Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor have been popping up in trade rumors for months now. Despite both of them being professionals, it has to grate on them to some extent.
We saw it bubble up with Jahlil all ready, and now we may be seeing it with Nerlens.
It all started with some changes to his social media profile and recent activity on his usually quiet Twitter account. His Twitter profile now reads, "#BostonStrong – Former Kentucky Wildcat – Current Philadelphia 76er!!"
He also sent his first tweet in months late Thursday night which read, "I'm blessed to be from Boston. Love my city."
It's true Nerlens is from the Boston area. It's unclear why he felt the need to share his seemingly newfound love for the city.
His avatar is also now simply a black box.
NBA
Noel hadn't penned a tweet since June 8 when he sent condolences on the passing of Sixers assistant coach Sean Rooks. Before that it was a May tweet on Lil Uzi and before that an April post wishing a couple he knows well on their wedding day. Safe to say, he hasn't been active on Twitter.
As CSNNE.com's Sherrod Blakely points out, what kind of player describes their current team as such?
Who refers to the team they play for as “current?”
A player who wisely suspects that “current” label will become “former” sooner rather than later.
Noel has not asked for a trade, but multiple league sources told CSNNE.com that he is “very open” to being traded if the Sixers decide to make that decision.
Another league source contacted by CSNNE.com on Thursday morning indicated that the Celtics still have a high level of interest in Noel but no deal is imminent.
The Sixers will obviously have a glut of big men if and when Joel Embiid sees the court this coming season as is expected. A trade of Okafor or Noel could very well happen and there is clearly interest around the league.
Bryan Colangelo spoke about that interest less than a month ago.
"We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do with everybody," Colangelo said on SiriusXM. "And when you look at the calls that are coming in, quite frankly, everyone’s trying to poach a big man from us."