Philadelphia 76ers prefer to keep Jahlil Okafor over Nerlens Noel

The Philadelphia 76ers, a young team that is still searching its identity, would prefer to keep Jahlil Okafor and trade Nerlens Noel, according to several reports.

The Sixers have a loaded frontcourt, which includes Joel Embiid, No.1 draft pick Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Okafor and Noel. With Simmons and Noel, who are nursing injuries, expected to join the team in the near future, the Sixers front office would have to make some tough calls which could affect the immediate future of the franchise.

According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the team has no intention to trade Okafor, a player they drafted No.3 overall during the 2015 Draft. However, they remain open to trading Noel.

Prior to the season, Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo openly admitted that the team had too many frontcourt options and would be forced to trade either Noel or Okafor, if not both, to avoid a rotational crisis.

The Boston Celtics, according to earlier reports, nearly acquired Okafor as part of a trade that would have sent the No.3 pick to Philadelphia ahead of June's draft. However, that potential trade was put off at the very last second and the Celtics proceeded to draft athletic forward Jaylen Brown with the No.3 pick.

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Jahlil Okafor, a backup to Joel Embiid...

Okafor, who entered the league as a NCAA champion, has been used as Embiid's backup centre by coach Brett Brown. This season, the Duke standout is averaging just 19.9 minutes per game for his 10.8 points and 3.5 rebounds. Last season, Okafor made the All-Rookie First Team after averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds from 30 minutes per game.

With Embiid finally making his NBA debut after missing his first two seasons with various injuries, Okafor has been relegated to a bench role, starting only three out of 13 games thus far. The Sixers have been cautious with Embiid's minutes, avoiding back-to-back games for the former Kansas star.

Clearly, Okafor has the potential to be a starting-calibre centre in the league. But it seems like he is destined to be a backup to Embiid unless coach Brown finds a way to accommodate both bigs in the starting lineup.

Noel, on the other hand, hasn't minced his words about the Sixers' frontcourt logjam.

At this stage, its almost a foregone conclusion that Sixers would trade either Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel ahead of February's deadline. They are expected to try and trade for a point guard since it's the position they lack depth in.