The Philadelphia 76ers have made a pretty good job this offseason with their selection of Markelle Fultz and acquisition of veterans like J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson. The Sixers will enter the 2017-18 NBA season with one of the most promising rosters in generation spearheaded by lottery picks Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Fultz.
But not all former lottery picks are having a great deal of time with the Sixers. Jahlil Okafor, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, finds himself at a crossroad after two full seasons. Philadelphia made efforts to move him before the trade deadline last season, but didn’t get reasonable offers from teams.
SB Nation Sixers blogger Kyle Neubek provided the inside scoop on why the Sixers are having trouble dealing away Okafor.
New era basketball hurting Jahlil’s value
In his latest mailbag, Neubek discussed Okafor’s current situation. Okafor, who was a dominant post player from Duke, entered the league at the time when the small-ball, position-less basketball was about to explode. Okafor’s inability to shoot from the three-point line coupled with his poor free-throw shooting and rim protection was heavily exposed in his first two seasons.
Moreover, small ball offense has negative impact on the value of other big men. Centers aren’t anymore as coveted as they were before. The highest-paid pure center signed this free-agency season is Dewayne Dedmon, who inked a two-year, $14 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
According to Neubek, the Sixers contacted a number of teams about their interest in Okafor. Considering his current trade value, it won’t take much for teams to acquire Okafor. However, the Sixers want to maintain flexibility in their cap space. Bryan Colangelo would only be open to deal Okafor if they get players on a one-year deal with possibly draft picks to spice up the trade package.
Neubek pointed out that keeping the books flexible this season is necessary for the Sixers to sign elite free agents before their core 3 of Simmons, Fultz and Embiid are up for extensions.
“Once extensions come up for Fultz, Simmons, and Joel Embiid, their ability to land a big fish on the open market is reduced significantly,” per Neubek.
Possible landing spot for Okafor
The Chicago Bulls are always desirable landing spot for the Windy City-native Okafor. Chicago front-office can give Okafor all the time in the world to improve his game and find a niche while the team is in a rebuilding mode. Then, there’s the San Antonio Spurs. With Tim Duncan no longer manning the paint for Gregg Popovich, the Spurs badly need a dominant post presence down low. Okafor, with right mentorship from the legendary coach, could turn his career around in San Antonio.
