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NBA Rumors: Toronto Raptors Desperately Want To Trade For Philadelphia 76ers Forward Nerlens Noel

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 13:09 PST, Nov 4, 2016

One of the biggest names on the NBA trade block over the offseason was Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel. The Sixers used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft to select LSU forward Ben Simmons and the team also brought Croatian forward Dario Saric over from Turkey after stashing him there for two seasons.

With Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, and Noel already in town, there seemed to be a glutton of big men on the roster and a trade seemed inevitable. Despite many trade rumors, general manager Bryan Colangelo was unable to find a deal that he found sufficient, so the Sixers didn’t deal a single big man over the offseason.

Embiid and Okafor have started the season on a minutes restriction while Noel and Simmons have yet to play due to injury. Simmons suffered a broken foot during the preseason and Noel had minor knee surgery after feeling some soreness in his knee. The Sixers also dealt forward Jerami Grant to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the team has gone from an overabundance of big men to a shortage rather quickly.

The situation hasn’t stopped Colangelo from getting calls on Noel and the most recent team to show interest is the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN‘s Marc Stein.

“The Raptors are among the teams that have expressed interest in Philadelphia’s very available Nerlens Noel, but sources say Toronto’s initial preference in the wake of losing Jared Sullinger (foot) to injury is to give more minutes to various younger players (such as rookies Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl) so they get first crack at filling the void.”

The Raptors lost Bismack Biyombo during free agency and then signed Jared Sullinger to a one-year deal, but Sullinger is out indefinitely due to a foot injury. It’s forced head coach Dwane Casey to start rookie Pascal Siakam at power forward, but the 22-year-old is only averaging 3.5 points and 4.8 rebounds through the four games of the season.

While the Raptors have gone 3-1 through those four games, the team’s going to need a little more from its frontcourt in order to compete in the Eastern Conference over the course of the 82-game season. Center Jonas Valanciunas has been forced to play 31.8 minutes per game to compensate for Sullinger’s absence while Patrick Patterson has also put in 31 minutes per game, but is only averaging 5.3 points and 5.0 rebounds.

The tricky part of the situation for the Raptors is not knowing how long Nerlens Noel will be sidelined. Currently, the former University of Kentucky star is expected to be out another two to three weeks, but that timeline obviously is set in stone. Noel will be a restricted free agent following the season, so Toronto will want to make sure he’s healthy before making any deal for him.

Any trade for Noel will likely involve at least one draft pick going from the Toronto Raptors to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors have all of their first-round draft picks over the next five years and also possess the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round pick for 2017. The Liberty Ballers speculates that Norman Powell or Delon Wright could also be targets for the Sixers who are currently looking to upgrade their backcourt.

Although any deal for Nerlens Noel likely won’t go down until he returns to the court, the Raptors seem to have the most interest and the most pressing need for the former No. 1 overall pick. Expect things to heat up between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers in the coming weeks and months.

[Featured Image by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images]

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