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The NBA trade deadline continues to count down and Nerlens Noel is still with the Philadelphia 76ers. The heat on a potential Noel trade has somehow died down though anything can still happen in the coming weeks. Knowing that the Sixers need backcourt help fast, dealing for C.J. McCollum could be a sensible move for the parties involved.

Nerlens Noel has shown what he can do when given the chance to play. They have won 6 of their last 10 games which is a good sign. But the fact that they are still in the tail-end of the NBA Eastern Conference standings means that head coach Brett Brown and general manager Bryan Colangelo will have to render some tweaks soon. Despite showing what he can do, Noel’s stay with the Sixers is not secure, CBS Sports reported.

An NBA trade could happen before February and now various names have cropped up. Of the possible NBA players that the Sixers would be targeting, the guard position is what they need to seriously beef up. Ricky Rubio, someone who the Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly trying to deal before the February deadline (per Yahoo Sports) could be a good catch.

But the problem here is that the T-Wolves don’t need another big man, having their own crowded frontline as well. A third conduit team could come in, possibly the one where Noel ends up. If not Rubio, C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers for Noel makes sense. The Blazers could use a talented big man in the mix though it remains to be seen of the club is ready to give up one of their best guards to do so.

There is no question that McCollum can satisfy the backcourt woes of the Sixers. He can hit it from outside and comes filled with lots of offensive options. There is no indication for now that the Blazers are planning to shop McCollum so it would be best to take this as a grain of salt for now.