Milwaukee Bucks: 5 Ways Trade Deadline Affected Their Playoff Run

Jahlil Okafor was not traded

Jahlil Okafor was perhaps the most nearly traded player in NBA history. The Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets were so close to dealing for Okafor that he was held out of a pair of games earlier in the month. Then Portland and Denver decided that rather than fighting each other, they could simply trade with each other. Okafor and the Philadelphia 76ers were left out in the cold.

Then over the All-Star Break, the New Orleans Pelicans were on the cusp of a trade, offering a package based on Alexis Ajinca and a first round pick for the right to slot Okafor alongside All-Star Anthony Davis. Then they found their package of flotsam could land them a much better center, and Boogie Cousins made his way instead to the Big Easy.

Live Feed

FanSided

In the days leading into the trade deadline, the Eastern Conference joined the rumor mill as both Indiana and Chicago were tossed around as possible trade partners. The Pacers felt they didn’t have enough ground-bound defensive liabilities on their bench, while the Bulls were seeking every way to reach 100 points without making a three-pointer.

When the smoke cleared neither team traded for Okafor, something that most likely hurt Milwaukee’s postseason chances. While the jury is still out on whether Okafor will become an impactful player – last season he did average 17 points per game on efficient shooting for Philadelphia – he was not going to help a team win this season, and most likely would hurt them.

While Chicago still managed to find a poor defender at center in their trade with Oklahoma City, the Pacers will continue to rely on Al Jefferson and Kevin Seraphim as bench centers. Neither team has strong alternatives to Okafor, but they did not spend assets acquiring him either.