The Philadelphia 76ers have been heavily involved in NBA rumors as the trade deadline approaches, but if they don’t act soon, they may be in trouble.
The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the hot teams that has been discussed in regards to NBA rumors throughout the last few weeks. With so many big men on their roster, and the hope that the team is on the edge of competitiveness, that makes a lot of sense.
It would also make a lot of sense for the team to jump on just about anything they’re offered for Jahlil Okafor at this point, given that their lack of urgency in trading him has diminished his value. But not everything pans out how it logically makes sense to.
Okafor has been rumored to be on the move very soon by plenty of sources. He was sat out of Saturday’s game because the team didn’t want to risk him getting injured before the likely trade of him.
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The team was heating up in talks with several teams, with the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls being two of the most prominent teams to be bidding for Jahlil. The bids, however, were low, and because of that, the team wasn’t exactly pleased. That has been the main reason, it seems, for a deal not yet occurring.
The team may be smart to take whatever deal comes their way, though, as it’s not expected that Jah’s value will increase by much.
Keith Smith noted that since the Pelicans are participating in other trade talks regarding other big men, it should be expected that the Pelicans will move on if they have to, and won’t sit around waiting for Jahlil. The Sixers will lose the waiting game if that’s a game they want to play.
Pelicans won't just sit around and wait on Okafor. They are going to move on something else if it comes their way first. https://t.co/6S3zBuk94L
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 13, 2017
Derek Bodner also pointed out that this type of situation — with Jahlil having missed Saturday’s game and then also not taking the flight to the Charlotte Hornets game — is incredibly uncommon given that a trade doesn’t seem to be imminent.
Keeping a player away from a team for 4 days because of trade talks is very uncommon. Usually only done when something is actually imminent.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 14, 2017
Now, the Sixers and Pels could very well be almost done with a deal, but things like this don’t typically occur unless a deal is actually done. As in, the teams have agreed to all terms, and there’s just minor parts to figure out.
Based on all reports, that is not the case with Jahlil. A deal surrounding him is far from complete, and the Sixers and all teams they’re dealing with seem to be far from agreeing on terms.
more rumors: Could a Mystery Team Be Landing Location for Jah?
The Sixers front office has fumbled the ball on a lot of things in the past few days, and sitting Jahlil — furthermore, not getting a deal done for him — is one of them. They need to make a trade now while Okafor is still, to a certain extent, a hot commodity.