NBA Rumors Leading To Bidding Wars For Jahlil Okafor?

The Strategy of Bryan Colangelo Seems to have Triggered virtually half of the NBA into considering trading for Jahlil Okafor. Can that lead to a Bidding War?

The smoldering rumors of the Philadelphia 76ers considering trade offers for either Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel were given a gasoline can dose of fuel when ESPN speculated that the Sixers would indeed field calls for either center.

With the 2016 NBA Draft at our doorstep, and the team well positioned to weather the storm with three centers going into the upcoming season, any such offer would need to be fairly mind-blowing. Now that teams recognize where they will be selecting in this draft, and which candidates will likely be on the board at their selection, other scenarios are being discussed in open forums. Once such scenario is one involving the Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor.

And it’s gaining popularity among many NBA teams.

You can list the Boston Celtics, the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs, the Detroit Pistons, the Atlanta Hawks, and others… but fan-bases are not only talking about the idea of obtaining Jahlil Okafor from the Philadelphia 76ers.

They love the idea.

More from Rumors

Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers are listening. They are listening to their phone’s ringing and to the offers of the persons at the other ends of the phones. And so it could end there. But social media is a tool in the hands of the right expert. If the idea of trading Jahlil Okafor is sound, but the price has not quite been reached, you will find more articles about the trade scenario (like this one) making headlines. If the article sounds positive, and offers compensation which “might make the Philadelphia 76ers sit up and listen”, you can draw conclusions that the scenario was fed by the Sixers to make teams up the anty.

If the article has the position that the Philadelphia 76ers are asking too much, you can conclude the article was fed by a team whose offer was rejected, but who still wants to make the trade happen.

But when articles begin to take note of the popularity of the scenario among multiple NBA fan-bases, you can draw another conclusion. You can conclude that the scenario is drawing enough NBA team interest to incite a bidding war. And why not? The 20 year old center played just 54 games in the NBA, did not have much help either at the perimeter nor at point guard, and ended up scoring 17.5 points per game despite routine NBA double teams.

That was his rookie year.

The center position is becoming the social outcast in NBA circles, as excellence at the position was too rare for all teams. So, teams who were have nots developed alternative lineups to compensate for the lack of the position until small ball was perfected. Still, even in the world of small ball, the big center and that post game still factor most in post season,

And so, the Philadelphia 76ers stockpiled centers and awaited this moment. The NBA draft has questions at the center position, so much so that center-deficient teams cannot count on the draft to upgrade that very important position. So they trade, and the team with young centers with huge upsides who have already been rumored to be listening to offers show up at the best possible moment.

Live Feed

The 30 most painful NBA Draft pass-ups since 2000 /

Hoops Habit

NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Illinois of last decadeBusting Brackets

Atlanta Hawks waive Jahlil Okafor after lacklustre preseasonSoaring Down South

Which Atlanta Hawks fringe player shone in the pre-season opener?Soaring Down South

Atlanta Hawks: How Jahlil Okafor can assert himself at training campSoaring Down South

Atlanta Hawks: Storylines not to be missed in training camp - center editionSoaring Down South

The Philadelphia 76ers have a center now, a center who is poised to take the NBA by storm in Joel Embiid. He’s already set up to be joined by international forward Dario Saric, and the top pick of the 2016 NBA draft – who will likely be forward Ben Simmons. The scenario of three new faces on this team runs counter to the message being delivered by Bryan Colangelo right now in a focus to veteran leadership, but the three he may have on the roster will certainly be worthy of minutes on the basketball court. But Colangelo is still learning about this team and these players.

Josh Wilson laid out some possible destinations of Jahlil Okafor in a recent article, but through the limits of time and space he left off as many as he mentioned. The fact is that every team in the NBA who has not won the championship must address the question of how do they improve to win the championship. For most teams, adding the offense and upside of a 20 year old rookie center who can deliver over 20 points per game is an upgrade.

Next: Joel Embiid Is Heading For Beast Mode

It’s pretty clear that if teams want Jahlil Okafor, they will be in competition. And if they want to upgrade their team at center, they will want to be in that competition for Okafor. Greatness requires taking a risk. At age 20, Jahlil Okafor is a proven NBA talent whose skillsets are in short supply. And short supply in any economy drives the price up.