Would you give up Smart for Millsap? I would (Poll)

[Moranis]

I'd much rather pay Millsap than Noel given Noel's injury history, off court issues, and his seemingly never ending comments about how unhappy he is.  Remember this a guy that is a free agent this summer and has played in just 8 games averaging less than 12 mpg thus far this year.  This after missing 15 games last year.  His rebounding rate is way down, though it is such a small sample it is hard to put much faith in it. 

That said, Noel will likely come cheaper than Millsap and thus there may be more value to the team in acquiring him as opposed to paying more to acquire Millsap.  But make no mistake Noel is a horrid offensive player who can basically just dunk and thus far this year isn't rebounding or defending particularly well (though I would expect both of those to increase as he gets healthier).

The surgery was elective, and from what I've gathered it was pretty much due to the major logjam that the Sixers had. The Sixers wanted him to do it to provide them more time to evaluate Embiid and Okafor at the beginning of the season, and he kind of just went along with it.

And it's hard to evaluate Noel's true injury history. Yes, he tore his ACL in college, but that's seemingly never been a problem for him in the pros. He played 75 games his rookie year, and last year he played 67. However, with how the Sixers have blatantly embraced tanking in his tenure, along with the issue of the logjam last year and this year, there's no telling how many of those games he was held out of in order to tank. Hell, that's exactly what happened in his "real" rookie year. He could've came back several months before the end of the season, but the Sixers didn't want to win any extra games or chance him injuring himself again.

I think his injury history is largely overblown. He'd easily be the most athletic big we've had in a long while.

If he got around 16-18 for four years, which seems about right for his value right now, wouldn't you prefer that to a four year deal of around 24-25 for an aging Milsap, whose game will certainly not age all that gracefully?

At those dollars, I'd rather have the known than the unknown assuming Millsap is a 3 year deal to match up with Horford.  I think everyone believes Noel can be a Deandre Jordan type player (he isn't the rebounder but could be a better defender), but he is no where near that level of player right now and may never get there.  You know what you get in Millsap and that is a guy that does everything well.  Not elite at anything, but very good at everything.  Neither is a franchise player, but at least with Millsap you get a proven all star track record on a guy that can actually play on both ends of the floor. 

If you are talking about a trade and Noel is something like Zeller and a lesser asset (like Rozier, Bos 2018 1st, etc.) then it might make more value sense to trade for Noel then to trade for Millsap who would cost more assets since neither would make Boston a real threat to a healthy Cavs or Warriors.   But as a free agent, I'd much rather sign Millsap if those are the dollars in play for each guy.

[tankcity!]

I'd much rather pay Millsap than Noel given Noel's injury history, off court issues, and his seemingly never ending comments about how unhappy he is.  Remember this a guy that is a free agent this summer and has played in just 8 games averaging less than 12 mpg thus far this year.  This after missing 15 games last year.  His rebounding rate is way down, though it is such a small sample it is hard to put much faith in it. 

That said, Noel will likely come cheaper than Millsap and thus there may be more value to the team in acquiring him as opposed to paying more to acquire Millsap.  But make no mistake Noel is a horrid offensive player who can basically just dunk and thus far this year isn't rebounding or defending particularly well (though I would expect both of those to increase as he gets healthier).

The surgery was elective, and from what I've gathered it was pretty much due to the major logjam that the Sixers had. The Sixers wanted him to do it to provide them more time to evaluate Embiid and Okafor at the beginning of the season, and he kind of just went along with it.

And it's hard to evaluate Noel's true injury history. Yes, he tore his ACL in college, but that's seemingly never been a problem for him in the pros. He played 75 games his rookie year, and last year he played 67. However, with how the Sixers have blatantly embraced tanking in his tenure, along with the issue of the logjam last year and this year, there's no telling how many of those games he was held out of in order to tank. Hell, that's exactly what happened in his "real" rookie year. He could've came back several months before the end of the season, but the Sixers didn't want to win any extra games or chance him injuring himself again.

I think his injury history is largely overblown. He'd easily be the most athletic big we've had in a long while.

If he got around 16-18 for four years, which seems about right for his value right now, wouldn't you prefer that to a four year deal of around 24-25 for an aging Milsap, whose game will certainly not age all that gracefully?

At those dollars, I'd rather have the known than the unknown assuming Millsap is a 3 year deal to match up with Horford.  I think everyone believes Noel can be a Deandre Jordan type player (he isn't the rebounder but could be a better defender), but he is no where near that level of player right now and may never get there.  You know what you get in Millsap and that is a guy that does everything well.  Not elite at anything, but very good at everything.  Neither is a franchise player, but at least with Millsap you get a proven all star track record on a guy that can actually play on both ends of the floor. 

If you are talking about a trade and Noel is something like Zeller and a lesser asset (like Rozier, Bos 2018 1st, etc.) then it might make more value sense to trade for Noel then to trade for Millsap who would cost more assets since neither would make Boston a real threat to a healthy Cavs or Warriors.   But as a free agent, I'd much rather sign Millsap if those are the dollars in play for each guy.

Tyson Chandler would be a better comp. Not sure where you got Jordan from. Anyways, I've watched Noel play and he is an elite defender. Jordan is actually pretty overrated on defense and it is a reason why he hasn't won DOP. I think Noel actually has the potential to do it because he can guard any position.

[Moranis]

I'd much rather pay Millsap than Noel given Noel's injury history, off court issues, and his seemingly never ending comments about how unhappy he is.  Remember this a guy that is a free agent this summer and has played in just 8 games averaging less than 12 mpg thus far this year.  This after missing 15 games last year.  His rebounding rate is way down, though it is such a small sample it is hard to put much faith in it. 

That said, Noel will likely come cheaper than Millsap and thus there may be more value to the team in acquiring him as opposed to paying more to acquire Millsap.  But make no mistake Noel is a horrid offensive player who can basically just dunk and thus far this year isn't rebounding or defending particularly well (though I would expect both of those to increase as he gets healthier).

The surgery was elective, and from what I've gathered it was pretty much due to the major logjam that the Sixers had. The Sixers wanted him to do it to provide them more time to evaluate Embiid and Okafor at the beginning of the season, and he kind of just went along with it.

And it's hard to evaluate Noel's true injury history. Yes, he tore his ACL in college, but that's seemingly never been a problem for him in the pros. He played 75 games his rookie year, and last year he played 67. However, with how the Sixers have blatantly embraced tanking in his tenure, along with the issue of the logjam last year and this year, there's no telling how many of those games he was held out of in order to tank. Hell, that's exactly what happened in his "real" rookie year. He could've came back several months before the end of the season, but the Sixers didn't want to win any extra games or chance him injuring himself again.

I think his injury history is largely overblown. He'd easily be the most athletic big we've had in a long while.

If he got around 16-18 for four years, which seems about right for his value right now, wouldn't you prefer that to a four year deal of around 24-25 for an aging Milsap, whose game will certainly not age all that gracefully?

At those dollars, I'd rather have the known than the unknown assuming Millsap is a 3 year deal to match up with Horford.  I think everyone believes Noel can be a Deandre Jordan type player (he isn't the rebounder but could be a better defender), but he is no where near that level of player right now and may never get there.  You know what you get in Millsap and that is a guy that does everything well.  Not elite at anything, but very good at everything.  Neither is a franchise player, but at least with Millsap you get a proven all star track record on a guy that can actually play on both ends of the floor. 

If you are talking about a trade and Noel is something like Zeller and a lesser asset (like Rozier, Bos 2018 1st, etc.) then it might make more value sense to trade for Noel then to trade for Millsap who would cost more assets since neither would make Boston a real threat to a healthy Cavs or Warriors.   But as a free agent, I'd much rather sign Millsap if those are the dollars in play for each guy.

Tyson Chandler would be a better comp. Not sure where you got Jordan from. Anyways, I've watched Noel play and he is an elite defender. Jordan is actually pretty overrated on defense and it is a reason why he hasn't won DOP. I think Noel actually has the potential to do it because he can guard any position.

Noel is a more dynamic athlete than Chandler ever was.  Much closer to Jordan in that regard.  Noel is also much closer to Jordan in shot blocking and steal generation ability than he is to Chandler who was no where near Jordan in either of those stats at his peak.  Noel and Chandler are closer offensively though. 

[Evantime34]

I'd much rather pay Millsap than Noel given Noel's injury history, off court issues, and his seemingly never ending comments about how unhappy he is.  Remember this a guy that is a free agent this summer and has played in just 8 games averaging less than 12 mpg thus far this year.  This after missing 15 games last year.  His rebounding rate is way down, though it is such a small sample it is hard to put much faith in it. 

That said, Noel will likely come cheaper than Millsap and thus there may be more value to the team in acquiring him as opposed to paying more to acquire Millsap.  But make no mistake Noel is a horrid offensive player who can basically just dunk and thus far this year isn't rebounding or defending particularly well (though I would expect both of those to increase as he gets healthier).

The surgery was elective, and from what I've gathered it was pretty much due to the major logjam that the Sixers had. The Sixers wanted him to do it to provide them more time to evaluate Embiid and Okafor at the beginning of the season, and he kind of just went along with it.

And it's hard to evaluate Noel's true injury history. Yes, he tore his ACL in college, but that's seemingly never been a problem for him in the pros. He played 75 games his rookie year, and last year he played 67. However, with how the Sixers have blatantly embraced tanking in his tenure, along with the issue of the logjam last year and this year, there's no telling how many of those games he was held out of in order to tank. Hell, that's exactly what happened in his "real" rookie year. He could've came back several months before the end of the season, but the Sixers didn't want to win any extra games or chance him injuring himself again.

I think his injury history is largely overblown. He'd easily be the most athletic big we've had in a long while.

If he got around 16-18 for four years, which seems about right for his value right now, wouldn't you prefer that to a four year deal of around 24-25 for an aging Milsap, whose game will certainly not age all that gracefully?

At those dollars, I'd rather have the known than the unknown assuming Millsap is a 3 year deal to match up with Horford.  I think everyone believes Noel can be a Deandre Jordan type player (he isn't the rebounder but could be a better defender), but he is no where near that level of player right now and may never get there.  You know what you get in Millsap and that is a guy that does everything well.  Not elite at anything, but very good at everything.  Neither is a franchise player, but at least with Millsap you get a proven all star track record on a guy that can actually play on both ends of the floor. 

If you are talking about a trade and Noel is something like Zeller and a lesser asset (like Rozier, Bos 2018 1st, etc.) then it might make more value sense to trade for Noel then to trade for Millsap who would cost more assets since neither would make Boston a real threat to a healthy Cavs or Warriors.   But as a free agent, I'd much rather sign Millsap if those are the dollars in play for each guy.

Agree with this, I'd rather have Millsap at what he going to get this summer (I think he gets the max but for 3 years or less), than Noel at what he will get.

Millsap moves us to the 2 seed this year, and is a great mentor to have for our young draft picks. I think his game will age well because his positional defense is excellent, he rebounds by boxing out rather than out jumping people, he can shoot and he's a heady player.

Having elite prospects come up behind IT, Bradley, Crowder, Millsap and Crowder allows us to win now and develop our top 5 picks in a winning environment.

[tankcity!]

I'd much rather pay Millsap than Noel given Noel's injury history, off court issues, and his seemingly never ending comments about how unhappy he is.  Remember this a guy that is a free agent this summer and has played in just 8 games averaging less than 12 mpg thus far this year.  This after missing 15 games last year.  His rebounding rate is way down, though it is such a small sample it is hard to put much faith in it. 

That said, Noel will likely come cheaper than Millsap and thus there may be more value to the team in acquiring him as opposed to paying more to acquire Millsap.  But make no mistake Noel is a horrid offensive player who can basically just dunk and thus far this year isn't rebounding or defending particularly well (though I would expect both of those to increase as he gets healthier).

The surgery was elective, and from what I've gathered it was pretty much due to the major logjam that the Sixers had. The Sixers wanted him to do it to provide them more time to evaluate Embiid and Okafor at the beginning of the season, and he kind of just went along with it.

And it's hard to evaluate Noel's true injury history. Yes, he tore his ACL in college, but that's seemingly never been a problem for him in the pros. He played 75 games his rookie year, and last year he played 67. However, with how the Sixers have blatantly embraced tanking in his tenure, along with the issue of the logjam last year and this year, there's no telling how many of those games he was held out of in order to tank. Hell, that's exactly what happened in his "real" rookie year. He could've came back several months before the end of the season, but the Sixers didn't want to win any extra games or chance him injuring himself again.

I think his injury history is largely overblown. He'd easily be the most athletic big we've had in a long while.

If he got around 16-18 for four years, which seems about right for his value right now, wouldn't you prefer that to a four year deal of around 24-25 for an aging Milsap, whose game will certainly not age all that gracefully?

At those dollars, I'd rather have the known than the unknown assuming Millsap is a 3 year deal to match up with Horford.  I think everyone believes Noel can be a Deandre Jordan type player (he isn't the rebounder but could be a better defender), but he is no where near that level of player right now and may never get there.  You know what you get in Millsap and that is a guy that does everything well.  Not elite at anything, but very good at everything.  Neither is a franchise player, but at least with Millsap you get a proven all star track record on a guy that can actually play on both ends of the floor. 

If you are talking about a trade and Noel is something like Zeller and a lesser asset (like Rozier, Bos 2018 1st, etc.) then it might make more value sense to trade for Noel then to trade for Millsap who would cost more assets since neither would make Boston a real threat to a healthy Cavs or Warriors.   But as a free agent, I'd much rather sign Millsap if those are the dollars in play for each guy.

Agree with this, I'd rather have Millsap at what he going to get this summer (I think he gets the max but for 3 years or less), than Noel at what he will get.

Millsap moves us to the 2 seed this year, and is a great mentor to have for our young draft picks. I think his game will age well because his positional defense is excellent, he rebounds by boxing out rather than out jumping people, he can shoot and he's a heady player.

Having elite prospects come up behind IT, Bradley, Crowder, Millsap and Crowder allows us to win now and develop our top 5 picks in a winning environment.

He will definitely get the max. I'm happy you agree. Because lets be honest, the Nets will offer him the max at worst case, so there will be another viable team that will offer it as well most likely.

However, I'm sorry but I wouldn't pay him the max. I'd rather pay Noel at a cheaper price. Milsap can no longer shoot. I don't think you are taking his decline into account. He is a much different player than Horford who is less reliant on athleticism. 

[tankcity!]

I'd much rather pay Millsap than Noel given Noel's injury history, off court issues, and his seemingly never ending comments about how unhappy he is.  Remember this a guy that is a free agent this summer and has played in just 8 games averaging less than 12 mpg thus far this year.  This after missing 15 games last year.  His rebounding rate is way down, though it is such a small sample it is hard to put much faith in it. 

That said, Noel will likely come cheaper than Millsap and thus there may be more value to the team in acquiring him as opposed to paying more to acquire Millsap.  But make no mistake Noel is a horrid offensive player who can basically just dunk and thus far this year isn't rebounding or defending particularly well (though I would expect both of those to increase as he gets healthier).

The surgery was elective, and from what I've gathered it was pretty much due to the major logjam that the Sixers had. The Sixers wanted him to do it to provide them more time to evaluate Embiid and Okafor at the beginning of the season, and he kind of just went along with it.

And it's hard to evaluate Noel's true injury history. Yes, he tore his ACL in college, but that's seemingly never been a problem for him in the pros. He played 75 games his rookie year, and last year he played 67. However, with how the Sixers have blatantly embraced tanking in his tenure, along with the issue of the logjam last year and this year, there's no telling how many of those games he was held out of in order to tank. Hell, that's exactly what happened in his "real" rookie year. He could've came back several months before the end of the season, but the Sixers didn't want to win any extra games or chance him injuring himself again.

I think his injury history is largely overblown. He'd easily be the most athletic big we've had in a long while.

If he got around 16-18 for four years, which seems about right for his value right now, wouldn't you prefer that to a four year deal of around 24-25 for an aging Milsap, whose game will certainly not age all that gracefully?

At those dollars, I'd rather have the known than the unknown assuming Millsap is a 3 year deal to match up with Horford.  I think everyone believes Noel can be a Deandre Jordan type player (he isn't the rebounder but could be a better defender), but he is no where near that level of player right now and may never get there.  You know what you get in Millsap and that is a guy that does everything well.  Not elite at anything, but very good at everything.  Neither is a franchise player, but at least with Millsap you get a proven all star track record on a guy that can actually play on both ends of the floor. 

If you are talking about a trade and Noel is something like Zeller and a lesser asset (like Rozier, Bos 2018 1st, etc.) then it might make more value sense to trade for Noel then to trade for Millsap who would cost more assets since neither would make Boston a real threat to a healthy Cavs or Warriors.   But as a free agent, I'd much rather sign Millsap if those are the dollars in play for each guy.

Tyson Chandler would be a better comp. Not sure where you got Jordan from. Anyways, I've watched Noel play and he is an elite defender. Jordan is actually pretty overrated on defense and it is a reason why he hasn't won DOP. I think Noel actually has the potential to do it because he can guard any position.

Noel is a more dynamic athlete than Chandler ever was.  Much closer to Jordan in that regard.  Noel is also much closer to Jordan in shot blocking and steal generation ability than he is to Chandler who was no where near Jordan in either of those stats at his peak.  Noel and Chandler are closer offensively though.

Disagree. IMO Noel and Chandler are simlar athletes. I know it's been a while, but I would check young Chandler highlights out. Also, I don't think Noel nor Chandler are in the same stratosphere in terms of athleticism when compared to DeAndre Jordan. He's a freak imo. You can't use block shots to compare athleticism. Camby was an elite shot blocker as well. It doesn't take athleticism to block shots.

[nickagneta]

I have always thought Nerlen's game and body type resembled Marcus Camby more than anyone else

[Moranis]

I have always thought Nerlen's game and body type resembled Marcus Camby more than anyone else

That is a good comparison.  Lanky, good quickness, but not a super athlete (though athletic enough). 

[tankcity!]

I have always thought Nerlen's game and body type resembled Marcus Camby more than anyone else

That is a good comparison.  Lanky, good quickness, but not a super athlete (though athletic enough).

You compared him to Jordan in an earlier post though?

[moiso]

I have always thought Nerlen's game and body type resembled Marcus Camby more than anyone else

That is a good comparison.  Lanky, good quickness, but not a super athlete (though athletic enough).

what?  He's a freak athlete that doesn't know how to play basketball.

[Bobshot]

I'm coming around to thinking Ainge will make a cheap fix right now with Bogut, and then go for a bigger fish in free agency. He figures he has a shot at Millsap and Noel then without giving up those Nets picks. This assumes that Cousins stays put. I don't see him trading those Nets picks unless it's for Cousins. Doubt George or Westbrook are on the market. This could change if Noel becomes available right now for cheaper. But I would guess any trade would involve Bogut for an Olynyk or Zeller.

[greece66]

Since the comparison with Camby was made, here are the metrics.

[Moranis]

I have always thought Nerlen's game and body type resembled Marcus Camby more than anyone else

That is a good comparison.  Lanky, good quickness, but not a super athlete (though athletic enough).

You compared him to Jordan in an earlier post though?

Camby and Jordan have very similar physical measurements.  Jordan is more athletic than Camby was, but physically they were pretty similar.  Noel is physically similar to each of them and athletically is probably somewhere between them.  Chandler is less physically similar.  A tall thin guy, but the other measurements aren't quite there.

here is part of a draftexpress overview for one of the four centers being discussed.

Overview: A long, athletic center who is a productive defender, an outstanding rebounder and a just-decent offensive player. Has a huge wingspan and good height for a center, but is extremely lanky. Very fluid for a five, but not super quick or explosive. Relies more on his incredible length and timing more so than freakish athleticism. Shows very good lateral quickness, but doesn’t have the bulk to dominate the block. Has some decent offensive tools. Uses his athleticism to find some easy opportunities. Not a horrible outside shooter, especially for a center. Can finish at the rim, but not efficiently. One of the best shot blockers in the game. Rebounds at an extremely high rate.

[Celtics4ever]

just-decent offensive player

Just decent offensive player may be a stretch.   The kid knows what he is not though and seems to play within his game and does not take a lot of shots he can't make often.

[flybono]

No