ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe reports that the Raptors are interested in Philadelphia’s Nerlens Noel:
The Raptors will need to move at least one big deal to have any hope of retaining both DeMar DeRozan and Biyombo, and teams will call about DeMarre Carroll. Toronto has already approached Philly about a deal sending out a rotation player — perhaps Terrence Ross, and other goodies — in exchange for Nerlens Noel, who could then assume Biyombo’s backup center role, according to league sources. The talks haven’t gained much traction yet.
It’s no secret that the Raptors will likely lose out on Bismack Biyombo this summer. He’s due for a big raise, and with the Raptors not owning his Bird rights and being restricted by the cap, they have to look elsewhere. Biyombo has talked about a home town discount for the Raptors, but at the end of the day, money talks and BS walks. He’s made a name for himself this past season, and there’s a chance he may never have such a good playoff run, so the time to cash out is now for Biyombo. We looked at some low-key big options on the market as replacements, but it appears that Masai Ujiri has set his sights a little higher.
Noels was drafted in 2013 and missed the entire season due to a knee injury. As part of #TrustTheProcess, he’s essentially played garbage time minutes the last two seasons. He only missed 7 games his rookie season, before sitting out for 15 last season, some due to knee tendinitis, which also caused him to miss the All-Star weekend’s Rising Stars challenge.
Noels is only 21 years old (compared to Biyombo’s “23”), and much like Biybomo, is a defensive-minded player who has a greater (albeit limited) offensive upside. Biyombo has the edge in the PER36 numbers last year, but with experience, you would expect Noels to eventually catch up:
This can definitely be classified as a “win now” moved while giving the future some thought. The article mentions Terrence Ross going the other way, which would leave us with a shooting hole to fill, but you could make a case that that is easier to fill than frontcourt defense. What is perplexing to me is why the Raptors, if they had such a move in mind, would not sure up the three-point shooting in the draft by drafting a wing instead of a project center.
Do remember that Masai Ujiri and Bryan Colangelo have a relationship (Colangelo used to be his boss in Toronto), and given Colangelo’s propensity to trade picks away, and possible desire to bring back a player he drafted in Ross, this one is adding up.
