Nerlens Noel’s Twitter Picture: A Thousand Words

Nerlens Noel has fans on their toes lately as his social media actions have us questioning whether or not his time as a Sixer could be coming to an end.

It seems as if Nerlens Noel could be hinting at a possible departure from Philadelphia with his recent actions on social media.

The frontcourt logjam is ongoing as the Sixers have yet to make any trades that clear some space. However, as the regular season approaches, the pressure is mounting to make room for guys like Ben Simmons and Dario Saric.

Sixers president and general manager Bryan Colangelo has stuck to the same thought process all summer, which is to refrain from making a bad trade just because of roster imbalance.

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Unfortunately, up to this point, the Sixers calculated approach has gotten them absolutely nowhere in terms of trades. Eventually, they may very well have to take a somewhat unfavorable deal if they wish to develop their new additions properly in 2016.

Has Nerlens Noel picked up on that fact? He is on the final year of his rookie deal, and the Sixers would have to pay him big money should they want him to stick around for the long term. Unlike Jahlil Okafor, (who has multiple years left at a cheap price) Nerlens is not as appealing financially to many teams looking to deal for a big, and his trade value has suffered.

Now, it seems as if talks between the Sixers and the Boston Celtics could be reviving. A report from CSNNE.com states that the Celtics are still interested in trading for Noel, and more importantly, Noel is “very open” to playing in his hometown of Boston.

Which brings us to this.

I'm blessed to be from Boston. Love my city.
— Nerlens Noel (@NerlensNoel3) August 11, 2016

Not much substance there. Just a man showing his city some love right? Wait a second. Where is his Twitter avi? A quick click on his profile reveals that Noel has removed his profile picture of him in a Sixers uniform, as well as taken down his twitter banner which was a picture of the Philly skyline.

This could mean Noel is aware of an imminent trade between Boston and Philadelphia, or it could mean absolutely nothing. Noel could very well just be trolling Philly fans and bloggers looking to find something to write about in the slow doldrums of summer.

The situation is worth keeping an eye on going forward. Noel does not tweet very much, and when he does, it’s usually a simple retweet or show of support for someone/something close to him. The Boston tweet falls right under that category, but the removal of the pictures does not.

Nerlens Noel’s name has been floating around amongst trade rumors for quite some time now. There have been no reports of a deal with the Celtics being in place recently, but seeing as Boston is looking for a rim protector to further build on their active offseason, they do seem like the most likely destination. Noel’s love for Boston would likely mean an easy re-signing process between him and the Celtics, which makes his expiring contract much less daunting than it is to some other teams.

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Keep your eyes peeled for any trade developments concerning Noel, or maybe even a swift denial of any underlying meaning to all of this.