The 76ers and Jahlil Okafor
As many NBA fans know, the relationship between the Philadelphia 76ers and center Jahlil Okafor is not great and many people don't know why. Here it is.
Okafor was selected third overall in the 2015 draft (with Karl Anthony-Towns going first and D'Angelo Russell going second)and people were furious and curious as to why. The 76ers selected Nerlens Noel sixth overall in 2013 and Joel "The Process" Embiid third overall in 2014. The problem? Well the problem is that all three players occupy the SAME POSITION! Noel, Embiid and Okafor are all centers!
So why draft three centers in three consecutive drafts? The answer is because Sam Hinkie wasn't drafting based on position needs, he was drafting the best player available at the draft position. He drafted Okafor because he was the best player at the third spot. He didn't care whether ot not the organization needed another center. He was all about collecting assets to move later.
Well later has come, Okafor wants out and who can blame him? He put up 17 points and seven boards a game as a rookie, and earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. With those stats he was then relegated to a bench role the following season. From there it only got worse, as his minutes and production continued to decline.
So why the decline? Mainly because of two reasons...
Poor defense: anyone who has watched him play knows that he is slow getting back, and weak with help-side defense and any other type of defense for that matter.
Limited offensive capabilities: he may have shot 50% as a rookie and 51% as a sophomore, but he is limited offensively. He is a relic by basketball standards, more used to playing on the block and posting up. His skills are not aligned with today's run-and-gun style. That's why Embiid is favored, because he runs, he guns AND he posts up and shoots.
So there it is, there are the reasons that Okafor is on the outs in Philadelphia. It's a shame, but we are all about the Process here, and Okafor - and Noel for that matter - are not and were not parts of that process.
I'll post something later about some possible landing spots, so stay tuned!
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