What DeMarcus Cousins Trade Does Mean For Philadelphia 76ers and Jahlil Okafor

A blockbuster trade just occurred between the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings. It puts the Philadelphia 76ers and Jahlil Okafor in a particular situation.

After the All-Star Game news broke that the Sacramento Kings had just trade All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Kings in return received former King Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, Buddy Hield and two picks; one first round and a second round pick both for this upcoming draft. It is a great trade for the Pelicans and they will have one of the best front courts in the league. This trade also has a hug impact on the Philadelphia 76ers and Jahlil Okafor.

The Impact on Sixers

Fellow The Sixer Sense writer Josh Wilson had written about how the Sixers will benefit from Kings tanking after this trade since Philadelphia own rights to swap picks with them. Losing a super star will cause any team to tank. Thank goodness the Kings were really desperate to trade Nik Stauskas a few years back or else the the Sixers would not be such good place to get a potential top 5 pick.

There is a draw back to this trade as well. As Wilson had also mentioned in his article, President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo whiffed on a huge trade opportunity with the Pelicans. He had talked with the Pelicans long enough to hold out Okafor for a couple of games, but could not get a deal done. Colangelo is losing his prestige and his respect in the trade community because of lack of ability to execute a trade.

Impact On Okafor

Okafor lost out on a chance to play with super star Anthony Davis. However, that might not be the worst thing. Okafor plays best in the post by himself, so New Orleans may not be the best fit for him. This latest trade does slim down his potential landing spots. There were four teams originally mention in possible landing spots for Okafor.

Source: Jahlil Okafor was informed that the 76ers have had trade talks with the Bulls, Pelicans, Blazers and Nuggets. Discussions ongoing.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) February 12, 2017

Now the Chicago Bulls are the only team remaining that has not traded for a center. With the Dallas Mavericks being the only other team that has been linked to Okafor as of late, there appears to be limited interest in the big man as of now. As The Sixer Sense writer Pete Sawan mentioned in his previous article, the lack a suitors will most likely lessen the leverage the team has in a trade for him.

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Furthermore, this will make it harder for the Philadelphia 76ers to trade him. With less trade destinations and as a result there is a chance that he just doesn’t get traded. If he is not traded then there is a good chance that he will only be played sparingly in a back up role for the rest of the season. That scenario is never good for a developing player with that much potential on offense.

Next: The Sixers Need to Make Covington a Long Term Piece

The long term implications of this trade will help the Philadelphia 76ers. However, in the short term this trade will make the life hard for Colangelo and Okafor.