(Times staff / ERIC HARTLINE)

Nerlens Noel thinks Michael Carter-Williams can aid his development next season.

Noel, the 76ers center, is coming off a rookie season in which he missed all 82 games while rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee. Carter-Williams is fresh off a rookie campaign in which he put up the type of numbers that will likely garner a Rookie of the Year award.

Noel and Carter-Williams, a pair of Boston-area kids, played for the same AAU team in their youth, so they won’t have to develop a camaraderie. Instead, they have to pick up where they left off.

“I think Michael will definitely be able to help me as I come back,” Noel said April 17, on the team’s breakup day following its season finale. “(He’s been) just showing me a couple little things you need to be on the court experiencing.”

The biggest thing for Noel, a 6-11, 230-pounder, is to avoid feeling the pressure of having to live up to Carter-Williams’ big first season as a pro. He led all rookies in points, assists, rebounds and steals and is considered a heavy favorite to win Rookie of the Year. Carter-Williams said his season “takes pressure” off Noel.

“He’s coming in and he’s going to play his part,” Carter-Williams said of Noel. “I’m definitely going to do everything I can to help him out. A big part of his game is off his teammates, especially off me. He has to keep developing his game, I’ll help him out along the way. He’s not going to have too much pressure. He’s going to go in there, play some defense and do the things he needs to do (like) rebound the ball and score the ball. He’ll be great. He’ll be fine.”

(Christopher A. Vito)

76ers rookie Nerlens Noel is “100 percent,” he said, and while he’d be in favor of appearing in any of the team’s remaining five games, he understands the risk-reward proposition the team is facing with his health status.

Noel has devoted his season to development of his game at every level, as he has been unable to play while rehabbing from a March 2013 surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee. Sixers coach Brett Brown said Noel, who spoke to reporters following Tuesday’s practice, has participated in “a little” 5-on-5 scrimmaging with the team, as well as running plays in half-court sets.

Nonetheless, it’s not game play.

“There’s nothing like experiencing (games) first-hand,” Noel said.

While unavailable to play, Noel has been in the weight room, improving his bench-press limitations. He said he’s increased his vertical leap “by over three inches.” And Brown said Noel has put on “eight to 10 pounds.” Those are all pluses for the 19-year-old Kentucky product.

“Obviously, I do want to play. The 19-year-old in me that’s been sitting down on the sideline really wanted to get out there and show my abilities and be able to play ball,” Noel said. It’s been tough, but something I had to do. I’m definitely looking forward to playing.”

As for playing at some point this season, Noel said that has not been ruled out. His summer plans are not set in stone, either, he said, but he anticipates participating in the Sixers’ summer-league games.

If Noel has to miss the Sixers’ final five games, the next of which is Wednesday at Toronto, the 6-11 center said that would be understandable.

“Sam Hinkie is a great GM,” Noel said. “He put me in this position to play for this great city of Philadelphia. I definitely understand where he stands with the risk and the reward. That’s why I’ve been very eager through my competitiveness and wanting to play basketball again. I do understand.”

More to come on Noel…

(AP)

BOSTON – 76ers rookie Nerlens Noel will not dress for Friday’s game against the Boston Celtics, Sixers coach Brett Brown said after morning shootaround.

Despite an ominous tweet from Noel last month of this date, “4-4-14,” and the subsequent speculation that the Boston-area native would prefer to debut at TD Garden, the 6-11, 230-pound center won’t be in uniform.

Brown noted once more the competitive nature of Noel, a player who is likely champing at the bit to see game time for the first time in 14 months. He has not played competitively since tearing the ACL in his left knee during his freshman season at Kentucky.

“Nerlens, as I’ve learned, is just beyond competitive. It’s the single thing I’ve fallen in love with the most,” Brown said. “His athleticism is quite incredible. His future, and his hair, are quite incredible. But his competitive spirit is beyond attractive to me.

“He’s trying. He wants to play. There are so many layers he has to get through to where we can put him in a position where we feel responsible that he can perform and not be at risk. To go through this duration that we’ve all gone through and be anything less than responsible and smart would just be shameful. Nerlens is simply not ready. And that’s the lay of the land right now.”

The Sixers have only seven games remaining, including Friday's against the Celtics.

(AP)

The 76ers have looked outside their locker room this season for players to deliver messages of import to rookies Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel.

During the Sixers’ ongoing 21-game losing streak, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant has reached out Carter-Williams, the point guard said. And according to coach Brett Brown, it’s not the first time a player of Durant’s caliber has done so.

“Behind closed doors the entire season, we’ve put Michael and Nerlens in front of people of incredible significance to share their stories. (Durant) is one of them, and that is true,” Brown said after Tuesday’s practice. “People that have a real story to tell that have been through it from the eyes that Michael, especially, sees it carries a lot of weight. I can tell you personally that the respect I have for Kevin Durant – that is one complete person. Just a fantastic player, a fantastic ambassador, a good human being. I personally appreciate him reaching out to Michael and helping him.”

Brown said he did not wish to disclose the genesis of these behind-closed-doors meetings between top-tier NBA folks and Noel and Carter-Williams. The rookie said his conversations with Durant began sometime after the All-Star break in New Orleans in February, where Carter-Williams played in the Rising Stars Challenge and Durant starred in the All-Star Game. That timeline would indicate their dialogue began during the Sixers’ franchise-record losing streak. The Sixers last won Jan. 29 at Boston.

Carter-Williams said Durant can relate to his rookie season. Durant’s Seattle SuperSonics went 20-62 in 2007-08, and 23-59 after relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008-09. Carter-Williams’ Sixers are 15-52, heading into Wednesday’s game against visiting Chicago.

“I’ve talked to Kevin Durant a few times,” Carter-Williams said. “His team wasn’t very good coming in, his rookie and sophomore year. I talk to him a bunch and he gives me good advice, telling me to stick with it and just keep working every day.

“I just think we can relate. He knows the struggle I’m going through. Just being basketball players, he came to me as a veteran and just talked to me a little bit about how to change things and change a program. Just a whole bunch of stuff.”

(AP)

Indiana’s Roy Hibbert doesn’t think the 76ers’ rebuild will begin until Nerlens Noel takes the floor.

The rookie center, Noel has not played this season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. While Sixers coach Brett Brown often extols the positives of Noel’s season, which has included traveling with his teammates and being a visible member of the team for practices and shootarounds, Hibbert said Noel will have be present in the games for the Sixers’ rebuild to take hold.

“Something’s off,” Hibbert said last week, when the Pacers were in town to face the Sixers. “They have the pieces once Nerlens is back. Michael Carter-Williams is a terrific player. Thaddeus Young has been terrific for years. They’ll be set up for the future once they get their core guys on the court and build chemistry, and go through it.”

Hibbert referenced a game this season as an example of such chemistry. He and the Pacers trailed New Orleans by as many as 16 points in the second half, and were down by five with less than two minutes to play in an Oct. 31 game. Indiana rallied to beat the Pelicans, 95-90.

“With this team, in our second game of the season, down (16) at New Orleans on the road, we fought back,” Hibbert said. “Those are the types of things (the Sixers) are going to have to experience. Once they get those core guys together, they might lose that game but it’s an experience they need to get. They have to try to rally amongst each other and fight through that and build a bond through that. They don’t have that right now, only because they don’t have everybody out there right now.”

The Sixers (15-51) visit the Pacers tonight, looking to snap a franchise-record-tying 20-game losing streak.