Why the Philadelphia 76ers Could Trade Both Noel and Okafor

The Philadelphia 76ers could trade Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel before or during the 2016 NBA Draft. There’s a realistic scenario where the Sixers could trade both of them.

What if the Sixers decided to trade both Okafor and Noel? While the idea of trading both of them seemed crazy to me at first, and seems very unlikely to happen, there is a scenario where it could end up being a good decision.

The Sixers need to be extremely confident that Joel Embiid will stay health before trading both of their centers, but the rumors saying they’re shopping both of them, is a sign that they are confident in Embiid’s health. I’m also assuming the Sixers take Ben Simmons with the first pick, who I believe is significantly better than Brandon Ingram and currently seems likely to be their pick.

With the idea that the Sixers are drafting Simmons in mind, the Sixers could trade Okafor to the Celtics for the third pick. Fellow Sixer Sense writer Dalton Lanoza wrote this article on why the Sixers and Celtics might do this trade and I agree with what he wrote, aside from one component. I would change the player Sixers take with the third pick. Instead of using the pick on Jamal Murray or Kris Dunn, the Sixers should draft Dragan Bender.

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Bender is considered the third best player in the 2016 NBA draft, and I wrote this article explaining why Bender would be a great player and fit with the Sixers. Bender would be a power forward that can shoot threes and defend the perimeter at an elite level. He would be a perfect fit in a line up featuring Embiid at center and Simmons at small forward.

There could be a long term issue between Bender and Dario Saric, if Saric turns out to be good enough to be a starter instead of a sixth man at power forward, but Bender is under sized and only 18 years old, so him getting less playing time than Saric next season should be okay. Bender should be a better defender than Saric due to his superior athleticism and he is less of a ball handler than Saric, so he could be a better long term option for a Sixers’ team built around Simmons.

Looking at the moves the Suns’ made the previous offseason, their roster, and mock drafts, it’s easy to see how trading Noel for the fourth pick or Brandon Knight could benefit both teams. What player would Noel at his peak likely compare to? Noel is a defensive anchor at center capable of making a bad defensive team close to average, with his elite ability to block shots, get steals, cover smaller perimeter-oriented players with quickness few NBA big men have, and cause every player on the opposing team to question whether they should even attempt to drive towards the basket. On the other hand, you do need a point guard for him to contribute in any meaningful way on offense.

The description I just gave to Noel could also be applied to Tyson Chandler, who the Suns signed to a four-year $52 million contract at 32 years old. The now 33-year-old Chandler is the former 2011-2012 defensive player of year that was instrumental to the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA championship. He also struggled last year for the Suns.

With a lot of Chandler’s defense coming from elite athleticism, he seems likely to get worst next season. Looking at the Phoenix Suns’ blog Bright Side of the Sun’s report cards for Chandler and the fifth pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Alex Len, shows that they could be open to trading for one of the Sixers’ centers and their willingness to give Chandler a big contract suggests that they would probably prefer Noel over Okafor.

Whether the Suns would be willing to give up the fourth pick for Noel depends a lot on the third pick. In this scenario the Sixers already decided to take Bender with the third, which would probably increase the Suns’ willingness to trade the pick to the Sixers.

Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn, and Buddy Hield don’t fit with the Suns’ roster and Jaylen Brown is the biggest boom-or-bust pick in the 2016 draft. While I can see the Suns taking Brown based on his ability to play with shooting guard Devin Booker and point guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, there are people like me that believe Brown is likely to be a bust and the Suns could see trading the pick for Noel to be the better option.

Since the Sixers are unlikely to sign a big name free agent this offseason, and they’ll need a back up center, Chandler would go with the fourth pick to the Sixers for Noel. With the salary cap projecting to increase by $30 million this offseason, taking Chandler’s $12 million-plus salary next season and over $13 million the two remaining seasons on his contract might not be as horrific as that sounds. Taking Chandler is just a sweetener to help convince the Suns to make the trade, if it’s possible to do the Noel for the fourth pick without taking Chandler back, the Sixers should do the trade without him and use free agency or the 24th or 26th pick on a back up center.

It’s also possible that the Sixers trade Noel to the Suns for Bledsoe or Knight. With Booker’s great rookie season making him the Suns’ future shooting guard, they have a serious fit issue in their backcourt with their two highest paid players only capable of playing point guard and shooting guard.

Bledsoe is 26 years old, averaged 20.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game last season. Knight is 24 years, averaged 19.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game last season. Bledsoe’s contract is guaranteed up to the 2018-2018 season paying him at least $14 million per season, and Knight’s contract is guaranteed up to the 2019-2020 season paying him at least $12 million per season.

Booker is too good to spend time coming off of the bench long-term for the Suns, and Bledsoe and Knight are too expensive and good to good to come off of the bench. With Noel scheduled to receive a big pay raise after the 2016-2017 as a restricted free agent, the Sixers would basically be paying one of the Suns point guards a year earlier than they might be forced to pay Noel. Bledsoe or Knight will likely be traded, and trading one of them to the Sixers for Noel would fix both teams’ fit issues.

If the Sixers decide to trade Noel for one of the Suns’ point guards, they should trade for Knight. Since becoming a starter for the Suns before the start of the 2013-2014 season, Bledsoe has missed many games due to injury. Bledsoe only played in 155 games over the 246 games he could have played over the last three years. Knight only managed to stay slightly healthier than Bledsoe over the same three-year span. Knight only played in 187 games over the 246 games he could have played. What gives Knight the edge, is that he’s two years younger than Bledsoe and his overall 3-point percentage for his career is 36 percent compared to Bledsoe’s 33 percent.

Next: On this Day in Sixers History: Sixers Win the Title

While it’s very unlikely the Sixers trade both Okafor to the Celtics and Noel to the Suns, Byran Colangelo should consider it and see if any of the above scenarios are actually possible.