Here's why Noel-Okafor frontcourt works very well!

[CodeBreaker]

Yes, we don't need Joel Embiid anymore and it's more of a risk to trade either Noel or Okafor and keep Embiid whose health is still questionable for our future.

Nerlens Noel is a great and soon to be excellent defender. We already saw him play the 4 last season and it was effective since he could've arguably won the ROY. His lateral quickness and athleticism—the two assets that make him such a dangerous rebounder and shot-blocker in the first place—provide him with defensive versatility. Though he's not the most physical player, he has the physical tools to stick with quicker 4s. His shooting range will be developed eventually (he's still what? 20?), maybe not be as great as KG's but I think it'll be as good as Duncan's. At heart, Noel is an offensive roamer who feeds off guard penetration to find points. We can see this tendency simply by how he operates in spread pick-and-roll play when the Sixers offense breaks down or no play is called.

Meanwhile, what Noel lacks can be seen from Okafor. In short, they complement each other so well. Jahlil Okafor is a block-to-block kind of guy who eats up space and feasts down low. Have you seen his plays from this summer league? The dude's post moves are sick! Maybe the most crucial piece of the Noel-Okafor combination will be how Noel moves off the ball in isolation post ups for Okafor. With enough repetition, Noel and Okafor in particular can complement each other well as offensive players.

So the bottomline is, instead of waiting for Joel Embiid which health is a very big issue, why don't we trade this guy for a proven guard that can setup pick and roll plays for Noel or/and get the ball to Okafor. To further understand my point, I got some of these ideas which are explained more here.

 

[ducky]

You are hoping against hope if you think Noel is going to be a jump shooter in time. Saying he might be as good as Duncan in that area is about as laughable as it gets. The guy is going to be the next Rodman (not as much rebounding but better defense). Certainly a quality big in this league but his complete lack of offensive game will always limit his value.

Hinke is a disaster. Possibly the worst GM in the history of modern pro sports. He now has 3 centers on his roster that don't offer any floor spacing. In the modern game, you can't play these guys together and create the type of spacing needed for a modern NBA offense. You put any combo of those 3 on the floor together and the opposing teams C and PF will never be more than a step or two away from protecting the paint.

They have tanked for a couple years now and they are actually further away from putting together a roster ready to truly compete in the NBA than they were 3 years ago. And all they have to show for it is one good pick (Laker's pick), one so-so pick (Heat) and a bunch of absolutely meaningless picks.

And to top it off he has drafted 3 rookies who all play the same position which is going to force his hand to trade at some point and will likely find out the hard way that an NBA rookie is like a brand new car.... it is worth half of what you paid for it the moment you drive it off the lot. How that guy still has a job is beyond me.

 

[CodeBreaker]

You are hoping against hope if you think Noel is going to be a jump shooter in time. Saying he might be as good as Duncan in that area is about as laughable as it gets. The guy is going to be the next Rodman (not as much rebounding but better defense). Certainly a quality big in this league but his complete lack of offensive game will always limit his value.

Hinke is a disaster. Possibly the worst GM in the history of modern pro sports. He now has 3 centers on his roster that don't offer any floor spacing. In the modern game, you can't play these guys together and create the type of spacing needed for a modern NBA offense. You put any combo of those 3 on the floor together and the opposing teams C and PF will never be more than a step or two away from protecting the paint.

They have tanked for a couple years now and they are actually further away from putting together a roster ready to truly compete in the NBA than they were 3 years ago. And all they have to show for it is one good pick (Laker's pick), one so-so pick (Heat) and a bunch of absolutely meaningless picks.

And to top it off he has drafted 3 rookies who all play the same position which is going to force his hand to trade at some point and will likely find out the hard way that an NBA rookie is like a brand new car.... it is worth half of what you paid for it the moment you drive it off the lot. How that guy still has a job is beyond me.

Your post contains mainly hate statements towards Hinkie. Although my expectation for Noel's shooting went a bit too far, you disregarded a lot of my points on how Noel-Okafor actually works. We don't need Noel to score much or do isolation post ups since we have this young post up monster in Okafor. We don't need 2 guys with the same skills and Noel's skills actually differs from Okafor's which is why they complement each other.

 

[TheSnowdog]

I'm not ready to give up on Hinkie yet

The draft this year was a bit of a head scratcher to me after Okafor since I figured Hinkie would have drafted a guard or 2
I would have liked the Sixers to have picked Russell but Lakers beat them to the punch

That being said you don't pass up a chance to get a player like Okafor even if you have an abudance of big men on your roster
I'm happy with the Okafor pick

In hindsight it looks like Hinkie had a plan this year (or I would hope he had a plan) with the draft
The trade he made with Sacramento could be argued an absolute steal of trade
If Staukas can find his shooting touch he would be the shooter that I hoped they would find in the draft

Unfortunately it sounds like Bynum...er Bowie...er Embiid will be out this whole next season but I'm still not ready to give up on him as well
Maybe the Sixers should have drafted one of the guards available at that time (Exum / Smart) - heck Staukas was there but now they have him
But while Embiid was expected to miss all last season I don't think there was any indication that he wouldn't be ready to go this upcoming season and he was a player other teams coveted

It wasn't necessarily a bad pick at the time - it certainly looks bad now though after the recent news of Embiid needing another surgery

Just seems to be bad luck hanging over the Sixers a bit

Embiid's injury does allow the Sixers to avoid the crowded front court question for a little bit

Time to see how Okafor/Noels front court fares this season and also Jerami Grant - I'm interested to see what he does as well

I don't see Hinkie on the hot seat but the Sixers need to be more competitive this year
Sixers have...what? potentially 5 first round picks in 2016?
They shouldn't be tanking for anything - if they have that many picks Hinkie should be able to parlay them into the player he wants

After this next season I see it being hot seat time for Hinkie depending on how the Sixers do