Portland Trail Blazers: Is Nerlens Noel a perfect fit?

The Portland Trail Blazers will probably let Hassan Whiteside walk in the offseason. Is Nerlens Noel the perfect backup big to sign to replace him?

The Portland Trail Blazers are likely to let Hassan Whiteside walk in free agency. The seven-foot big man is coming off a four-year $100 million contract, and he likely won’t want to backup Jusuf Nurkic and take a significant pay cut.

Whiteside could be a good backup, but he likely wants a starting role elsewhere, and maybe for more money.

The Blazers are likely on the hunt for a backup center now. They need someone to play between 16 and 22 minutes a night.

Nerlens Noel, who just came off two years with Oklahoma City Thunder, may be the perfect signing.

Noel is a six-foot-ten center who is still only 26. Noel has fit in well to a backup role after accepting that he won’t be a starting center or strong starter in the NBA. Originally a high lottery pick in the 2013 draft, Noel is now a rim-running defensive big.

He averaged around 16 minutes a game for the Thunder, but if he was on the Blazers, he could increase this slightly with the type of defensive systems that Terry Stotts runs.

Noel is a great finisher at the rim but is quite limited offensively outside of that. He doesn’t shoot, but he is athletic and draws fouls well. He is great at catching lobs, and his 84 percent at the rim was in the 99th percentile in the 2019/20 season.

Because of his almost seven-foot-four wingspan and big hands, Noel envelopes balls around the rim on both ends. He is a great offensive rebounder and decent screener as well. Noel is also an underrated passer; he can hit cutters from time to time and has good vision.

Defensively, he is one of the best bigs when it comes to forcing turnovers and getting deflections. He has finished in the 93rd percentile or higher in steal percentage every year of his seven years in the league.

He is an excellent shot blocker and has sound positioning as a rim protector, but he does have a penchant for fouling too often. There is no reason, though, that he can’t tidy up this habit on another team. He moves his feet well, and though he will never be able to be a plus defender on the perimeter, he can continue to improve with the physical tools he possesses.

He may never be able to stretch his range out to three, but he did take more mid-range shots in the last season, shooting around 39 percent on them, a respectable mark for a center.

Noel may not be required on the Thunder next season. If he chooses not to go back there, I would like the Blazers to offer him around the minimum or maybe a bit more. He is a completely different center to Nurkic as a pure rim runner and energy big.

He could change the Blazers attack as a roll and lob threat. I would potentially offer a two-year five million deal if that were what it took to secure his services.