What would it take to land Nerlens Noel?

[DrJasper]

I think patience is important in this case, they have no leverage. We can just wait and offer him a contract. But there are multiple better scenarios to upgrade our frontcourt a noel trade would hinder.

1. We draft Giles
2. We trade for Cousins
3. Blake wants to sign with us

 I would offer nothing more than rozier and a second rounder. Don't waste our ammo for him.

[LarBrd33]

I agree Philly has minimal leverage to force a trade... but none of the teams that want Noel/Okafor/Embiid have leverage to force a trade either.  Philly isn't desperate to acquire another mid-to-late 1st round pick.  There's no reason for them to urgently dump any of those guys.   It continues to make the most sense for them to head into next season with all of these guys and do some experimenting. 

The desire for teams to acquire Okafor/Noel is likely higher than the desire for Philly to acquire a mid-to-late 1st.   So in that sense, Philly has more leverage than people think.  As long as teams have interest in those bigs and they are under contract for the 76ers, Philly is the gatekeeper to a trade.  If anyone has leverage, it's Philly.

[DrJasper]

I agree Philly has minimal leverage to force a trade... but none of the teams that want Noel/Okafor/Embiid have leverage to force a trade either.  Philly isn't desperate to acquire another mid-to-late 1st round pick.  There's no reason for them to urgently dump any of those guys.   It continues to make the most sense for them to head into next season with all of these guys and do some experimenting. 

The desire for teams to acquire Okafor/Noel is likely higher than the desire for Philly to acquire a mid-to-late 1st.   So in that sense, Philly has more leverage than people think.  As long as teams have interest in those bigs and they are under contract for the 76ers, Philly is the gatekeeper to a trade.  If anyone has leverage, it's Philly.

Agree partly , but I think time works in our favor. We can just wait a season and watch how their team implodes, 4 talented bigmen and only 96 minutes of playing time?  I mean Noel already indicated that he is open to be traded and even coangelo admitted that someone has to go, imo they are under more pressure than we are.

[LarBrd33]

I agree Philly has minimal leverage to force a trade... but none of the teams that want Noel/Okafor/Embiid have leverage to force a trade either.  Philly isn't desperate to acquire another mid-to-late 1st round pick.  There's no reason for them to urgently dump any of those guys.   It continues to make the most sense for them to head into next season with all of these guys and do some experimenting. 

The desire for teams to acquire Okafor/Noel is likely higher than the desire for Philly to acquire a mid-to-late 1st.   So in that sense, Philly has more leverage than people think.  As long as teams have interest in those bigs and they are under contract for the 76ers, Philly is the gatekeeper to a trade.  If anyone has leverage, it's Philly.

Agree partly , but I think time works in our favor. We can just wait a season and watch how their team implodes, 4 talented bigmen and only 96 minutes of playing time?  I mean Noel already indicated that he is open to be traded and even coangelo admitted that someone has to go, imo they are under more pressure than we are.

Can their team really "implode" if it's coming off a 10 win season?  The only way they can go from here is up.  It's a young team.   Simmons is widely expected to be their point guard.   Embiid is widely expected to be on a minutes restriction.   Saric is likely getting minutes off the bench initially.  There's plenty of minutes to go around right now.   I see it going in one of two directions.

#1 - They stink.  Probably not as bad as they stunk last year.  Guys get their individual minutes, teams keep calling, and either they give it another year of development or take one of those terrible offers they have been receiving.  But, they'll need to ask themselves if trading a guy like Okafor for a role player is going to make any difference to their win/loss record... and whether or not they really care about winning 25 games instead of 20 games.  Ultimately there would still be no urgency to make a trade unless someone makes them a substantial offer.

#2 - They are surprisingly good.   In which case, trade values start creeping up.  THere's a chance being "surprisingly good" means that one of their bigs is getting the minutes shaft.  In which case, does Nerlens Noel or jahlil okafor really have substantially less trade value with 0 minutes than they did with 30 minutes?  Either way, teams are making offers based on perceived potential, not current production.  So if all they are getting is crappy mid-to-late 1st offers for Noel now, they'll likely still be getting those same offers if Noel puts together a string of DNP's for a shockingly decent Philly team.   Once again, there's no urgency to make a move now.  Maybe at the trade deadline they'll just cash in for whatever they can get and then move on.

[MBunge]

Philly has no leverage.  None.  It doesn't matter what they want.  Noel isn't that good.  Okafor doesn't fit the modern paradigm of the NBA.  Embiid hasn't played in two years.  Saric is an unknown.  And Simmons could be closer to Lamar Odom than LeBron James.  The only thing Philly has going for then is that if any two of their current bigs produce, it won't kill them to just let Noel walk for nothing.

And can we stop with the Simmons point-forward stuff as though it solves their playing time log jam?  Yes, they will likely run some of their offense through him BUT THEY STILL NEED SOMEONE TO DEFEND THE OPPONENT'S POINT GUARD.  Simmons was a bad defender against college bigs.  The team is not going to humiliate him on a nightly basis by having him exclusively defend perimeter players.

Now, while Philly has no leverage, there's also little pressure on them.  It's fairly easy to win 20something games in the NBA and only a little more effort to get into the low 30s.  They can still massively suck in reality and still project an image of being substantially improved.  So while they actually do need to trade at least one of their bigs, they can put it off as long as possible.

Mike

[alldaboston]

FWIW, Kyler says we have "moved on".

http://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/782379266214330368

[jpotter33]

FWIW, Kyler says we have "moved on".

http://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/782379266214330368

Well, certainly with the Simmons injury he's not going anywhere at the moment, but I expect Noel rumors to start back up toward the trade deadline after half a season of losing and playing out of position again.

[kraidstar]

FWIW, Kyler says we have "moved on".

http://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/782379266214330368

Well, certainly with the Simmons injury he's not going anywhere at the moment, but I expect Noel rumors to start back up toward the trade deadline after half a season of losing and playing out of position again.

I think they try to pump up his volume before dealing him. His value is at an all-time low right now.

It's going to be tricky, though, putting him in a position to succeed. He is more of a C than  a PF. And Saric will be getting a fair amount of PF minutes, as he can stretch the floor, which they desperately need.
 
Already we saw Noel struggle to play with Okafor. Embiid could be just as slow and lumbering as Okafor, maybe more so if he is still nursing that foot - Noel could get pulled away from the hoop a lot where he is less effective.

So while Simmons' absence might give Noel more minutes, there's reason to ttink those minutes might not be effective ones.

[Celtics4ever]

With Simmons getting injured it is not happening.

[dreamgreen]

When you think of what you are willing to offer from a Celtic's point of view a lot more comes into it. Our roster with their current contracts and more importantly what players you want to keep and how much you have to pay them. Let's say Smart and Rozier make a leap this year. I think it's fair to assume in the future we will not have all 4 of IT, AB, Smart and Rozier on the team if they all have starter talent (I realize that Smart and Rozier are not there yet, being optimistic). So who goes and who stays? When do you trade the players that are going, what can you get for them?

Take for instance KO, what does Danny do with him? I personally think a trio of Ko, Horford and Noel would be really nice. Saying that I'm willing to give up one of our guards for Noel. We are trying to win playoff games so you can't give up IT and AB so that leaves Smart or Rozier. This would be a lot easier if Smart could shoot and take AB's place because AB would be a perfect fit on Philly, just what they need.

It's tough no matter what and will be real interesting to see what Danny does over then next few years.

[Eddie20]

FWIW, Kyler says we have "moved on".

http://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/782379266214330368

Well, certainly with the Simmons injury he's not going anywhere at the moment, but I expect Noel rumors to start back up toward the trade deadline after half a season of losing and playing out of position again.

I think they try to pump up his volume before dealing him. His value is at an all-time low right now.

It's going to be tricky, though, putting him in a position to succeed. He is more of a C than  a PF. And Saric will be getting a fair amount of PF minutes, as he can stretch the floor, which they desperately need.
 
Already we saw Noel struggle to play with Okafor. Embiid could be just as slow and lumbering as Okafor, maybe more so if he is still nursing that foot - Noel could get pulled away from the hoop a lot where he is less effective.

So while Simmons' absence might give Noel more minutes, there's reason to ttink those minutes might not be effective ones.

Saric isn't really a guy that will stretch the floor. He's much more of a playmaking 4 than a shooter. In fact, besides athleticism shooting is arguably his biggest weakness.

[tazzmaniac]

FWIW, Kyler says we have "moved on".

http://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/782379266214330368

Well, certainly with the Simmons injury he's not going anywhere at the moment, but I expect Noel rumors to start back up toward the trade deadline after half a season of losing and playing out of position again.

I think they try to pump up his volume before dealing him. His value is at an all-time low right now.

It's going to be tricky, though, putting him in a position to succeed. He is more of a C than  a PF. And Saric will be getting a fair amount of PF minutes, as he can stretch the floor, which they desperately need.
 
Already we saw Noel struggle to play with Okafor. Embiid could be just as slow and lumbering as Okafor, maybe more so if he is still nursing that foot - Noel could get pulled away from the hoop a lot where he is less effective.

So while Simmons' absence might give Noel more minutes, there's reason to ttink those minutes might not be effective ones.

Saric isn't really a guy that will stretch the floor. He's much more of a playmaking 4 than a shooter. In fact, besides athleticism shooting is arguably his biggest weakness.

Saric's outside shooting is a weakness that he's been working on.  He shot 40% on 3pt shots last season.  He's certainly better at it than the other Sixer big men.   

[Eddie20]

FWIW, Kyler says we have "moved on".

http://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/782379266214330368

Well, certainly with the Simmons injury he's not going anywhere at the moment, but I expect Noel rumors to start back up toward the trade deadline after half a season of losing and playing out of position again.

I think they try to pump up his volume before dealing him. His value is at an all-time low right now.

It's going to be tricky, though, putting him in a position to succeed. He is more of a C than  a PF. And Saric will be getting a fair amount of PF minutes, as he can stretch the floor, which they desperately need.
 
Already we saw Noel struggle to play with Okafor. Embiid could be just as slow and lumbering as Okafor, maybe more so if he is still nursing that foot - Noel could get pulled away from the hoop a lot where he is less effective.

So while Simmons' absence might give Noel more minutes, there's reason to ttink those minutes might not be effective ones.

Saric isn't really a guy that will stretch the floor. He's much more of a playmaking 4 than a shooter. In fact, besides athleticism shooting is arguably his biggest weakness.

Saric's outside shooting is a weakness that he's been working on.  He shot 40% on 3pt shots last season.  He's certainly better at it than the other Sixer big men.

He's a career 34% 3PT shooter and struggled mightily shooting the ball during the Olympics this summer. Shooting 26% from 3's and 59% from the FT line. That seems to be the scouting report on him as defenders were playing off him and pretty much daring him to shoot.

[KG Living Legend]

Philly has no leverage.  None.  It doesn't matter what they want.  Noel isn't that good.  Okafor doesn't fit the modern paradigm of the NBA.  Embiid hasn't played in two years.  Saric is an unknown.  And Simmons could be closer to Lamar Odom than LeBron James.  The only thing Philly has going for then is that if any two of their current bigs produce, it won't kill them to just let Noel walk for nothing.

And can we stop with the Simmons point-forward stuff as though it solves their playing time log jam?  Yes, they will likely run some of their offense through him BUT THEY STILL NEED SOMEONE TO DEFEND THE OPPONENT'S POINT GUARD.  Simmons was a bad defender against college bigs.  The team is not going to humiliate him on a nightly basis by having him exclusively defend perimeter players.

Now, while Philly has no leverage, there's also little pressure on them.  It's fairly easy to win 20something games in the NBA and only a little more effort to get into the low 30s.  They can still massively suck in reality and still project an image of being substantially improved.  So while they actually do need to trade at least one of their bigs, they can put it off as long as possible.

Mike

 I don't buy the whole Okafor has no place in the modern Nba theory. A guy that can Get 20 points on any given night off the bench and grab 7 to ten rebounds can play on my team on any era.

[alldaboston]

Philly has no leverage.  None.  It doesn't matter what they want.  Noel isn't that good.  Okafor doesn't fit the modern paradigm of the NBA.  Embiid hasn't played in two years.  Saric is an unknown.  And Simmons could be closer to Lamar Odom than LeBron James.  The only thing Philly has going for then is that if any two of their current bigs produce, it won't kill them to just let Noel walk for nothing.

And can we stop with the Simmons point-forward stuff as though it solves their playing time log jam?  Yes, they will likely run some of their offense through him BUT THEY STILL NEED SOMEONE TO DEFEND THE OPPONENT'S POINT GUARD.  Simmons was a bad defender against college bigs.  The team is not going to humiliate him on a nightly basis by having him exclusively defend perimeter players.

Now, while Philly has no leverage, there's also little pressure on them.  It's fairly easy to win 20something games in the NBA and only a little more effort to get into the low 30s.  They can still massively suck in reality and still project an image of being substantially improved.  So while they actually do need to trade at least one of their bigs, they can put it off as long as possible.

Mike

 I don't buy the whole Okafor has no place in the modern Nba theory. A guy that can Get 20 points on any given night off the bench and grab 7 to ten rebounds can play on my team on any era.

sounds like a slightly better greg monroe. he got benched on the freakin bucks. none of his teams have ever made the playoffs or been relevant. both of his teams were better without him.