Report: Celtics targeting Nerlens Noel in trade with 76ers

With trade talks between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers intensifying, we now have a sense of who Boston is targeting. According to Brian Geltzeiler, the Celtics are in pursuit of Nerlens Noel. 

Philadelphia had previously let it be known that they wanted to deal Jahlil Okafor, not Noel.

Noel should be a target of any team looking to improve on the inside. He’s still very raw, but averaged a solid 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game during the 2015-16 season. Additionally, Noel has done a lot to quell one of the biggest concerns he had coming out of college — injuries. After missing his entire first season, Noel played in 75 games during the 2014-15 season and 67 in this most recent campaign.

It’s difficult to project how well Noel would fit in with the Celtics without knowing who they’d give up. Still, even if Noel never improves, he’d be a rather sizable upgrade over either center Amir Johnson or power forward Jonas Jerebko.

Best of all is that Noel has continued to improve throughout his career. While his defensive skills have always been there, Noel’s offensive game has been largely unpolished. A trade to Boston would put Noel with Brad Stevens. Noel is only 22 and it stands to reason that with Stevens and a better team, his offensive game will get even better.

Of course, the 76ers know all of this. That knowledge will make Noel a tough target to acquire. Still, in this case the Celtics would be landing a guy who could be a franchise cornerstone for a decade. It won’t be cheap, but the Boston Celtics should go hard for Nerlens Noel.