Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers recently signed center Festus Ezeli, so some may think that this is not an ideal trade destination for the Sixers big man. Still, there are plenty of reasons that Okafor would be a good fit for the Blazers.
First being is that Ezeli has an injury history that can not be trusted. The Blazers have a great one-two punch on the perimeter with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, however, they do not have a third scoring option behind the dynamic duo. Some would say that there is no need for a third option, but if Okafor were to join, the Blazers would then have their own “Big 3.” It might be the only way that the Blazers could push themselves to the top of the Western Conference.
| Season | G | GS | MP | FG% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 53 | 48 | 30.0 | .508 | .686 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 17.5 |
| Career | 53 | 48 | 30.0 | .508 | .686 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 17.5 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/31/2016.
Okafor could become similar to Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh, or Kevin Love. The question becomes, now what could the Blazers send to the Sixers in return?
The Blazers will want to have cap room in the future for extensions for both Okafor and McCollum, so that would mean they should send Allen Crabbe to the Sixers. This would allow the Sixers to fill a need at small forward. The Blazers still would need to send more. They could send a top two protected draft pick in 2017 and another unprotected pick in 2020. Still, they might need to send another young prospect in Pat Connaughton. If the Blazers are will to execute a trade like this is yet to be seen, but it would be a fair trade.
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