Things are trending upwards in the world of Sixers basketball as of late. The team’s been winning more thanks in large part to a capable point guard, Ben Simmonds and Brandon Ingram are still tearing up the college ranks, but most importantly, we might finally be able to get excited about Joel Embiid again.
In a post practice interview two weeks ago, Brett Brown made it known that Joel Embiid is on his way. He isn’t gonna be here this season, but he’s definitely coming.
While Embiid hasn’t made any earth shattering improvements in his rehab, things have come along much smoother than they were a year ago. Brown says that the team feels he’s headed in the right direction; he’s getting better both physically and mentally, now it’s just a matter of playing the waiting game.
With Jojo’s good news comes an annoying question that the Sixers’ faithful haven’t had to ask themselves since Jahlil Okafor was drafted: Who’s out?
This isn’t an easy question to answer. While each player has a great deal of positives, they also carry their fair share of negatives. Nerlans Noel has once-in-a-generation defensive talent, but loses all offensive ability the farther away from the basket he plays.
Jahlil Okafor has post moves that could make grown man’s knees buckle, but he leaves a lot to be desired athletically and offers very little in terms of rim protection.
Joel Embiid can defend as well as Noel, score as well as Okafor, and can stretch the floor better than either of the two, but the guy literally doesn’t have a leg to stand on, or rather I should say foot.
Oh, and then there’s the huge issue of if these guys can even play together.
The Noel-Okafor (or Nokafor) pairing was abysmal to start the season, but has seen incremental improve with Ish Smith at the helm; Im really starting to have my doubts about this duo though. These are two players that being forced into an uncomfortable situation, its like you’re trying to fit two circle blocks through a round and square hole, one will fit great, while the other is just being forced. When Okafor is on the court by himself, the offense preforms better, but I use the word “better” very loosely. When Nerlens is on the court by himself, the Sixers’ defense is actually kind of respectable. But when the two play together, meh.
The problem is that both these guys belong under the net, but both can’t play there. Nerlens relies on a diet of pick and roll passes and lobs, while Okafor lives on post moves and fade aways. These playing styles just kind of get in the way of each other when you play them at the same time.
Noel has no three point presence, so playing him on the wing means a defender can just stay home and preoccupy themselves with Jah rather than focusing on the nonthreatening Nerlens. Joel offers some remedy for this however with his ability to street the floor, that would give Jah or Noel the opportunity to stay in the paint.
When considering which of these three will leave, it really boils down to either Jah or Nerlens. Joel Embiid, despite all his injuries and shortcomings, still has a ceiling so high it’s nearly astronomical (THE DUDE HAS GROWN TWO INCHES SINCE BEING DRAFTED). He has to be the guy you choose to build around.
In a perfect world we could just say, trade Nerlens, keep Jah, and win an NBA Championship, but sadly, this is not the same big man driven league it use to be.
While Joel and Okafor may offer you the best return offensively, I can already imagine all the Tim Duncan-David Robinson comparisons, I still have my concerns about this pairing though. My biggest concern being the strain chasing stretch fours around could have on Joel Embiid’s foot. The guy played center in college and finished his lone season riddled with injuries, I worry about him making the switch to a position that would require a 7’2 near 250 pounder to chase around the likes of Paul Millsap and what that might do to his newly bone grafted foot.
My worries about Embiid’s foot are the main reason I wouldn’t be against keeping Noel around instead of Jah. With Noel around you would have the option to stick him on more athletic fours, leaving Jojo to go to work underneath the net which would hopefully put less strain on his foot. Offensively, you’d be a little more limited due to Nerlens lack of skill, but I think a shutdown defense would make up the difference.
From a return standpoint, Jahlil might be able to fetch you the most in a trade. The third selection from June’s draft lacks the injury history of Embiid, has much fewer holes in his game than Nerlens, and quite honestly, might want to be here the least.
Jah could very easily net the Sixers an early draft pick, a high upside lottery player, or an established star. The Sixers have already been offered Marcus Smart for Nerlens Noel, so we know what he’s worth. Embiid is a much more curious case; I really think his value depends on who you talk to. He probably would of been worth the first pick in the draft last year, but Im not so sure his value is still that high.
There are too many unknowns to really start planning out trade scenarios though, Noakfor are still getting better together, Dario Saric’s arrival still looms, Joel Embiid’s health is still a huge question mark, and then there’s the bigger issue of if these players just need a little more help around them.
I think the most frustrating part about all of this is the fact all these players are extremely young and could very well grow into completely different players within the next two years. They have very high ceilings and could make major changes to their game.
I think the Sixers best course of action is to hold onto these three players until they know for sure what they have. A trade is more than likely in the Sixers future, but I’d give it a year to see how healthy Joel Embiid really is and who plays better along side him, Jah or Nerlans.
Snowballs & Batteries 