NBA: Los Angeles Clippers at Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) stands during a break in action against the LA Clippers during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center.

(Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports)

Every basketball fan knew the Sixers had to move a center at the NBA trade deadline. Unfortunately for fans of defense in Philadelphia, general manager Bryan Colangelo dealt the wrong big man.

Here's why (upon first glance) the Sixers will regret trading Nerlens Noel to the Dallas Mavericks for shooting guard Justin Anderson.

-Could have taken the decision to restricted free agency.

I understand the idea of moving Noel before he could walk away in free agency. But the young center was set to be a restricted free agent in July. Philadelphia could have matched any offer or negotiated a sign and trade. Dealing him for Justin Anderson, Andrew Bogut and a protected first-round pick seems light for a player as solid as Noel.

If the pick doesn't vest in 2017 and becomes something special in 2018 (which, according to Zach Lowe, it won't), the deal could be looked at differently. But at first glance, the return isn't great.

Didn't give the Noel-Joel Embiid pairing a chance.

Due to injuries (both Noel and Embiid have missed time this year), the Sixers never gave themselves a chance to see how dynamic of a defensive pairing the two centers could be on the court at the same time.

Unless, of course, you think eight minutes its enough.

Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid played 8 minutes together. — Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 23, 2017

Ironically, Colangelo said last week that he wanted to see more of the pairing as this season progressed.

Colangelo says he'd like to see Embiid & Noel play more together. — Jon Johnson (@jonjohnsonwip) February 10, 2017

Embiid insurance may always be necessary.

This is why I've been arguing for the Sixers to re-sign Noel to a long-term deal--even if it took max contract money. There's no guaranteed that Embiid will ever be a 35-minute, 75-plus game player.

Like a pitcher on an innings count and pitch limit, the Sixers may one day decide to limit Embiid to keep him healthy. If that's the case, Noel as a 25-minute insurance player (18 minutes on the floor while Embiid sits, seven-or-so as a pairing) would have been a possibility for head coach Brett Brown.

Noel is better than he's given credit for.

Noel, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon are the only three players in NBA history to average 10.0 PT, 8.0 REB, 1.5 BLK, 1.5 STL during their first two years in league.

This year, Noel has followed that up by posting 16.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 2.7 steals per 36 minutes.

Joel Embiid saying goodbye to Nerlens Noel 😢😢😢

(via @tmoore76ers) pic.twitter.com/D7qS7LNY1T — SB Nation NBA (@SBNationNBA) February 23, 2017

Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.