Adrian Fedkiw
The Nerlens Noel saga keeps getting uglier by the minute.
The big man is clearly not thrilled with his situation and the logjam in the Philadelphia 76ers frontcourt, saying before the year that a roster featuring a trio of talented bigs wouldn’t work. Then he decided to get elective surgery on his knee and now finds himself on the bench after voicing his displeasures about his playing time following an eight-minute outing against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
The Sixers refuse to call it a benching, however, according to general manager Bryan Colangelo, who met with reporters on Monday to discuss the Noel situation.
Colangelo on Noel: “This is not a benching.”
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoCSN) December 19, 2016
Colangelo stated that he’s willing to end the season without a trade because he doesn’t want to make a bad deal for the organization.
Colangelo on all bigs being on the roster to end the season. “If they all are, so be it. I will not make a bad deal for this organization.”
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) December 19, 2016
Colangelo keeps saying that the Sixers don’t need to make a trade which is understandable because you never want to appear desperate of having to do so. But if Noel is kept on the roster by the end of the year, Philadelphia will have to let him walk away for nothing or match any offer sheet of a player who clearly doesn’t want to be here.
Colangelo on Noel: “He is a young, talented prospect that we are trying to determine whether or not he’s a fit for this roster.”
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) December 19, 2016
It’ll certainly be very interesting to see how all of this plays itself out in the coming months.
Noel has played in two games for a total of 18 minutes so far this season, scoring 10 points to go with five rebounds, a block and a steal.