Sixers, Noel not talking contract extension
Bryan Colangelo said Tuesday that the 76ers and Nerlens Noel have not discussed a contract extension, and this season's deadline to extend contracts in the final year of a player's rookie deal is Oct. 31.
Bryan Colangelo said Tuesday that the 76ers and Nerlens Noel have not discussed a contract extension, and this season's deadline to extend contracts in the final year of a player's rookie deal is Oct. 31.
"It's not really something that we've discussed given some of the concerns that I think Nerlens has had right now," said Colangelo, the team's president of basketball operations. "There's been very little, if any, discussion with his agents about any extension scenarios.
"But, I'll just leave it at that."
Noel said on Sept. 25 that it didn't make sense for the Sixers to have three starting-caliber centers: Noel, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor. At the time, Noel said that he wasn't asking to be traded or demanding that the Sixers trade someone else. He just wanted them to hurry up and decide how they would eliminate the overcrowding situation.
A source said Noel's representatives and the Sixers did not have serious conversations before his remarks, and it's hard to determine how much Noel's concerns factor into how the situation stands.
The former Kentucky standout is heading into the fourth and final year of his rookie deal. The Sixers can still make him a qualifying offer after the season assuming there is no extension by the end of the month. He would become a restricted free agent in that scenario, enabling the Sixers to match any free agent offer he receives next summer.
Noel would become an unrestricted free agent if the Sixers were not to offer him a qualifier. He is sidelined with a left groin strain and is not expected to play in the Oct. 26 season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Wells Fargo Center.
Noel sat out what would have been his rookie season in 2013-14 to rehabilitate an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee.
The following season, he finished third in voting for rookie of the year behind Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Andrew Wiggins and Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic.
Noel finished the season averaging 9.9 points and 1.7 assists, leading all rookies in rebounding (8.1), steals (1.77), and blocks (1.89) in 75 games. Last season, he averaged 11.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.5 blocks.
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