The 2016-2017 NBA season is already a month old. February is still a few months away and there's already a lot of trade buzz going around the NBA. One of the teams that's been frequently mentioned in trade rumors is the Philadelphia 76ers. Only just recently, there have been talks that the Philadelphia 76ers might make a deal involving their three young centers. Namely Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. One team that the Philadelphia 76ers are willing to make a deal with is the Chicago Bulls and their center Nikola Mirotic.
Currently among the three young centers, Joel Embiid is the one that the the Philadelphia 76ers most likely won't trade. Joel Embiid, or "The Process" as most people in Philadelphia call him, has been performing really well this season. In the 18 games that he has played so far, Joel Embiid has been averaging 18.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in a minutes restricted 23.3 minutes per game.
With Joel Embiid definitely out of the trading block picture, that only leaves Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel as possible trade candidates. Between the two centers though, Nerlens Noel would most likely be the one to be traded.
Jahlil Okafor has been performing pretty decently this season with averages of 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 23.3 minutes of playing time. Nerlens Noel on the other hand has not played so far this season due to injuries. He has career averages of 10.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Those are pretty good numbers.
Although Nerlens Noel has shown potential in just two years of playing in the NBA, the downside are his injury issues. Just last month, he opted to have arthroscopic knee surgery. That's why the Philadelphia 76ers might opt to keep Jahlil Okafor.
According to rumors, one possible trade target for the Philadelphia 76ers is Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls. According to a report from Brian Mazique, a writer from Forbes, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Chicago Bulls could do a straight-up, one-on-one deal between Nerlens Noel and Nikola Mirotic since both players will be restricted free agents next summer and their respective salaries are close enough to make a deal happen.
