Nerlens Noel made his season debut on Sunday in a win over the Detroit Pistons, and his name is still one that is being mentioned quite often in trade rumors. Given how crowded the Philadelphia 76ers’ front court is, it remains a strong possibility that Noel will be moved.
But do the Sixers need to lower the asking price?
In his podcast for The Vertical this week, Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned Noel as one of a handful of players available on the trade market. However, he noted that teams are not impressed with what they have heard about the former Kentucky star’s work ethic.
“The research teams have done on him is not good,” Wojnarowski said. “They don’t get good reports back on their intel of how he has 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.”
Woj speculates that Noel will still be moved at some point, though the 76ers may have to temper their expectations on the return.
With Joel Embiid playing well, the 76ers have little room for Noel even without rookie Ben Simmons available yet. The more we hear, the more it sounds like Philly was hoping a team like the Boston Celtics would get overexcited about bringing in a big man during the offseason and offer a first-round pick for Noel. It doesn’t sound like that is going to happen at this point.
Noel made it clear months ago that he is not happy with his situation in Philadelphia, which only weakens the Sixers’ stance even further.
H/T Hoops Hype
