5 NBA players who were saved at the trade deadline

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Mar 5, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward center Nerlens Noel (3) heads to the bench during a timeout against the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Nerlens Noel

The 76ers selected Noel with the No. 6 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. A knee injury had depressed Noel’s draft stock and ultimately kept him off the court for his entire rookie season. That summer, the 76ers selected Joel Embiid, followed by drafting Jahlil Okafor in the 2015 Draft. Over the past two seasons, Noel had found himself marginalized trying to complement Embiid and then Noel, as he played power forward instead of his natural center position. He was saved when the 76ers shipped him to Dallas for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, and a heavily protected 2017 first round pick.

The Mavericks found their center of the future in Noel. In Noel’s first start, he made his impact felt in a 104-100 win over the Memphis Grizzles, scoring 15 points, to go with a career-high-tying 17 rebounds. In the Mavericks’ last 10 games, Noel averaged 10.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, on 61 percent shooting, while Dallas has gone 10-4. The Mavericks recovered from a 8-27 start, and are still two-and-a-half games behind Denver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The future is suddenly bright for Dallas and for Noel.

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