For the Philadelphia 76ers, “the process,” AKA tanking, was not the problem. Their problem was that they drafted too many bigs. Having Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor on the same roster (along with Ersan Ilyasova and Richaun Holmes) feels a tad excessive. Obviously, the Sixers can’t give all of these guys the minutes that they deserve, which is why injury issues have been a blessing in disguise for Philly’s management; They haven’t had to worry about allocating minutes for all of their talented young bigs. Of course, eventually, some players will be sure to voice their displeasure. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Nerlens Noel is doing just that. Despite having not played yet this season, Stein reports that Noel wants out:
Nothing has changed here. Noel has yet to appear in a game this season after electing to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery last month, but word is he’d still prefer to be shipped to a new address with so many big men to battle for playing time in Philly. Count on the Sixers to accommodate him eventually.
The Sixers have too many bigs, and there are a lot of teams that could use some of them. Potential suitors for Noel could include the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and New York Knicks. So, yeah. The Sixers shouldn’t need to worry about finding a trade partner. Finding the right deal will be the difficulty, though, as Philadelphia loses some trade leverage due to Noel’s unhappiness not exactly being a secret.
