2. Almost Had Okafor
The Philadelphia 76ers are trending up in their Process to become a future championship-contending team. The team that went 10-72 last season is currently 21-35 at the All-Star Break.
The Sixers have received strong performances from frontcourt players Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel. The odd man out in this improvement has been center Jahlil Okafor.
Okafor, the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, is averaging 11.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game. This is a drop from averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game last season.
People were wondering on the night Okafor was drafted if having three starting-caliber centers was sustainable. Now, the team is shopping him around to other franchises across the league.
Trade talks for Okafor were so heavy that the Sixers sat him for two games, leading people to believe he was on his way out. According to Hall of Fame reporter David Aldridge, the Portland Trail Blazers were the possible destination.
The 76ers pulled Jahlil Okafor from their lineup last week b/c a deal w/Portland for the center was close to happening, per league sources.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) February 18, 2017
But, obviously, it didn’t come to pass.
The Blazers, however, decided instead to do a trade w/Denver for Jusuf Nurkic & a 2017 first-round pick, giving Portland three 2017 firsts.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) February 18, 2017
Nurkic offers a lot of what Jahlil Okafor does, but for a lower cost. Okafor is being paid $4.8 million this year. He would be owed $5 million in 2017-18. That could be a hefty price to pay for a center, depending on what players were heading to Philadelphia in return.
Okafor eventually returned to the Sixers’ lineup for their last game before the All-Star Break against the Boston Celtics. The Philadelphia front office will have to seek new suitors to take the big man off of their hands.