Recent NBA rumors indicate that Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor will likely not be traded in the coming days unless something new develops.
A trade was right there, but Bryan Colangelo just couldn’t pull it off for the Philadelphia 76ers. Throughout the past week and a half or so, the 76ers have been involved in trade rumors regarding one of their three lottery pick centers, Jahlil Okafor.
At one point, they were reportedly talking to eight different teams about the possibility of taking him on, and four teams — Blazers, Nuggets, Pelicans, Bulls — were confirmed to have talked with the Sixers, with the Bulls and Pelicans being the most interested teams. The Pelicans were the front-runners for most of the way, but the Bulls seemed to pull ahead towards the end of this fiasco as the Pelicans’ interest waned.
Jahlil Okafor was kept on the bench for the extent of Saturday’s win over the Orlando Magic, and it was reported that Okafor didn’t play due to growing trade talks. The team confirmed after the game that the reason he was sat was due to these trade talks. The team then didn’t even bring him to Charlotte with them for their game against the Hornets. This was seemingly indicative that a trade was imminent.
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Apparently someone dropped the ball. Despite the perception that a trade was coming, a trade was not made. And with one game left before the All-Star break on Wednesday, Jahlil Okafor met up with his team after being treated like he was no longer a member of the team.
Keith Pompey reports also that he’s likely to play.
#Sixers center Nerlens Noel will continue to start with Jahlil Okafor rejoining team. Okafor is expected to play tonite vs. #BostonCeltics.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 15, 2017
So we went from not playing Okafor to keep him away from a possible injury to playing him again, in a fairly meaningless game, an away game that is the last one before the All-Star break.
While there have been no reports of a strict halt in talks between the Pelicans and Sixers, I think it’s safe to assume that a trade has fallen through. The Sixers were too stubborn, and the Pelicans were too smart on what they wanted to offer.
This situation has been a mess, and is arguably worse than anything Sam Hinkie would have orchestrated. Bryan Colangelo was brought in as a general manager that could orchestrate things with swiftness, not like this. He has treated Jahlil as if he’s not a member of the team, and even those who absolutely despise his play recognize that that’s not okay.
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The Sixers need to make up their minds and move Jah or keep him. If they decide on moving him, they need to move him for whatever value comes up, because at this point, it’s a young player’s career at stake.