Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor (Photo : Getty Images)
The Philadelphia 76ers are in a tight bind, as the frontcourt tandem of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor may see their time with the club cut short with the team is cleaning house after a disastrous spell in its last three seasons.
The team's upper management sees that Noel and Okafor do not complement each other's play in the past season, and may have to let go of either player according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.
Noel was selected sixth overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013, but was immediately shipped to the 76ers in exchange for Jrue Holiday and the rights to Pierre Jackson. Okafor, on the other hand, was the third overall pick in 2015.
However, both players failed to co-exist in Brett Brown's system last season and was a major contributor to the team's 10-72 finish by the end of its 2015-16 campaign. Brown tried to swap both players' positions with Noel shifting down to power forward and Okafor moving to center.
Additionally, Okafor was in hot water due to off-court issues as he was involved in a street fight against taunting bystanders in Boston, compounding the team's woes on the court.
In a bid to improve the team's cohesion, the Sixers recently signed veteran big man Elton Brand, who is expected to play more of a mentorship role with the squad in dire need of direction since last making the playoffs in 2012.
Despite Brand's advanced age (37), the move also meant that either Noel or Okafor has been made expendable by the Sixers in its campaign to end its reputation as the league's laughing stock.
One of the possible destinations for Okafor include Atlantic Division rival Boston Celtics, where he could thrive under the youthful lineup and system of Brad Stevens. However, talks between the two parties fell through with neither team seeing eye-to-eye in a possible swap.
The Sixers lineup is loaded with talent acquired in the draft, including rookies Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, and 2016 draft number one pick Ben Simmons.
