Nick Piccone
Bryan Colangelo admitted he’d be looking to trade one of his bigs because he has too many.
He just wants the deal to be right.
If he can’t trade either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor, he wants them to figure out a way, along with Brett Brown, to get the most out of each other. But according to Noel, a Boston native who has constantly been linked to the Celtics, the Sixers need to figure out what’s going to happen with himself, Okafor and Joel Embiid.
Nerlens Noel feels disrespected.
The 76ers center wants clarity about his future. He loves Philadelphia and his Sixers teammates. But after three years of watching his team tank, after years of wondering how he fits in, Noel said Sunday he needs for his current situation to change.
“I think it’s just silly . . . this situation that we are in now with three starting centers,” Noel said on the eve of the Sixers’ media day. “With the departure of [former general manager and president] Sam Hinkie, I would have figured that management would be able to get something done this summer.”
“I think something needs to happen,” Noel said.
Noel would fall short of demanding a trade, but who knows what’s gone on behind closed doors? He’s tired of playing the waiting game – although that’s probably because teams around the NBA know the Sixers need to make a trade so they won’t give up a lot for Noel or Okafor.
“I feel like it definitely needs to be figured out,” he said. “I think at the end of the day, again, you have three starting-caliber centers. And it’s just not going to work to anybody’s advantage having that on the same team. That’s how I’m looking at it. I’m not opposed to anything, but things need to be situated.”
We remember last season where Noel and Okafor didn’t coexist the way we had hoped for, and each player seemed to play better with the other off the court. The Sixers begin the regular season exactly one month from today. Will we see Nerlens Noel in a Sixers uniform that day? Jahlil Okafor? Nick Piccone?
Who knows? But it’ll be an interesting ride.