NBA Free Agency Watch: In A Surprise Turn, Nerlens Noel Is Joining The Thunder

Now this is certainly a surprise. Of all the teams we heard Nerlens Noel rumored to join, I can’t say I heard too much about the Thunder. In my opinion the player option in Year 2 is probably what sold him, even if he doesn’t start right away. This is basically Noel’s third chance to prove he can be a legit big man in this league, and if he’s healthy he should thrive there. At just 24 he can be a key defensive presence in a lineup that could feature Westbrook/Roberson/George/Noel/Adams which is pretty damn legit if you ask me. Now we’ll have to see if he is willing to come off the bench, and a lot of that I think has to do with what OKC ends up doing with Melo in regards to stretching him, but overall I like this signing for all parties involved.

Noel has never been a player that needs the ball to be effective, and if he can play well in P&R, defend and protect the rim, Thunder fans will love him. If he proves to once again be disinterested and doesn’t pan out, it’s probably a death wish for his NBA career. The Thunder are one of the more stable franchises in the league, and Billy Donovan will give him every opportunity to succeed and get a bigger contract once he hits the market again at 26. Remember this organization did a great job at developing Steven Adams into the beast we see today, so my guess is their culture and system will have similar success here.

For a team that was already expensive as hell this certainly doesn’t help their financial situation, but until we actually see what he signed for it’s hard to say if it’s worth it. Personally I think anytime you can tap into a high potential player who isn’t even 25 you roll the dice, so I hope it works out for the MA native.

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