Philadephia has been trying to unclog its frontcourt logjam for a while, but finding little out there in a market with a glut of big men — Brook Lopez, Tyson Chandler, Gregg Monroe, and so on. They have not found a deal they like for Jahlil Okafor despite months of trying.
However, they now have found one for Nerlens Noel.
Dallas has been looking for the big man of their future and has jumped on landing the former Kentucky star, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
Philadelphia is sending Nerlens Noel to Dallas for Justin Anderson and a first-round draft pick, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 23, 2017
Dallas center Andrew Bogut will go to the 76ers in the Noel trade too, league source tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 23, 2017
Marc Stein and Zach Lowe of ESPN added these crucial details.
Andrew Bogut is in the trade to Philadelphia and Dallas' pick is protected 1-to-18 in the June draft, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2017
Sources: If Sixers do not receive Mavs top-18 protected pick this season, it converts to 2 2nd-round picks: Mavs 2nds in 2017 and 2018.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 23, 2017
Those protections make it almost certain Dallas keeps its first round pick this year, so the Sixers get a couple of seconds.
I love this trade for Dallas, but they have to re-sign Noel this summer as a restricted free agent. Dallas has chased the right big man for a while (remember DeAndre Jordan?), and Noel fits what they want at the five — he can protect the rim, he has hops, and he can finish around the rim (63.4 percent of his shots come in the restricted area, and he shoots 72 percent on those). He gets most of his offense off cuts or being the roll man — get him the rock near the basket and he’ll do the rest, but he’s not going to create or step out. Noel provides rim protection in the paint on defense, but if you have a big that can pull him out of the paint it gives him trouble. He’s also young and his game can develop.
Noel can be a piece along with Harrison Barnes in the post-Dirk era coming to Dallas.
I’ve been told (as have other reporters) to expect the Sixers to buy out Bogut, which will make him a very sought after free agent by contenders in a few days (Cleveland? He is not allowed by rule to return to Warriors this season). Unless they can flip him again before the deadline.
What Philly gets out of this of value is not only the pick (eventually) but also Justin Anderson, who shows promise as a “3&D” wing. He’s still got to work on the three part of that, he’s hitting just 30.3 percent from three this season, but he’s a strong defender already able to cover twos, threes, and small fours. Good rebounder as well for his position. You could see him growing into Brett Brown’s rotation.
