Sixers Mailbag: The Embiid/Noel Issue, Draft Questions and More

This is something I’ve been wanting to address, so glad it was asked. It’s hard to project anything long term when this team is going to look extremely different on a year-to-year basis, but I’ll throw my hat in the ring. A lot of this depends on what the Sixers do in the 2015 Draft. If they pick a player like Mudiay or Stanley Johnson, then he’ll have to make it work with Embiid. If the pick is Jahlil Okafor or Karl Towns, then things get interesting. In that case, I’d see Noel as a bench player still playing heavy minutes, but rotating in with the second unit and being that high energy player that can protect the rim and isn’t asked to do a lot offensively.

At this point, I see the Sixers going with a big man in the Draft, simply due to BPA and finding Noel a nice niche on the bench. He see’s himself as a KG or Amar’e Stoudemire, but his offensive game needs a ton of work for that to happen. So, long term, I see Nerlens Noel as a big off the bench.