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NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 potential destinations for Nerlens Noel

By Paul Centopani

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 30: Nerlens Noel
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 30: Nerlens Noel /
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BROOKLYN, NY – MARCH 19: Nerlens Noel #3 of the Dallas Mavericks goes to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets on March 19, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY – MARCH 19: Nerlens Noel #3 of the Dallas Mavericks goes to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets on March 19, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

4. Brooklyn Nets

(Before you @ me, yes, I do know the Barclays Center isn’t in Bed-Stuy.)

Brooklyn has become the NBA’s real-life Island of Misfit Toys. In climbing out of their self-made abyss, the Nets absorbed bad contracts and took chances on distressed assets to restock their cache of talent and picks. It’s a clever strategy for a team that lost the majority of its draft stock in the past half decade.

Despite their best efforts, they still don’t have any definitive cornerstones. What they do have is a handful of nice players, some with the chance to be keepers. Noel would follow suit with their plan of compiling guys with the upside to pop. He’d also bolster a major deficiency the Nets have at the moment: defense.

Brooklyn finished the 2017-18 season as the league’s 25th-rated defense. Inserting Noel, even in a secondary role, would pay huge dividends for a team bereft of stoppers. If a team is going to deploy a backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin, it’s important they put strong defenders behind them. He didn’t get the nickname of “the Nerlen Wall” for nothing.

If the Nets continue their plan of throwing young, buy-low talent spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks, adding Noel to their pot would be a smart move. They have the cap space, empty roster spots, and available minutes to be an attractive landing spot for the four-year veteran. Neither side has anything to lose. Noel really should just bring back the flat top and settle into New York City’s most populous borough.

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