The Philadelphia 76ers have the first pick in this year's NBA Draft and there have been rumors that some teams would be willing to trade up for the pick and that the 76ers would be open to moving down so they have less options available to them —- making them less likely to screw up their decision.
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However, it seems that the 76ers are more interested in dealing one of their promising young big men so that they can acquire a real NBA starter at the point guard rather than Ish Smith who has bounced around from team to team and even spent some time in the D-League. The 76ers are hoping to acquire a former All-Star who had a rough season in 2015-16.
Atlanta and Philadelphia are discussing a deal centered on a Jeff Teague and Nerlens Noel package, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 2, 2016
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The Hawks may be in need of Noel's services if Al Horford were to bolt in free agency this summer and it would give them a strong defensive presence they've lacked recently. Noel has averaged 10.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in his two seasons since being drafted by the 76ers in 2013 (he lost out on his rookie year with an injury). Teague averaged 15.7 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds this past season while shooting a career-high 40 percent from beyond the arc, but a paltry 43.9 percent from the floor overall.
This is the first real movement we've had on the Jeff Teague front since the trade deadline and while Teague would be a good upgrade, he is not exactly a fantastic point guard. But he should be good enough to get the Sixers more than 10 wins this season playing alongside Jahlil Okafor and some of the other young talent on that roster.
