Jahlil Okafor‘s value is falling and just when the Philadelphia 76ers will be able to move on is becoming increasingly uncertain.
This is rough. The Philadelphia 76ers have made their desire to offload Jahlil Okafor almost public in the past, while his spot with the team is virtually nonexistent given the current construction of their roster. Teams just don’t need players like Okafor, and the Sixers are a perfect example of why iso-heavy, defensively-challenged bigs don’t work.
Philadelphia 76ers
The problem then becomes a matter of when. When will the Sixers be able to move on from Okafor, and which teams would be willing to take him on for whatever price Bryan Colangelo is commanding.
Okafor’s value is at an all-time low. For somebody who has been so successful prior to professional basketball, his fall — regardless of whether you like Okafor or not — has been difficult to swallow. With his game growing increasingly outdated, fewer teams are going to bother trading for Okafor. The few teams that will trade for Okafor are likely scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel in terms of what they’d be sending back.
The Sixers made it their priority to get rid of Okafor at the deadline last season, and even then a deal couldn’t get done. He was falling out of favor in the rotation, while all the teams in need of additional depth at the five were able to find it elsewhere, with players who fit their plans long term.
If anything speaks to just how difficult trading Okafor will be, it’s that. The Sixers sent him home, and just about every trade rumor thrown around made an Okafor trade feel like an inevitability. It was the trade deadline, and the flurry of moves that coincided with Okafor’s impending transaction only increased fans’ hopes.
Philadelphia ended up shipping away Nerlens Noel for Justin Anderson and some second round picks, a player who, despite being on a one-year deal, is astronomically more valuable than Okafor.
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That was a minimal return for a quality center with one of the higher defensive ceilings in the league. Okafor’s price point likely lies far lower than that.
Now that he has spent another half season floundering on the bench and an entire offseason working towards his betterment, Okafor will have to show improvement to give any teams reason to deal for him. If he’s unable to crack the rotation with RIchaun Holmes and Amir Johnson in front of him, the likelihood that the Sixers can pull off a deal — much less one of value — will go downwards fast.
If a trade does go down, it’s entirely dependent on how quickly Okafor improves. If he’s playing well enough to peak the interest of other teams, Bryan Colangelo would likely be on the phones as soon as possible.
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But with all of that in mind, the lingering possibility that many seem to overlook is simply not trading Okafor. If no deal of value is offered, there’s a chance that Okafor rides out the remainder of his contract in Philadelphia instead.
The Sixers don’t have to bring him back next season, while his relic-bound game only increases their incentive to replace him with somebody whose potential for growth is higher. If no team bites on an Okafor trade, there’s a very real chance that Okafor is walking elsewhere next season — if he’s not cut before then.
Even if it’s in favor of a D-League wing or a younger, fourth-string point guard, there’s far more value in testing the waters with a player who could have value than gutting out another year with somebody whose game doesn’t.
Few players would have handled the past year or so as well as Okafor has, and that has to be commended all around. But he still doesn’t have a spot in the Sixers’ long term plans, and any unforeseen improvements would be the only way to give teams a reason to trade for him in the first place.
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He’ll get moved, but it might not be directly from one team to another.