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Nerlens Noel Has Essentially Been Benched for the “Foreseeable Future”

Brett Brown’s pre-game media availability produced quite the stir ahead of the Sixers’ Sunday night tilt against the Brooklyn Nets as the head coach revealed that Nerlens Noel has essentially been benched.

Noel will still be in uniform and will see the floor, if only certain scenarios unfold.

This news is developing while Noel’s name has been swirling in trade rumors around the NBA and is freshly coming off his choice words after playing just eight minutes on Friday night. It is known that Noel wants out and he is priming himself for a trade and a new home as he relieved his agent of his duties.

Additionally, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that teams are not willing to offer a lot for the center, which only hurts his chances of being moved this season. Woj said:

Nerlens Noel in Philly, the research teams have done on him is not good. They don’t get good reports back on their intel, how he’s carried himself there, of his habits. It’s not a great return. So, there are teams willing to do deal and bring him in, but they don’t want to give up much.

It is not clear where this decision to take Noel out of the big man rotation is coming from, however, Brown said it came from team management.

This decision does not seem like it is a day-to-day one or one that will be short lived either. It does not have a clear end date either.

Despite the timing of this decision from management, Brown stated pre-game that it has nothing to do with those aforementioned comments from Noel last week.

After word of this move spread, Noel initially declined comment pre-game, stating he would speak after Sunday night’s contest. However, he did take questions from reporters before tip and addressed the situation.

Noel also said, according to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly, Noel said that he does not believe that being pulled out of the rotation has to do with his comments on Friday night.

Does this mean that a trade for Noel is imminent? It does not appear so as multiple Sixers beat reporters reiterated on social media. However, a trade is almost essential at this point for all parties involved.

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