Where should Nerlens Noel rank among starting Centers? (Locked On Mavericks)

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On today’s episode of the Locked On Mavericks Podcast, Isaac and I rank every starting center in the NBA. These rankings are our opinion of how Cs will stack up next season. We did not include salary or age (to a degree) into our rankings.

The names in bold are the ones where we have agreement.

Through the first 11 players Issac and I had the same names entirely different order but the upper class of this position group is intriguing. Several names on this list have extremely high upside especially if we’re just looking at a single season (we are, next season). Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Jokic, Myles Turner, and especially Joel Embiid could potentially be All-Stars.

Nerlens Noel came in at #12 for Isaac and #15 for me but that range of players is very close. One question we normally ask on the podcast is how high could the Maverick potentially rank at the end of the season. It would be really hard for Noel to push into that Top 10. Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, or Turner would have to really fall off for that to happen. However, Noel has upside that most players don’t he could average two steals and two blocks per game next season and say what you want about counting stats but that list is short. Only three players have done it in NBA History: Hakeem Olajuwon (4x), David Robinson, and Gerald Wallace(?). That’s insane, but possible.

The rest of this list was very difficult. One player that caught our attention was NBA Champion Tyson Chandler. After Noel signed for the Qualifying Offer and cleared up some cap space we suggested that the best thing to do with it would be to trade for Chandler. (More on that later)...

Nick Angstadt (Mavs Moneyball) and Isaac Harris (Smoking Cuban) bring you the Locked On Mavericks Podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

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(We just can’t let the Warriors win more things…)