It’s difficult to imagine what the Sixers roster might look like on opening night this coming season. There is a very real chance that our starting five will only have seven years of NBA experience to their names, six coming from veteran Thaddeus Young, and the last coming from 2014 Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams. Now some reports have speculated that Young will be dealt on draft night for who knows what, but if he were to stay we could see three rookies fill out the rest of the lineup. Two out of the three would be acquired through the draft, and the third would be the enticing big man from Kentucky, Nerlens Noel.
Acquired by the Pelicans with the sixth pick in the 2013 draft, Noel was immediately sent to Philadelphia. In exchange for Noel, New Orleans received All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday and a second-rounder. Had Noel not suffered the torn ACL he did at Kentucky, he probably would have been the surefire 1st overall pick. His uncanny rim-protecting ability was his claim to fame, averaging 4.4 blocks per game while at Kentucky. By the end of his injury-shortened Kentucky career Noel had set a Kentucky and NCAA single season record for blocks with 186. Hinkie and company are praying that he will do the same when he finally steps on the floor at the Wells Fargo Center. And to all of those spirited fans out there, when Noel does finally step on the floor, instead of having “Silent Night” the Wells Fargo Center will have “The First Noel” every time Nerlens has a double-double. You heard it here first Philadelphia.
Everyone also hopes that he has bulked up a bit. Noel definitely has the height, but his weight might present a problem. When you put Noel’s lanky frame up next to some other players such as Joakim Noah, Kevin Love, and Blake Griffin, you can see that Noel comes up lighter than the rest. There is one player though that everyone hopes Noel could turn out exactly to be like and his name is Anthony Davis. After a very successful rookie season, Davis took it to another level this year. He bested all of his previous statistics from his rookie season including his points per game which took a major leap from 13.5 to 20.8. Both of them also hail from Kentucky.
When it looked like the Sixers’ chances of drafting Andrew Wiggins were extremely feasible, all bets are off now that Joel Embiid needs surgery on his right foot. It’s tough to see the Cavs still looking to trade that No.1 overall selection now that Embiid is out of the picture. The Cavs have lacked that explosive wing ever since LeBron left, enter Andrew Wiggins. If the Sixers end up not being able to swing a deal for Wiggins, you now might see the Sixers take someone such as Dante Exum, an overseas talent from down under. I feel that this puts all of the more pressure on Noel to perform. By drafting someone other than Wiggins or Parker you are missing that person in the middle of your lineup who can spread the floor and someone who allows your big man to gain position down low. Someone who can primarily score from anywhere. If the Sixers take Exum, then that gives them two guards who can’t shoot too well. The Sixers might still be able to take care of that problem with the 10th pick, but who knows what will happen before and on Thursday night.
