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76ers' Noel 'definitely satisfied' with role after tough start to season

USA Today Sports

It wasn't that long ago that the young center Nerlens Noel's future in the City of Brotherly Love looked extremely bleak. A left knee injury sidelined him for the first 23 games of the regular season, and his minutes got cut down to basically nothing upon his return.

What's become evident over the past six games, though, is that Noel's worked his way into a role that benefits both him and the Philadelphia 76ers, functioning as the primary backup to Joel Embiid in the frontcourt (albeit at the expense of Jahlil Okafor).

The former Kentucky standout is feeling better about his standing within the organization, especially after it felt inevitable that he would be moved out of town.

"At this moment in time, I'm definitely satisfied with where I'm at and the team's rotation," Noel said, according to Philly.com's Keith Pompey. "I think I'm able to go out there and still affect the game, change the game in multiple ways. ...

"You now see how comfortable I can feel throughout the duration of the season, being at the place that I am at. So, right now, I feel pretty good. So we will just have to see."

During this recent stretch, the 22-year-old has averaged 10.8 points on 60.9 percent shooting, along with 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 rejections in 20.5 minutes per outing. The team even found itself moving past the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standings in the process, having won four of its last six games.

"This probably has been the closest team I've been on since I've been a Sixer," he said. "So I think that definitely speaks for itself."

Philadelphia has the option of extending Noel a qualifying offer of $5.8 million this summer to make him a restricted free agent, provided they don't trade him before the Feb. 23 deadline.

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