Trade rumors involving the Philadelphia 76ers young centers Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor will surely happen soon as the ballclub tries to balance its roster before the new season begins this October.
Philly is currently overloaded with young talent in its frontcourt after the team drafted 6-foot-10 Ben Simmons as the first overall pick last June as well as the reported debut of 7-foot center Joel Embiid, who was selected third overall in the 2014 NBA Draft but had never played because of nagging foot injuries.
The Sixers are also welcoming 6-foot-10 Croatian Dario Saric in their upcoming training camp and so the team will have a surplus of young big men for the upcoming season.
What the team lacks at the moment is a veteran floor general that would try to mesh their young talents on the court. Rumors had been swirling all summer that the team is looking to trade Noel or Okafor for an ideal point guard that can be their team leader both on and off the floor.
However, Philadelphia is having a hard time finding the right trade package for either big man because of the notion that they are desperate in trying to offload them, which in turn brings bargain offers from interested teams.
Chat Sports reported that "it's only a matter of time before the 76ers trade" either Noel or Okafor and some reports are even saying that it might come "sooner rather than later".
Of the two young bigs, Noel is the better defender that could be a team's anchor on the other end of the floor while Okafor is the more skilled offensive player that can give more than 20 points a night.
Philly Mag noted that "it makes no sense" to trade Embiid because he "has the most talent out of all of them" while Simmons is seen as a "long-term centerpiece" in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Saric is not seen as a potential trade piece that would attract potential partners, which again leads to the "inescapable" fact that it would only be Noel or Okafor heading for the Sixers' exit door.
The report also said that "it became readily apparently early on that Okafor and Noel didn't fit well together on the court" and that sometime soon "it was a situation that was always going to have to be resolved eventually".
