It feels like Nerlens Noel has been on his way out the door since Joel Embiid shattered his life in practice. As more time passes, any expectation of getting a good return for Noel has faded into oblivion, with many fans (myself included) just wanting it to happen sooner rather than later, no matter the return. But Brian Scalabrine, former Celtic and current Boston broadcaster, sees a scenario where the Sixers get more for Nerlens than we thought possible*:

Scalabrine opened the conversation by saying he had heard Thompson might be available and that the specific rumor he heard involved the Celtics. In the scenario, Scalabrine said, the Celtics would send out Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and the right for Golden State to swap first-round picks with Boston’s pick from Brooklyn. In return, they would land Thompson, with the Warriors then using the Brooklyn pick to acquire a shot-blocking center. He added on a Facebook Live segment with CSNNE’s Abby Chin that Philadelphia’s Nerlens Noel would be a player whom the Warriors would target with the pick.

There are some caveats. One is that Scal isn’t exactly Woj. Another: How likely are the Warriors to actually deal Klay Thompson, even for a rim protector they really need?

Thompson being on a trade block seems as likely as it has since the Wolves reportedly offered Kevin Love to the Warriors for Klay. And, while confusing, this trade could work.

Due to a pick swap, the Celtics can offer up the better of the two picks they have rights to (theirs and the Nets’) to another team. In that case, if somehow the Nets ended up with a better record than the Celtics, the receiving team would get the Celtics pick instead. So the Sixers would give up Nerlens and get the Nets’ first round pick this year (likely high lottery). In that scenario, with this trade going through, the Sixers could end up with three lottery picks (their own, Brooklyn’s, the Lakers if they come back down to earth) in a reportedly guard-heavy draft.

Of course, if Klay is really on the market, why not offer Noel, Covington, the Lakers pick, and your 2018 first to the Warriors? Cut out the middle man.


*There was a time where we thought Avery Bradley + a pick from Boston for Nerlens was good, fair value. We were probably wrong.