The Philadelphia 76ers are still looking for trade partners to solve their front-court logjam. According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the dynamics has changed over the last few weeks with the Sixers front-office leaning more towards keeping Okafor than defensive specialist Nerlens Noel.
Kyler believes the Sixers don't have much desire in trading Okafor, who's now playing extended minutes the past few games after the lifting of his minutes restrictions. As a matter of fact, Philadelphia is doing a lot better with Okafor coming off the bench for Joel Embiid and even taking over at the center spot everytime the latter takes a day-off.
"While Okafor hasn't said a whole lot about the logjam at center in Philadelphia, Noel referred to the situation as "silly" prior to the start of training camp in the fall, expressing surprise that the front office hadn't addressed the club's crowded depth chart by making a trade in the summer.
The Sixers, meanwhile, weren't entirely happy that Noel decided to stay in Massachusetts to work out this summer, according to Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News. Shortly after he reported to camp, the 22-year-old felt discomfort in his knee, and that issue has kept him out of action ever since."
Kyler thinks Noel is the odd-man out in the Sixers' log-jam puzzle largely because he and his team isn't on the same page.
Another reason why Noel is easier for the Sixers to trade is he's eligible for a contract extension next year. The Sixers will have to decide if they want to shell more money to keep Noel or lose him for nothing in free-agency.
So far, the logjam issue in the frontcourt isn't that of a big issue, but everything is expected to change once Noel returns to the lineup. He's scheduled to make his return from injury at some point in December.
Noel averaged 10.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game through the first two seasons of his career.
