What a Jeff Teague – Nerlens Noel Trade Means for Boston
By Jeremy Karll
How does a trade centered around Jeff Teague and Nerlens Noel impact the Celtics?
The Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers are in trade discussions surrounding point guard Jeff Teague and big man Nerlens Noel, according to The Vertical. Just because they’re in talks doesn’t mean the deal will go through, or that they’re even close to a deal. However, the trade does make sense for both sides, making it seem like it’s only a matter of time before the trade happens.
Atlanta would get a young, promising big man who can replace Al Horford if he leaves in free agency. At the same time, Dennis Schroder has sat behind Teague for the early part of his career and the Hawks want to let him take over the starting role. Also, Philadelphia has an abundance of big men with the likely number one pick being Ben Simmons. Teague would also give them their franchise point guard that they’ve been searching for. But, how exactly does this help, or hurt, the Celtics?
For one, this could mean the Hawks won’t go after Al Horford this summer – a top target for Boston. Nerlens Noel could always come off the bench for Atlanta, however, Paul Millsap and Al Horford have each gone to two straight All-Star games and I doubt they’d want a player with as much potential as Noel coming off the bench. Especially since Horford will sign a multi-year deal and would expect to start every season.
The Boston Celtics have been rumored as his most likely destination if he leaves Atlanta, and those rumors would only pick up if this trade goes down. Horford is a perfect fit for the Celtics and would give them a star next to Isaiah Thomas. The Celtics would be able to guarantee him a starting role and arguably a better chance to win than in Atlanta. The money may be a little less but Horford is at a point in his career that he’s looking to win rather than just the money.
It doesn’t mean that Atlanta would let him walk without a fight, although they wouldn’t be as invested in brining him back since they’d have a replacement. This could also mean that Atlanta isn’t confident that Horford will come back, does that mean the Celtics are the favorites to land him?
While the 76ers trading Nerlens Noel doesn’t make Jahlil Okafor more available, I wouldn’t lose hope on landing the young big man. If the 76ers draft Ben Simmons then they’d once again have four front court players who should see significant minutes. It becomes a logjam down low and the 76ers haven’t seen Dario Saric or Joel Embiid play so they’d most likely still try to find a partner to send Okafor to – someone they weren’t overly impressed with.
They could always move Okafor to the bench, or try to play Simmons at small forward, but trading him for the third pick in the draft would probably be the best option.
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They could still draft Kris Dunn since Teague is a free agent in 2017, however, adding a shooter next to Teague would be more likely. I doubt the 76ers would trade one of their promising big men if they don’t believe they’ll be able to re-sign Teague next off-season. They’d get their choice of Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray, while also owning the 24th and 26th picks in the draft, if they chose to add a shooting guard next to Teague.
When it comes down to it the 76ers have been stockpiling big men for the last couple of years and now there’s not enough minutes go around. They’re in love with Joel Embiid’s potential and Ben Simmons is the type of player they’ve been waiting to draft since they started this process. Therefore, it makes sense that the struggling center – Jahlil Okafor – would still be available for the right price.
Next: Should the Celtics Give Up on James Young?
A trade involving Jeff Teague and Nerlens Noel may never happen, but if it does it could change the landscape of the off-season.