By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Editor
The Philadelphia 76ers have a logjam at the center position and something will need to happen in order to resolve the situation in the near future. With Joel Embiid seemingly healthy, both Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel become expendable at one point or another. At this point, Noel looks to be odd man out after expressing his concerns about the center situation while also not providing much offensive upside on a team struggling to score points.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Toronto Raptors have interest in the third-year center:
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.
Last season, Nerlens Noel averaged 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 67 games for the Sixers. He's currently sidelined following minor surgery to take care of an inflamed plica in his knee in addition to nursing a groin injury suffered during the preseason opener. There's no timetable for his return, but he's expected to miss at least the first three weeks of the season. Noel is expected to become a restricted free agent on July 1 after the Sixers opted not to extend him prior to the October 31 deadline.