76ers are reportedly shopping Noel, Okafor but prefer to keep one of the two big men
The Sixers would like to trade Jahlil Okafor instead of Nerlens Noel
•
1 min read
Since late May, the Philadelphia 76ers have been rumored to be testing the trade market with their young big men Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. Noel was even mentioned in a possible trade involving Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague a couple of weeks ago. But now, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Sixers are looking to trade Okafor instead of the second-year big man:
The Sixers are shopping Okafor and center Nerlens Noel to other NBA teams. The franchise is expected to trade the player who brings them a better deal.
Sources have said that the team would prefer to trade Okafor. The Sixers expect to get equal value in return, but it could be hard to do that when every team knows they are looking to unload the big man.
Okafor was an excellent offensive player for the Sixers, averaging 17.5 points while shooting 50.8 percent in his rookie season. He has a nice touch around the rim and a strong post game. And while it may seem strange that the Sixers will give up on him after drafting him third overall in 2015, Okafor damaged his reputation a bit by engaging in some youthful indiscretions off the court and he also truly never gelled with Noel on the court.
Noel could of course still be traded, but he is quite worthy of keeping. Last season, Noel showed an improvement on offense (11.1 points on 52.1 percent shooting) while still playing at a high level defensively (1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks).
Okafor is also kind of expendable for the Sixers because Joel Embiid is expected to make his NBA debut, Dario Saric is finally expected to join the team and Philadelphia will likely draft Ben Simmons with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Adding those three players creates a bit of a logjam in the frontcourt for the Sixers, so trading Okafor to add players who can help in other areas seems like a smart decision. Okafor's youth and skill set should make him quite attractive for other teams.
