Rumors of the Boston Celtics acquiring 20-year-old big man Jahlil Okafor have been swirling for months. However, a trade is now unlikely to happen, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:
It’s possible the Celtics and Philadelphia could revisit talks for Jahlil Okafor, but, according to sources, those talks appear to have grown “stale.”
Okafor is bursting with potential, which is why he was selected third overall in last year’s NBA Draft. However, many worry about whether his game fits well in today’s NBA. Bigs who can’t shoot from distance and also aren’t elite defenders are becoming obsolete in today’s NBA — see Greg Monroe. Of course, Okafor is very young, and therefore has plenty of time to improve the deficiencies of his game.
It’s no secret that the 76ers desperately need to trade at least one or two of the big men on their roster, which takes away their leverage. After all, the Sixers currently stand to have seven bigs on their roster next season: Ben Simmons, Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Carl Landry, and Richaun Holmes. Aside from Landry and Holmes, those players all have a right to want a starting spot, but obviously not all of them can start. Philadelphia needs to rid itself of this logjam, and the rest of the league knows it. Given that fact, it won’t be easy for the Sixers to trade Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel at anything more than a discounted price.
