It’s no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers are facing a logjam at the center position, but that doesn’t mean the team will sell one of their big men off to the first suitor who comes calling.
General manager Bryan Colangelo said Monday that the team is prepared to keep Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Nerlens Noel on the roster until the end of the season if they don’t get a good enough trade offer for one of them.
Colangelo "I know everybody is lined up to criticize whatever deal is made with Nerlens." #sixers
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) December 19, 2016
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 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
This is purely leverage on Colangelo’s part. The Sixers don’t want it to look like they’re desperate to unload one of their centers, because they want to ensure their value is maximized on the market. The problem is it’s too late to save Noel’s trade value at this point given what has gone on. No, Colangelo shouldn’t take the first offer that comes his way for Noel or Okafor. That said, he’s probably going to have to accept that he won’t be getting as much in return as he might have expected to even a few months ago.
