Even in injury, it doesn’t appear Nerlens Noel wants for trade suitors.
With the Philadelphia 76ers’ frontcourt logjam alive as ever, we can expect Jahlil Okafor’s and Noel’s names to be bandied about the rumor mill until one or both of them is moved. Though the Sixers have already moved Jerami Grant, they’ve never once seemed close to dealing either of these two bigs. And yet, that hasn’t stopped reported interest.
The latest from ESPN.com’s Marc Stein has the Toronto Raptors looking into acquiring Noel’s services:
The Raptors are among the teams that have expressed interest in Philadelphia’s very available Nerlens Noel, but sources say Toronto’s initial preference in the wake of losing Jared Sullinger (foot) to injury is to give more minutes to various younger players (such as rookies Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl) so they get first crack at filling the void.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, not for the Raptors specifically, but for Noel’s value in general.
He has yet to make his season debut after undergoing minor knee surgery at the end of October, and he’ll be up for a new contract this summer as a restricted free agent. That inherently drives down his market value, because while teams can take solace in knowing they’ll have the ability to match any contract offer he receives, they’re essentially giving up assets for the right to pay someone who remains a relative unknown–especially now, with Noel coming off another knee injury.
Short of a monster offer that probably isn’t coming, the Sixers are more likely, to wait for him to return before pulling the trigger on anything. That gives Noel an opportunity to drum up his value as a rim-runner, rim protector and general defender, while also giving the Sixers a chance to see if Noel can coexist beside Joel Embiid, thus rendering him a long-term fixture.
Either way, expect some sort of resolution before the end of this season. If the Sixers don’t move Noel, it’s probably because they intend to keep him. There is nothing to be gained by letting a lottery prospect, with actual on-court value, such as himself, walk away for nothing as a restricted free agent.
