Philadelphia 76ers: Four Unlikely Trade Destinations for Jahlil Okafor

Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers has been the subject of trade rumors ever since he was drafted. There are four unlikely teams he could go to.

I recently wrote an article about four unlikely trade destinations for Nerlens Noel. It was a lot of fun to write, so I figured I’d expand. Jahlil Okafor has been subject of trade rumors during his time in the City of Brotherly Love, as like Noel before him. Okafor has been linked to several teams in trades in the past but most notably the Boston Celtics. General manager, Danny Ainge, and the Celtics just cannot get enough of the Sixers big men, but if Ainge is not going to pull a trigger on a trade, what other teams would like the Philadelphia 76ers center?

It is hard to comprehend that many teams would not want a offensively skilled center like Okafor. Very few big men in NBA come into the league with his skill set, even though the Sixers could use him in the long term next to Joel Embiid, it would be wise to see what other trade offers are available to the franchise.

There are four Western Conference teams and one Eastern Conference team that could be unlikely trade partners with the Sixers. The teams that are being analyzed are teams that have not or are not currently the teams that are the trade buzz with the Sixers about Okafor. This could include teams that had been rumored to want Okafor, but a deal obvious never went down.

Next: Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls

Leading up to and during the NBA Draft early this year, there were plenty of rumors about the Philadelphia 76ers trying to swap Okafor for Jimmy Butler. since then, however, there has not been any noise about that.

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The Bulls are trying to build around Butler now with aging guards with the great Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, along with defensive center Robin Lopez. The Bulls mean well in trying to get a championship now, but Rondo has never played nice with others, and Wade is starting to decline; let it be noted that even though Wade is on the decline he is still one of the top players at his position. Lopez, who is already in his prime, is a good defensive anchor but is never going to average more than 10 to 12 points a game.

The Bulls need to go into a rebuild if they like to admit it or not. Luckily, Rondo could be gone after a year, and Wade would be fine with a mini rebuild, because he is in his home town. Butler is the obvious piece to build around and because he is an alpha on the perimeter. It would make sense for the Bulls to find a dominating offensive force on the inside to compliment him. Enter in Okafor. If Lopez does not mind coming off the bench and teaching Okafor how to be a defensive center, then the center rotation in the Windy City would be scary.

The question becomes — what could the Bulls give in return for Okafor? They would have to send a top 2 protected pick as well as Doug McDermott and Denzel Valentine. Okafor has the potential to be a franchise changing player, the asking of a nice role player in McDermott, a potential All-Star in Valentine and a lightly protected pick seems more than fair. If the Bulls did do this deal, they would need to trade or release one of their other big men.

Next: Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

With Kobe Bryant gone and new head coach Luke Walton ready to start a new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball, the Lakers could be a team to target. Walton has a lot of great young pieces to start with D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr., and Julius Randle. Also, that line up could be a killer small ball lineup if Randle or Nance can learn to defend center. However, lets not get side tracked, how could Okafor help this young team?

In the offseason, the Lakers signed 7-footer Timofey Mozgov to be the what Andrew Bogut was to the Golden State Warriors during his seasons with them. Two NBA Finals ago, Mozgov was really able to push the small line up of the Warriors. However, this past season Mozgov a shell of his former self due to injury.

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The drop of in stats could be due to recovering from surgery after the 2015 season and a decrease of playing time. The other concern with Mozgov is that he going to be 30 during this season and will not be able to grow with young Lakers roster. The question becomes, why would Okafor be a good fit for a fast pace team like the Lakers are going to become?

Okafor is a player that is best used on offense on the low block. Mozgov is similar in that regard, but Okafor is a much better offensive player and he is also much younger than the Mozgov so he does provide intrigue. There is a prevailing thought is that Okafor a poor defender but how does he compare with Mozgov?

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Okafor trails Mozgov in defensive rebounding, steal, and block percentages which is concerning at first glance. Okafor trails Mozgov by only small percentages, so it might not make a huge difference. Also, this was Okafor’s first season and most players improve their defensive stats, so lets not give up on him. He also trails in defensive win shares but that may be because Okafor was on the league’s worst team, and Mozgov was on the championship team.

Before the trade scenario can be discussed, the disclaimer must be put out there that there have been trade rumors about the Lakers and the Sixers basically since Russell and Okafor were drafted with the second and third picks of the 2015 draft. But recently there have not been rumors between the two teams.

In order for the Lakers to bring Okafor over they would either have to send Russell or Ingram along with lifting the protection on the draft pick that is due to the Sixers from the Michael Carter-Williams trade. Ingram would be the preferred options with the lack of depth at small forward.

Next: Portland Trail Blazers

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.

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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.

Next: Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks must start looking towards the future in the twilight of the legendary Dirk Nowitzki‘s career. They have some nice pieces in place including newly signed Harrison Barnes. Some believe that Harrison is not a viable number one option on offense, and if this does turn out to be the case, the Mavs must have a back up plan.

Philadelphia 76ers

Now, they do have newly acquired Andrew Bogut to man down the middle for now. Bogut does have a history of injury problems and has been in the league for more than a handful of years. Okafor could be the answer if Bogut does not come through being healthy. Okafor probably will never be the defensive anchor that Bogut is, but he can prove to be the number one offensive option that the Mavs will end up needing.

Okafor has already proven with the Sixers that he can be a number one option and would be a nice inside compliment to Barnes. Obviously the Mavs will not give up Barnes for Okafor, so what can they give the Sixers for Okafor?

The Sixers could get a Curry out of this deal, but sadly not the unanimous MVP Stephen Curry. Sharpshooting Seth Curry showed plenty of potential with the Sacramento Kings last season when he did receive playing time, and he would be a good perimeter player to play next to Ben Simmons.

Curry cannot be the only piece included in this deal, the Mavericks must add more to get Okafor’s services. The deal must include a future unprotected first round draft pick, two future second round picks and Quincy Acy to make deal fair for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Next: Nerlens Noel Can Get To Cleveland Cavaliers

Regardless where Okafor lands he can be a corner stone for a franchise. It will be interesting to see what the Philadelphia 76ers do with their logjam at center this season and when they will resolve it.