Nerlens Noel: Worth the Risk?

[Crosby_Cavs]

I really hope he will be Cavalier, but for now? 4pick? No way. He will be Top2, max Top3.

 

[The Oi]

Qaws...

Exactly what are you basing your posts off of? Seems like a bunch of made-up subjective opinions to me. There is zero basis for what you're saying other than sheer guesses. The guy just .had surgery a month ago.

 

[Derek]

Not sure how someone can say Noel was a complete letdown when he was healthy. Before the knee injury he was on his way to being the undisputed consensus #1 pick. He was far from a one dimensional shot blocker and his shot blocking did strike fear into his opponents contrary to what qaws said.

 

[Adam]

I really worry about the combination of lack of strength and the knee injury. Tyson chandler was a bean pole at the same age so im sure he can fill out, but all the knocks he will take in the process might increase his re-injury risk

 

[BankShot]

If you win the lottery, you gotta take him...if you don't win the lottery, you move on to Len, personally, I hope that we don't win the lottery

 

[Mdog1]

Nobody with two major knee injuries is worth the risk. My doctor told me three ligament repairs, and the fourth the knee gets replaced. Noel is half way there.

 

[Mdog1]

If you win the lottery, you gotta take him...if you don't win the lottery, you move on to Len, personally, I hope that we don't win the lottery

You win the lottery you trade that pick. What a shitty situation it would be to win the lotto this year.

 

[Derek]

Nobody with two major knee injuries is worth the risk. My doctor told me three ligament repairs, and the fourth the knee gets replaced. Noel is half way there.

He's only had 1 ligament repair though. The growth plate injury wasn't really major, it's only a problem if it didn't heal correctly.

I feel like there's a lot of misinformation about Noel's injury history. I've seen multiple people that think he's torn the same ACL twice.

 

[Mdog1]

He's only had 1 ligament repair though. The growth plate injury wasn't really major, it's only a problem if it didn't heal correctly.

I feel like there's a lot of misinformation about Noel's injury history. I've seen multiple people that think he's torn the same ACL twice.

I just assumed it was two ACL tears. A growth plate injury is pretty scary though.

 

[Soar]

It would be a really tough position for the Cavs to be in if Noel were on the board. His success or failure would heavily dictate the ceiling of this team. It would be tough for the Cavs to overcome if he had an injury plagued a career like Oden. If we can get the Lakers pick, I would be more in favor of taking Noel. Having something like the 15th pick and the 32,34 picks would allow us to add talent and depth in this class in case Noel doesn't work out.

As someone else mentioned, I see Noel as more of a PF with the ability to play some center. Its hard to envision Noel and Thompson starting together. We would have to have a Thunder esque 1-3 and even then I wouldn't be convinced of the pairing. Zeller really needs to step up this offseason. He might end up as our starting center with Noel in the fold.

All in all I think I still prefer Len. He is more of a true center, lacks injury concerns, and fits extremely well with the pieces already on the team. Noel feels like a better Tristan Thompson. I think Len and Thompson together is more likely to maximize the skill sets of both players.

 

[bigdog]

This draft has only one game changer on either side of the court and Noel is that guy defensively. With how abysmal we've been, especially in the post. I'd welcome Noel with open arms. (Don't consider McLemore a game changer, too inconsistent)

Offensively right now all we need is him to be competent, he's going to be the last option and more of a garbage man than anything especially on offense in Scott's offense as the shots will be dominated by Uncle Drew and Waiters.

 

[Nathan S]

I just assumed it was two ACL tears. A growth plate injury is pretty scary though.

I asked my knee surgeon friend about this issue; here's our conversation:

Me: what do you think about Nerlens Noel's knee? people are saying he'll be vulnerable to acl tears because he broke his growth plate in high school
Friend: Well that has no bearing once it is fused I'd agree if he were still like 14 or 15
Me: ah, ok
Friend: But that growth plate has to be closed or very close to it by now
Friend: then the tibia just becomes a rock
Friend: his new ACL will literally be screwed into place and 9 mo. from now when those screws become bone tissue, that plate will be fused with almost 100 percent certainty
Me: so, hypothetically, if he were 15 and had a growth plate injury and then tore his acl, it would be tricky to re-attach it?
Friend: It would be tricky, but any orthopedic dude worth his salt could do it with no sacrifice to the growth plate
Me: oh, and it wouldn't be any weaker long-term?
Friend: 6 mo. Out with vigorous physical therapy and this patient compared to one where the plate was fused will be virtually identical in terms of the tension that ACL can withstand
Me: so it doesn't make sense to say "maybe his growth plate healed badly and now he's going to be at risk for knee problems forever"?
Friend: No, i don't think so because 1) if his growth plate healed badly, his growth would have been extremely stunted and he'd be a lot shorter than he is now and 2) if it did heal badly, he would have torn it already or caused knee problems already. with the information given, one just has to trust that his growth plate did in fact heal and that it is almost fused based off of the fact that he would not be able to compete at his high level and have his height if he had been exposed to bad growth plate healing in the first place

Long story short, it seems like growth plate injuries do exactly what you would expect: affect your growth. Once you're done growing and your growth plates disappear, it's literally impossible to have further complications due to a broken growth plate.

 

[Derek]

I believe the the worry about the growth plate injury was that he may have resumed activity too soon afterwards which wouldn't have allowed it to properly heal.

There were conflicting reports from different doctors at the time and the details are a little sketchy. His primary physician gave him the go-ahead, but allegedly there was another guy saying something else.

I'm confident that between Dr. Andrews being his surgeon and the pre-draft examinations we'll have a good idea what's going on with his knee but the time the draft rolls around.

 

[brooks]

He may not be ready to play by the time draft rolls around, but I think we already have a good idea about what's going on with his knee - he injured it and he's gradually getting better. As Nathan's doctor friend said, or as any other doctor will tell you, ACL injuries really aren't that big of a deal nowadays. Often times the athlete will come back with a stronger and more durable knee than he/she had originally. There would be very little chance for growth plate issues if he was still 15, let alone now that he's an adult. The only time a growth plate comes into play is if you're still growing (obviously), in which case, you fear that one leg will end up an inch or two longer than the other. I had several screws in my knee when I was younger and was warned of growth plate issues as well - nothing came of it. It's a legitimate concern, but again, odds are that it will have no affect on his recovery, especially since he's presumably done growing.

There should be absolutely no reason to pass on Noel unless we feel that a better player is available, which isn't looking to be the case.

 

[Frank Reynolds]

There should be absolutely no reason to pass on Noel unless we feel that a better player is available, which isn't looking to be the case.

We desperately need a shot blocker. It's reached critical status, his defensive impact would instantly be felt, I don't care how much he weighs. We need elite talent, we should do whatever we need to do to get our hands on him as we'll probably never be in the position to grab elite talent like that again.

I disagree with everybody saying we need to draft a Tayshaun Prince. You can find those guys in other places, getting a guy with Noel's defensive talent and potential, along with his athleticism and basketball smarts is extremely rare.

The Cavaliers need to do their due dilligence, but they should be using Noel's injured status as leverage in any kinds of negotiations to move up in the draft.

Sometimes you need to take chances. Porter's probably a great player, but we need another perennial star to put next to Kyrie. I see Porter as a Shawn Marion/Tayshaun Prince/ Shane Battier type of guy that plays the game the right way, but isn't a star really in any sense of the word....