Jahlil Okafor finally finds a new home. NBA Insiders Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports confirmed that the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to send Okafor, Nik Stauskas and a second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for veteran big man Trevor Booker.

Deal details

The Sixers have been trying to move Okafor for the past two years, but they just ramped up the effort following their decision not to pick up the fourth and final year of his rookie deal worth around $6 million. By not picking up the team option, the Sixers allow Okafor to test the market next summer as an unrestricted free agent, basically making the former No.3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft a flight risk.

Wojnarowski noted in his previous Report that almost half of the league has interest in the former Duke Blue Devils standout, yet almost all of them don’t think Okafor commands a first-round pick.

The Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlantic Division rivals Boston Celtics were kicking tires on a potential deal for Okafor ($4.9 million), according to a reliable league source. However, Bryan Colangelo wisely used him in a package that also consists of Stauskas’ expiring contract ($3.8 million) and a second-rounder for another player on an expiring deal ($9.1 million).

Breaking down the deal

The Sixers finally moved on from all the drama surrounding the big man’s tenure in Philly with that deal with the Nets. Some NBA pundits have been critical of the Sixers’ handling of Okafor, who barely played significant minutes this season. With Okafor now in Brooklyn, the Sixers can now proceed with their own ‘process’ sans unwarranted media attention.

Philly’s front-office was also creative in using two players on an expiring deal for a versatile big in Booker. The Sixers have been scouring the market for a hybrid big man that fits perfectly with their fast-paced system.

At 6-foot-8, Booker is flexible enough to play the two forward positions on both ends of the floor. He even showed the ability to play a little bit of center in some stretches during his tenure with the Nets.

He’s averaging 10.1 ppg and 6.1 rpg in 22 mpg.

More importantly, the Sixers will create $9 million in their cap space once Booker’s contract expires. Philadelphia is viewed as one of the potential suitors for LeBron James and other top free agents next summer, so trading for a productive role player on an expiring contract covers their short and long-term goals.

While the deal looks really good on paper for the Sixers, the Nets were the winners in this transaction. Brooklyn has facilitated several salary dump moves in the offseason, some of which helped them acquire youngsters like Allen Crabbe and D’Angelo Russell. The deal with the Sixers proved to be their best coup on the trading front since they get two promising players in one transaction.

Despite his defensive lapses and lack of three-point shooting, Okafor is still a talented offensive player who possesses a vast repertoire of moves at the post. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson has been sticking with a fast-paced system in Brooklyn, but he has also shown that he can set plays for traditional big men like Mozgov and Okafor.

The Nets also got a steady shooter in Stauskas, who averaged 9.5 points on 39 percent FG shooting and 36 percent 3-point clip during the 2016-17 NBA season but fell out of the rotation this year because of the arrival of J.J Redick.
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