When I saw jahlil Okafor being taken by the Philadelphia 76ers, I laughed thinking ‘Do they want to win?’. And I still think that. I’m not 100% convinced with jahlil and we all know that small ball is the way to go in this league. For the past 3 years they’ve gone for a big man, maybe “Taking the best player” is stupid. Who cares about the best player on the board. Take the player that’ll produce the most for you!
Another part of the pick was what picking him with Embiid in mind. Sixers GM Sam Hinkie would like to think that they would’ve picked Okafor regardless of whether Embiid was healthy or not.
Hinkie said selecting Duke University freshman center Jahlil Okafor third overall was not connected to Embiid’s situation. He said Okafor was the pick because he was the best player available.
But what if there was no issue with Embiid?
“I’d like to think we’d have had the courage to do it anyway,” Hinkie responded when asked if he would have still selected Okafor. “I knew and it’s hard to unknow where things stood with Joel, but I’d like to think we’d have the courage anyway.”
We’d have the courage? This isn’t Base Jumping. It’s the NBA Draft. It shouldn’t be based on courage. You should Draft the person that you know will produce for you.
Who’s to say that Philly won’t trade Jahlil away? That mental case Hinkie traded his best player Michael Carter-Williams for three green beans!
