Brown considers having Noel, Okafor swap positions

CHARLOTTE – Brett Brown is thinking about pulling Jahlil Okafor out to power forward to take advantage of his shooting touch from the elbow on a regular basis. That would enable Nerlens Noel to slide back to center and be more of the rim protector 76ers fans saw last season.

"It's not even borne out losing," said Brown, the Sixers coach. "It's borne out of just having an opportunity to watch these guys play more and more."

Okafor was unable to showcase most of his offensive skill set in the preseason due to missing 60 percent of the preseason games.  So naturally, the Sixers believed the 6-11, 265-pounder was better suited as a back-to-the-basket center.

Meanwhile, the thought was that the athletic Noel was more equipped to make the move to power forward. However, the move took  away from the traditional center's shot-blocking.

"When you have this new group and you're trying to let those two guys co-exist, there's a lot of moving parts that we can learn from," Brown said. "It's a challenge, but that's my job."

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers