NBA Rumors – Philadelphia 76ers will get zilch trading Jahlil Okafor

The first rule of business is sell high and buy low. But the Philadelphia 76ers seem hell-bent on diminishing the value of center Jahlil Okafor. Now, NBA rumors indicate the team will likely realize next to nothing for the young center.

The Philadelphia 76ers needed a stop-gap solution at center in the 2015 NBA Draft. Center Joel Embiid just learned he needed a second foot surgery, and center Nerlens Noel proved to the team that he offered a defensive rim-protecting center.  And so the Philadelphia 76ers, with the third pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, selected Duke center Jahlil Okafor.

And so the nightmare for Jahlil Okafor began.

Fast-forward to 2017. Yes, past all of the bad press, NBA trade rumors, sore knees, everything.  The irony?  For the first time in the past three years, Jahlil Okafor appears to be trying his best to fit this team.  Now that he is all in, it appears the team is all out of chances.  The only avenue left for the player and the team is to find Okafor somewhere to get a fresh start.

Sell at a loss

But as to the return? Don’t look for much, folks.

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That ship had sailed years ago.

Jahlil Okafor was as much an integral part of The Process as any other player on the Philadelphia 76ers roster. His play proved that a center-centric offense remains feasible in the NBA.  But that experiment came at a price.  The Philadelphia 76ers overlapped skillsets with the understanding that Joel Embiid was the ultimate center for this team.  That made Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel expendable.

Botched deal

The only problem?  This deal likely should have happened in 2016.  Let’s revisit.  At the 2016 NBA Trade deadline, the Boston Celtics were rumored to have offered the Brooklyn Nets draft pick plus Marcus Smart for Jahlil Okafor.  At the time, Sam Hinkie reported to Jerry Colangelo.  Now, keep in mind that son Bryan Colangelo was already on his way to Philadelphia.  Any deal with Boston was vetoed, not by Hinkie, but by a father who wanted to ensure his son had final say over which player landed elsewhere.

Bryan Colangelo talked front court logjam from day one. Jahlil Okafor suffered a knee injury with prolonged pain. And the rest was history.

Okafor trending very positively

On one hand, Jahlil Okafor is not a high risk player. In fact, he is a very productive offensive center who can contribute immediately to a team with post season aspirations or simply trying to rebuild.  He is showing signs of turning things around too. While he continues to be a double digit scorer on offense, his defense has shown remarkable improvement this season. In his lone game this season, his ORtg is 104 while his DRtg is 105. That is a huge improvement over his career DRtg of 110.

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On the other hand, those stats are not illusions. The optics on his recent performances in preseason and NBA games tell the same story.  He is a much better player with deep motivations to succeed.  And at the moment, he continues to be a solid player without a team.  The Philadelphia 76ers clearly no longer want him.  No other NBA team has made any offers.  And so now, we wait.

Best of luck Jahlil

No matter how we got here, no player deserves this continuous public shaming. While I don’t disagree that the team has the right to make decisions about which player fits, that discussion is usually held privately, not publicly.

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It’s time for the parting of ways.  A 21 year-old center who can score and with an improving defense deserves more than “he is not part of our rotation”.   In the end, NBA rumors are now saying the Philadelphia 76ers will get next to nothing by trading Jahlil Okafor.

Sad to say, after three years of mishandling him, that’s just what the team deserves. Nothing.