NBA trade rumors: Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor? Who should the Sixers trade?

Right now, Nerlens Noel is the player most likely to be moved before the trade deadline in February. He's clearly frustrated with the lack of playing time and things took a turn for the worse when Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown revealed that he's out of the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Is trading away Noel really the answer to the Sixer's problems? Probably not. A lot of people believe that Noel fits better with Joel Embiid in the frontcourt because they can complement each other's skill sets. Jahlil Okafor may be a good low post player, but he's not very good defensively and he's not particularly a strong rebounder either.

Embiid has also mentioned that Noel is his best friend on the team, so if the Sixers want to keep their franchise center happy, perhaps they should look for other options. That means the team may also look for a trade partner for Okafor.

But Philly.com's Keith Pompey correctly pointed out that the Sixers are going to have a hard time getting a player of equal value back if they do trade away Okafor. They have invested a lot in the center, and they even picked him ahead of Kristaps Porzingis in the 2015 draft.

"Assuming they do trade him, Okafor would be viewed as complete failure if the Sixers don't get a top-10 pick or a standout player in return," Pompey stated.

Reports say that the Los Angeles Lakers may be willing to acquire Okafor. While he is undoubtedly a better offensive player than Timofey gov, the move is not going to help the Lakers defensively at all. They have already one of the worse defensive teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) right now.

Some fans blame former general manager Sam Hinkie for the current logjam at center because he drafted Noel, Embiid, and Okafor in three straight years, but it should be noted that he was looking to pick the best talent available on those drafts regardless of position.