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Cleveland Cavaliers: Proposing a Trade for Nerlens Noel- Birdman’s Replacement

By Nathan Beighle

Nov 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives past Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. The Cavaliers won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives past Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. The Cavaliers won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Cavaliers are at a need for a backup defensive big after the Chris Andersen injury, and Nerlens Noel could be their perfect target.

First Chris Andersen went down, and then just last Tuesday, J.R. Smith went down. These injuries will have the fans and critics wondering if a trade could be on the horizon, and a probably candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers is the 76ers center Nerlens Noel.

According to the Washington Posts’ Tim Bontemps the situation in Philly will only get worse from here:

“But the problem with Philadelphia’s logic here is thinking that the value for any of their players in this situation – and, specifically, for Noel and Jahlil Okafor, the two available bigs on the roster – is going to increase the longer they keep them around. If anything, the events of the past few days are an indication it’s only going to get worse from here.”

Chris “Birdman” Andersen was not a huge role in the Cavaliers daily gameplay, but his ability to rebound and defend the rim adequately will be missed. That is where talks about Nerlens Noel should be inserted.

Noel’s best asset is his rim protection. The Cavaliers are fourteenth in the league in opponents points in the paint giving up 42.0 per game. Without a true rim protector, this number is outstanding, but just imaging the defensive benefits a player with Noel’s ability would bring.

With that said, I drafted together a possible trade, ran it through the trade machine, and will explain why each side would take it.