Colangelo: 'Probably One' Of Three Big Men Has To Go
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Noel, and Okafor, and Embiid. Oh my.
The Philadelphia 76ers understand -- with Nerlens Noel (6'11"), Jahlil Okafor (6'11"), and Joel Embiid (7'1") -- they have a log-jam in their front-court. In an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Sixers general Bryan Colangelo admitted he is not comfortable with the team's roster construction and one of those three bigs will "probably" be traded at some point.
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"I think what we are comfortable doing is saying we're not gonna make a bad deal just to make a deal," Colangelo explained. "So when I say in a playful way I'm not comfortable, I think we can be a better basketball team if we could distribute that talent better, and maybe take one of those assets and address other needs on the roster. But I think right now, it's best to say we like all of them. We want to see if we can make the most out of each of them in terms of their contributions to this team. But at the end of the day, the reality says probably one has to go at some point. But only if the deal is right."
Earlier in the week, reports indicated that Okafor was "upset" with trade rumors. Okafor, however, took to Twitter to deny said report and Colangelo defended his second-year center from Duke.
"I blasted the same guy [reporter] because I was a little concerned about these unknown sources that are saying we're out shopping him," Colangelo said. "It's completely untrue and I would tell you that we have to listen. It's part of my job. I have to make this roster better, I have to make this basketball team better. But to classify it or characterize it as shopping him, that's not the case at all."
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In fact, Colangelo says, the reality of the situation is other teams are clamoring for one of the young, talented Sixer bigs.
"We've got to figure out what we're going to do with everybody," said Colangelo, "and when you look at the calls that are coming in, quite frankly, everyone's trying to poach a big man from us."
