NBA Trade Rumors: Nerlens Noel, Hassan Whiteside And Others

As the NBA trade deadline continues to get closer, NBA trade rumors also begin to heat up, and with the top teams looking to add the missing pieces to their lineup, which players in the lead are most likely to be involved in a trade during the 2016-17 season?

One player who has been mentioned a lot since returning to the court is Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel. Though he’s played in just two games this NBA season and is averaging nine minutes per game, he still can be a great talent if he’s able to overcome injuries that have slowed down his career thus far.

The 22-year-old Noel has had trade rumors that have linked him to such teams as the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both of those franchises have seen much better days, but in the midst of a youth movement, Noel could be a nice fit with a NBA team that is actually in the market to win games.

As for Noel’s situation, NBA teams are “put off” by some of the actions by the forward off the court, according to Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report. In the trade rumors talk, it has been said Noel has been handed fines for tardiness, as stated:

“If Noel wants to get out of Philly and into a role where he plays more than eight minutes a night, the best course of action may be putting on a happy face and trying to rehab what appears to be a damaged image around the league.”

Some new scenery would be good for Noel, and think of him with a NBA team like Boston or Los Angeles… they would get the very best out of him, as they have done with many players in the past.

Next up is Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat. This isn’t another one of the NBA trade rumors that is due to any sort of issues with Whiteside, but the opposite, because he could bring the nine-win Heat a lot of value to the NBA trade market.

It isn’t such a terrible idea for the Heat to consider due to the fact this team isn’t winning the Eastern Conference anytime soon, and those around them are only starting to build rosters that will compete with the best in the near future. A potential trade of Whiteside is another one of the NBA trade rumors but could be better for the Heat in the long run compared to keeping the very talented player for the fact their roster needs work.

Of course, there are two other former Kentucky Wildcats on this list too, in John Wall of the Washington Wizards and DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings. Both bring value to a potential NBA franchise, but will either of them really be involved in a trade?

Wall could be the one who is actually traded, but Cousins has the overall feel that he’s staying put and it is just that, another NBA trade rumor. For Wall, the price could be steep for a team to spend, but he’s well worth it, because he’s still not hit his full peak on the court and can be the face of an NBA team.

It is being reported that Wall is feeling undervalued by the NBA, as Candace Buckner of the Washington Post wrote the following this week.

“As Wall has emerged as the face of the franchise, he has felt underappreciated by the rest of the league, and the new CBA, which was tentatively agreed to by the league and its players’ union on Wednesday night, could unwittingly buttress his perception.”

Wall’s unhappiness could affect how NBA teams view him, but he is a top player, and a trade for a NBA player like Wall could only make a franchise improved.

The NBA trade rumor ride will only get more intense the more the season moves along, and it will be interesting and enjoyable to see how all the trade rumors become reality.

[Featured Image by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images]