How Philadelphia 76ers trading Nerlens Noel changed NBA center market
By Bret Stuter
Trading Noel changed value of rim protecting center
While the NBA offense changed the route to scoring away from the basket and out to the three-point line, there remained a residual belief that even small-ball formats need an athletic rim protecting center. From that presumption, Philadelphia 76ers fans believed Nerlens Noel to be of far greater value than the eventual market value received. But beyond that, the player himself and his agent believed that he was due a max contract.
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In the end, neither perception proved to be true.
The plan for centers is foggy
So how did we get there? Well, we know that former executive Sam Hinkie had a plan to rebuild the Philadelphia 76ers into a championship team. In doing so, there were obvious moves made to infuse undervalued players onto the roster.
But those moves involved injuries and deeply discounted players whose upside far outweighed the risk of timing or new injury. But there were more factors at work. The very fact that former GM Sam Hinkie made a run at the center position inflated the value. Now, the track record of Hinkie fell into buy low and sell high. So it’s impossible to tell whether he planned to trade the centers for a higher value.
What we do know is that the 76ers and Celtics had a deal fall through at the 2016 trade deadline, a deal which likely involved a 76ers center and a covetted Celtics draft pick.