Jefferson vs. Okafor

[Klomp]

Emeka Okafor Just agreed to a 6 year deal worth 72 million dollars. This is for a guy who averaged 14/11

Remember that last offseason, Jefferson signed a 5 year extension worth 65 million. After the season Al just had averaging 21/11, its clearly a bargain that we were able to lock him up last year.

[4ho5ive]

I like Okafor. But I like him as a compliment to Al Jefferson. Bogut and Okafor just got paid bank to average bare minimum double-double's. I think Okafor is gonna stay along the 14/11 line, I dont see him getting much better. Bogut will probably get better.

Bynum is gonna demand at least 65+ when it comes time to negotiate.

I heart you Al Jefferson.

[Klomp]

The only part where I prefer Okafor over Jefferson is defense, something that doesn't appear in a stat sheet.

[Calinks]

Okafor is a really good and may be great. If he can stay injury free he could be a top bigman. Defensively he trumps Big Al's skills. Offensively, well I don't know if there are more than a small handful of PF's today that have the skills of Big Al. We certainly got a tremendous steal.

The Lakers will be paying Barnum BIGTIME money. With his exposure, youth, the recent bibman contracts, and the Lakers inability to win a title without him, his agent will have a lot of leverage to get a major deal done.

[funkatron101]

Okafor has hit his ceiling to me. I think stat wise his rookie year was the best.

We got an absolute deal for Al. I love his attitude!

[Foye]

I don't get why everybody is so high on Okafor, comeone he is a good PF/C but NOT worth 72 mio $ for 6 years. He has good defense, but thats pretty much the only thing he has. Compare him to Dwight Howard the #1 in Draft before nr. #2 Okafor. Howard is getting better every year while Okafor certainly isn't. Howard was able to lead his team to the playoffs Okafor couldnt bring the Cats even near.
This guy is sure not worth the 72 mio. $

He is a good nba player, but thats all and i don't think you should give that much money to a player who will probably never be a superstar IMO.

[prefuse73]

Defense is all about attitude and effort...I don't think Al has come close to hitting his ceiling defensively. He will put in the effort and he said he was focusing on defense over the summer.

I would rather have Al's offensive prowess and the ability to get better defensively than having a good defensive player who will never be able to do what Al does.

[deeney0]

Just helps put in perspective how much the Bucks really overpaid Bogut. Okafor is the better player hands down imo.

[TheFranchise21]

I think a Bucks poster said Boguts deal has incentives that can let him earn up to that number that was reported as the amount he signed for.

[4ho5ive]

I think like the Biedrins deal tho, the incentives are very basic and easily attainable. At least IIRC.

[NO-KG-AI]

Okafor doesn't have to get better for his stats to shoot up, watch Larry Brown use him correctly and his scoring averages shoot up, and everyone will note his "improvement"

Okafor is on a good price tag IMO, and Jefferson is just a flat out steal.

[Tirion]

Emeka Okafor Just agreed to a 6 year deal worth 72 million dollars. This is for a guy who averaged 14/11

Remember that last offseason, Jefferson signed a 5 year extension worth 65 million. After the season Al just had averaging 21/11, its clearly a bargain that we were able to lock him up last year.

ummm... 65 million in 5 years is 13 millon per year, 72 million in 6 years is 12 millon per year. Bil Al actually makes more money per year than Okafor will. Where is that bargain, you're talking about? Each guy got what he deserved, Jefferson is a far better player on offense, so he gets paid more, but Meka earns his paycheck on defensive side anyway.

[Vindicater]

I know, Jeffersons deal is very similar to okafors.

I think both teams are happy

[JMillott]

I love Al Jefferson maybe my favorite NBA player besides Paul Pierce, that being said his defense needs to improve more then Okafor's offense needs to improve in order to help a team reach the top of the mountain.

Emeka Okafor is pretty close to being a Ben Wallace lite type defender and rebounder, in fact I believe that is exactly what he will become under Larry Brown but he'll also end up becoming a 16-18 PPG scorer while not needing a lot of touches.

A guy like Okafor as he heads into his prime on a Larry Brown coached team is enough to get the Bobcats keeping teams in the mid to low 90's in scoring. That is a huge step towards becoming a meaningful team in this league.

I think that Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Ryan Gomes and Corey Brewer is a much better core of talent then the Bobcats have in my opinion but I think Randy Wittman is an awful basketball coach.

I think i'll feel a lot better about Al Jefferson and companies future once the Wolves get a real coach on board.

[Vindicater]

The wolves have a much better future then bobcats

[JMillott]

The wolves have a much better future then bobcats

I agree with that but I believe that Randy Wittman needs to go before they will be able to turn it around. In the Bobcats case they have under-achieved at least last season because they had the worst coach in the NBA last season and they now have one of the best basketball coaches and teachers this sport has ever had.

Yes, Larry Brown burns his way out of town at every stop but save for an insane owner taking Isiah Thomas's side over Larry Brown's which is beyond laughable and enjoyable as a Celtics fan to see the Knicks suck he has left every team in better shape then they were in when he got there.

[Dewey]

Just think if we had both players ... which makes me cringe at the r-signing of Craig Smith.

We "needed" an athletic/ defensive big and added an under-sized forward at 6'8". Sure it's easy to say we should've gotten a real big man, but IMO iwe should have just done nothing or moved Smith in a sign and trade. We have an under-sized forward (Maddog) already.

I agree that Jefferson has good upside defensively and will gradually improve - not worried. I am worried about the overall production of our big men as a whole. We need to hope Collins exceeds ourexpectations as a "solid" role player, and Love can compete (not be good, just compete) defensively. I do think Love is more athletic than he's perceived, but I still foresee some foul trouble ahead.

Team defense will be "critical" for the Wolves, because we are not good one-on-one defenders. Pryzbilla may even be a viable option as we look to add height/shot-blocking.

[JMillott]

The Wolves should be much better on defense then most people expect, in my opinion. I believe that people are have really under-valued Kevin Love's defensive impact for this team.

The up grade in rebounding alone from adding a second legit NBA starting big man alone is going to change things quite a bit. As well as the added impact of having better offensive players like Foye, Love and Miller should make it much easier to hide Corey Brewer's offense on the floor so that they can get his defense on the floor.

The key to improving the defense is really just a matter of limiting the playing time of Telfair, McCants and Smith.

[Vindicater]

I dont have a problem with resigning smith, he was cheap and knows the game plan. There was not many viable options out there.

Brian Skinner would have been an interesting guy to look at, but hes now gone to LA.