The Philadelphia 76ers have a logjam in their frontcourt with first-round picks Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor. With the emergence of Embiid this season, Noel has been the odd man out in the Sixers rotation.
Noel has been vocal about the 6-19 Sixers, saying back in September that it wouldn't make any sense to have all three big men on the same roster.
In the team's 100-89 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, Noel only played eight minutes. Noel finished with two points on 1-of-4 shooting and five rebounds, while Embiid and Okafor played 28 and 24 minutes, respectively.
Noel had this to say after the loss.
"I'm too good to be playing eight minutes. We need to figure this s--- out."
76ers head coach Brett Brown explained why Noel had such few minutes.
"When they started going [small], something had to give. Nerlens was a casualty to that, as well as his health is not 100 percent."
Noel has been involved with various NBA trade rumors since the season started, and it is becoming clearer that he probably wants out of Philly now. Noel has reportedly been on the trade block for months, but the Sixers have yet to find a suitor.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Noel has reportedly been scaring teams away with his attitude and work ethic.
"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. There are teams willing to do a deal for him and bring him in, but they don't want to give up much. And so at some point there, Philly has got to make a decision, 'What's the best we can get for him?' I think at some point he probably moves, too."Matt Moore of CBS Sports writes that maturity issues have been known for some time regarding Noel, such as when he did these really gross things to a rental home.
I'm sure Philly will eventually find a suitor by the trade deadline, but keep an eye out for how Noel performs on the court these next few months.
-- Josh Dhani
