Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor (Photo : Getty Images)
The latest NBA trade rumors have the Philadelphia 76ers would be testing the market for bothh Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor.
It was previously reported that the Sixers were leaning towards trading Jahlil Okafor but that stance may have slightly changed.
A report from ESPN has the Sixers exploring the trade market for both Okafor and Noel.
"The Philadelphia 76ers will explore trading Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel in the buildup to the NBA draft on June 23, according to league sources," a report credited to both Marc Stein and Chad Ford stated. Stein is the specialist on recent NBA rumors and Ford is the ESPN expert on the NBA draft.
It continued: "Sources told ESPN that the Sixers are determined to gauge the trade market for both Okafor and Noel and are increasingly likely to move at least one of them in conjunction with the draft, in which Philadelphia holds the No. 1 overall selection for the first time since selecting Allen Iverson in 1996."
Ford also appeared on 97.3 ESPN radio and he also corroborated this claim. His statements were transcribed by CSN Philadelphia. It should be noted that Ford is not saying outright that Philly will trade both.
"I think that there's a very high likelihood, that whether it's to move up in the draft or use them to grab a free agent in a sign and trade or just to a trade, that you will not see the Nerlens Noel-Jahlil Okafor pairing at the start of next season. I think that they'll gauge the interest of both players. I think that there might be a slight preference for Noel, to keep him around with the Sixers, and I think you might be right, there might be a slight, better value for Okafor out on the market, but I think everyone agrees that that combination of those two players doesn't necessarily work," Ford said.
The statement is clear up to that point. Both Okafor and Noel will be shopped but not necessarily traded. The Sixers simply want to broaden their options.
Ford then explains that the Sixers have urgent needs at the backcourt and neither Ben Simmons nor Brandon Ingram will address those. The Sixers next pick dropped to 24th and 26th and Ford noted that there might not even be rotation players that far off as the draft is quite shallow. Thus, they might need to trade.
Ford reiterates his point then: "I think either Okafor or Noel - I don't think they'll trade both - but one of those two is probably their best trade chip."
Is there a potential trade partner for the Sixers who wants Noel more than Okafor? This is the intriguing part. What prompted the team to place Noel on the block as well? There is also the question of Embiid's health and what kind of player has he become in the two years he has not been seen.
The Sixers value Noel's defense and rebounding so if the team is willing to part with him, perhaps it's because they have found a different source for what Noel brings.
