Could the Sixers be moving Nerlens Noel instead?

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With the trade deadline a little more than 24 hours away, the Sixers have been linked to many trade rumors surrounding big man Jahlil Okafor. Teams like the Pacers have been associated as of late, as well as past teams like the Chicago Bulls also showing interest in the big man.

With the Sixers losing out on the New Orleans Pelicans in a trade deal where they acquired DeMarcus Cousins, they are in desperation mode to make a move soon.

One big man that people are forgetting they can still move is Nerlens Noel. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vetical at Yahoo Sports said in a recent podcast that Nerlens is not out of the question.

“If they can’t get a deal for Okafor done before the deadline, I’m told that it’s possible they’ll start – there are still teams still checking on Noel, re-engaging on him. What complicates it for Noel is that he’s a restricted free agent, and teams want to know ‘what is it going to cost to us to re-sign him’. And it’s going to be a big number.”

The Sixers are in a rut when it comes to a guy like Nerlens Noel because out of Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, Noel seems to have looked better on the floor with Joel Embiid than Jahlil Okafor. Keeping a guy like Noel for a longer period of time seems to be the better route, but a lot of teams are interested in a center like Noel.

63.4 of Nerlens Noel’s shots come from inside the paint and he is beyond solid from there at 72%. With the league being guard heavy, teams are looking for rim protection first on the inside and Noel brings that as well as anyone in the league. He is also very underrated in the pick and roll situation. He has the ability to catch lob passes like a lot of other quality big men in this league.

But what could the Sixers get for a Noel? A first round pick is probably not feasible at this point because if a team really wanted a guy like that for the future, then they could just wait until he is a free agent this summer.

It seems like the Sixers may have waited to long to make a deal for either Okafor or Noel. We still have a day until the trade deadline is up so things can still happen. But if the Sixers do not make any moves before 3pm tomorrow, then they will leave Sixers fans very frustrated once again heading into this summer.

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