Philadelphia 76ers: Top 5 Nerlens Noel Destinations

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Feb 11, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) dunks against the Miami Heat during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 117-109. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Once considered a potential No.1 overall pick, Nerlens Noel has somewhat fallen off the radar this season for the Philadelphia 76ers. Here is a list of the most likely suitors for his services.

Not much has gone as planned in recent years for Nerlens Noel.

Predicted to be the No.1 overall pick in his draft, Noel played just 24 games in sole season for Kentucky before tearing his ACL.

Despite the devastation nature of the injury, many believed this wouldn’t hinder dramatically Noel’s prospects in the 2013 draft.

As NBA draft expert Chad Ford of ESPN noted at the time:

"“I don’t think it affects him a great deal in the big picture. The scouts I talked to still think he’s No. 1.”"

As we are well aware, Noel slid all way to No.6 overall, where he was snapped up by the Philadelphia 76ers in a draft day trade. The knee injury forced Noel to miss the entire 2013-14 season, further compounding the pain of his draft stock diving so dramatically.

To make matters even more difficult for Noel, the Sixers drafted big men with their lottery selections in the next two drafts. In 2014, the Sixers selected Joel Embiid with the No.3 overall pick and in 2015, they selected Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick.

As has been well documented, these selections were made by the then president of basketball operations, Sam Hinkie. With his era dubbed “The Process”, Hinkie was simply selecting what he considered the best available talent at each draft.

Therefore, selecting three players 6-foot-11 or taller was not obstacle for Hinkie. It was a matter of gathering assets to use down the line.

The problem for Noel is that “The Process” has caught up with him and his career. In his first two seasons, Noel showed steady progress and teamed up last season with Okafor in latter’s rookie season.

But with the emergence of Embiid this season after returning from two years on the sidelines has pushed Noel back in the pecking order.

Already, fellow big man Okafor looks set to move as he was forced to sit a recent victory over the Miami Heat due to a potential trade being agreed upon. Noel himself has the been the subject of much speculation, without any definitive news one way or the other.

But with his rookie contract coming up at the end of this season, the Sixers will need to look quickly to move Noel if they aren’t planning on signing him to an extension this offseason.

Here are a list of the five most likely potential suitors for Noel.