NBA Trade Rumors: Best Landing Spots For Nerlens Noel
1. Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns have done an outstanding job of filling out the roster with young and promising talent. The key investments that have underwhelmed, however, can be found along the defensive interior.
Whether or not Alex Len pans out—and he’s only 22, so don’t rush to judgement—Nerlens Noel would be a wonderful addition to the Suns.
Phoenix likes to get out and run in transition, and Noel has the necessary athletic gifts to do so as either a power forward or a center. Noel also has the athleticism to be a dominant pick-and-roll finisher in Phoenix’s offense.
If any team is going to maximize Noel’s offensive potential, it’s the Suns.
Defensively, Noel would enter a situation in which he’d be working with the perfect mentor: Tyson Chandler. Chandler was once an explosive young big man who ran the floor, feasted off of the pick-and-roll, and dominated defensively, and that’s exactly what Noel is on pace to be.
If Phoenix is willing to trade one of its point guards—Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Knight—to get this done, it can dramatically improve its future.
With Chandler as his mentor, Noel’s future would be significantly brighter, as well.