Nerlens Noel Changes Agents Rather Than Tactics

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Dec 1, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) and center Jahlil Okafor (8) celebrate a score against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Change Tactics, Not Agents

Nerlens Noel is not a regular reader of my articles, but for this one time I wish he were a reader. I am no fan of Bryan Colangelo’s handling of this issue, and am on record with that opinion. On the same subject, I am two thumbs down on Nerlens Noel’s strategy from the get go.

He was a center looking for a major payday in the last year of his contract. And as the season neared, his anxiety rose. In the end, it was too much for the player, and he unleashed a tirade of questions directed to the Philadelphia 76ers front office.

He blew his stack, and nothing happened.

It jumped out at me when Nerlens Noel was a scratch back in October 2016. I am not about to claim that the knee surgery Noel elected was unnecessary, but it’s timing was critically poorly timed. When the Philadelphia 76ers needed Noel most, he became his own highest priority.

Minutes per game is not a legacy. It’s value that must be earned. Sometimes it’s earned by the performance in practice. Sometimes it’s earned by production in previous games. But it’s seldom earned by abandoning a team, electing surgery, and rehabbing away from a team that has just built a state of the art training facility.