In case you were wondering: Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers are aware they have too many bigs.
Jahlil Okafor has been the name most bandied about the rumor mill in recent weeks, which is no surprise. Joel Embiid is untouchable, and Nerlens Noel has resumed playing like a defensive terror. Even Richaun Holmes looks like he has more of a place in the NBA than Okafor.
Still, should the Sixers be unable to trade Okafor, they have a backup plan, which at one point was the primary plan, which is probably now more of a Plan 1B than a Plan B.
Said plan? Trading Noel, as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski unpacked (via HoopsHype):
If (the 76ers) 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”.
If the Sixers really want to move Okafor, then they’ll move Okafor. Plenty of teams have been linked to him over the last few weeks, few of which, if any, will be open to forking over first-round compensation. Should the Sixers move off whatever their current asking price is, they’ll be able to send him elsewhere in a snap.
But if their primary concern is getting adequate value for one of their high-lottery prospects, then Noel is the easier name to deal, even with his restricted free agency looming. He has validated himself as a defensive anchor, and he’s shown drastic improvement as a pick-and-roll finisher. Stick him on a team that creates even more space, and he could be one of the league’s premier shot-blocking rim-runners.
That’ll be worth a first-round pick, albeit a non-lottery one, to a team that doesn’t have cap space this summer. Okafor is a different story, which is why this situation will probably remain in limbo right up until Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline.
