at the right price.
Mozgov was only inked to a four year, $64 million deal during the offseason, but he wouldn’t necessarily have to be moved on.
He could be on a minutes share with Noel, in much the same way that Nikola Vucevic and expensive summer acquisition Bismack Biyombo split minutes for the Orlando Magic.
This works for another key reason as well, and that is the injury history of Noel. In fact, Noel is currently out with inflammation in his left knee, a worrying development.
So if you’re the Lakers, you’ve got an abundance of young talent, some productive veterans (Luol Deng, Nick Young and Lou Williams) and a center who can still carry the load if needed.
But what you could have is a potentially brilliant two-way center, to pair with an up and coming guard in Russell (I mean, just think of the pick-and-roll combinations!).
That sounds tempting doesn’t it? What makes it even more plausible is the fact that now is the right time to strike, and to test the resolve of the 76ers organization.
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Noel is a restricted free agent next summer, he doesn’t really want to be there and he’s currently injured. That’s the recipe for a lowball offer from the Lakers that the 76ers would have to consider.
Russell, Randle and Ingram should be off the table, leaving Clarkson and Nance Jr. Clarkson is already a fan favorite in Los Angeles, and he’s been a solid contributor this season. But in order to be great, sacrifices must be made.
Would offering Clarkson and a future second round pick be enough for the 76ers to part with Noel? Signed to a four-year, $50 million extension during the summer, Clarkson cannot be moved until at least Dec. 14.
But on that friendly contract, and with less than a month until he can be moved if the Lakers want to do so, he’s the guy to offer.
The Lakers’ core would still be essentially intact, and if they were able to add Noel to the mix they’d have a chance to be a contender again sooner rather than later. This is a risk considering Noel’s injury history, but it’s quite a low risk when you think about it, isn’t it?
If it didn’t work out and the team was down Clarkson and a second-rounder, they’d still be in a great place with the other players currently on their roster.
The 76ers would also get a guard who has proven he belongs in the league, and who would have no problem deferring to Simmons and Embiid.
As painful as it is to admit, there’s just something about the great Lakers teams having memorable big men on their team (and Dwight Howard).
Nerlens Noel is nowhere near there, not yet. But he would look so good in the purple and gold, and he’d be the missing piece of this cool, potentially dangerous puzzle the Lakers are putting together.
It’ll likely never happen (except in my sad, basketball filled dreams) but when you consider where both organizations are right now, it would actually make sense for both.
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