Is Emeka Okafor a bust?

[Canomad]

is this serious? hes an allstar if he was on a good team w/a good pg.

[miller31time]

Okafor is so incredibly underutilized offensively, it sickens me

This is also a great point. I remember a game he had against the Wizards where he was unstoppable, and yet he only got about 12 shots up. In crucial stretches, they didn't even give him a look on offense. It was sad.

[KobeFarmarEra]

Kwame Brown = Bust

Okafor = solid power forward

[miller31time]

Kwame Brown = Bust

Okafor = solid power forward

That's not fair. Compared to Kwame Brown, no one is a bust.

[tnayrbrocks]

The guy's a bust. He was supposed to be the franchise player and he's putting up role player #s. He's not kwame brown, more like a mix of michael olowokandi and joe smith.

[TMACPIERCEMARION]

You insult him for not making the playoffs? He started the league as the franchise player for a brand new team, give the kid a break, Dwight wouldn't have been able to put the Bobcats in the playoffs either.

I'm going to have to argue that point, Dwight Howard with the players around him would've made the playoffs, the East is weak and Charlotte has capable enough players to make the playoffs, I honestly think they are under-achieving, Dwight Howard would have put them at close to a .500 record, that you can almost be sure of and would've easily good enough for a playoff birth. And for the guy that said Okafor needs a capable PG, they have one, Felton is 16ppg and 7apg, definitely good numbers from the PG position, Okafor is a good decent big man in the NBA, I would've taken both Iggy and Smith over him in the draft, but I don't know if I'd make him into a bust just yet, he's got a couple more years.

[etopn23]

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Your recollection of how Okafor came into the league is far different than mine. I don't recall this "hype" you are speaking of and I certainly don't remember people expecting him to develop into a "monster in the post". Quite the contrary in fact - he came into the league as the more NBA ready player, but with less upside. Most people projected him as a defensive force with a good, but limited offensive game. Which is more or less what he's been when healthy.

Okafor was more of the "sure thing", but Dwight always had the potential of being the much bigger star. He might not be quite as good as what people thought, but far from a bust.

What are you talking about? Do you not remember him being on the cover of ESPN? They ran more stories about him than anyone else in the draft. People were expecting him and Dwight Howard to be the next gen HoF bigs.

Look at these Draft Projections:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft/d05 ... erId=18626
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketba ... rwards.htm
http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/Draft/STATS2004.htm

You're correct in saying he was expected to come in as a dominant defender/rebounder but a raw player on the offensive end... but no one expected him to develop so little offensively. He was projected as an Alonzo Mourning, not just a solid defensive big.

[etopn23]

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That's Charlotte's (or your) fault for having unrealistic expectations. He pretty much peaked at UConn, he wasn't a teenager like Dwight so he was not going to improve that much. He was at his ceiling already. It was unrealistic to think he was going to improve at the rate Howard was. I can't name one team in the NBA who would not take 13 and 11 and 2 in the paint. Orlando knew Okafor was pretty much the player he was going to be, that's why they picked Howard.

:lol: Yeah, a 21 year old big man was at his peak coming into the league. Would you say Dwight Howard is at his peak now? I'm not saying he has to be a HOWARD, I don't know why everyone is throwing in a Howard reference when I only mentioned him once. The guy isn't even a big they can build around, no one projected that.

I can name alot of teams that wouldn't take that for the #2 pick in hindsight. 13/11/2 is David Lee with better interior D. Okafor is a solid player, but he hasn't panned out as expected.

[NO-KG-AI]

Wow, its nothing like David Lee, Okafor can anchor an elite defense RIGHT NOW, and still do the job on his own man.

He's getting these points in horrible fashion, tsherkin will show up and school you fellas on how he is underutilized, I don't have the time, or the paragraph skills to do so.

[theTHIEF]

i like the guy, but i am sooo ohh ohh glad the Magic went with Dwight...

[tsherkin]

Okafor isn't a bust... he's a meaningful contributor, a starting caliber center who can exert significant impact on defense.

He's underutilized on O and that kills him but he's also just not naturally a scorer; he had to work exceptionally hard to learn how to score; he doesn't have a jumper, or any kind of dominant athletic traits, nor is he physically imposing in terms of size, so he has no go-to attribute around which to build his offensive game.

He could easily be a 15-17 ppg scorer if the Bobcats looked to him more regularly, though, I don't think there's any question of that, and if he was posting 16/10, I don't think too many people would be interested in calling him a bust.

He's not a bust, he's just not everything you'd hope for from a top-2 pick.

[Hunter]

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What are you talking about? Do you not remember him being on the cover of ESPN? They ran more stories about him than anyone else in the draft. People were expecting him and Dwight Howard to be the next gen HoF bigs.

Look at these Draft Projections:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft/d05 ... erId=18626
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketba ... rwards.htm
http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/Draft/STATS2004.htm

You're correct in saying he was expected to come in as a dominant defender/rebounder but a raw player on the offensive end... but no one expected him to develop so little offensively. He was projected as an Alonzo Mourning, not just a solid defensive big.

That's not really fair. What you're talking about are "max" potential and upside, which is only one half of the analysis. Those projections are saying "IF he completely maximizes his ability this is the best possible scenario". That is NOT the same thing as saying "this is what he will be". That's why they also provide a downside. USA Today for example listed both Alonzo Mouring AND Stacey King. You can't mention Zo and pretend like that is all there was to it. Lets be real here, few people actually came out going "zomg, he's the next Zo!"

Collegehoopsnet isn't that far off either. They projected him as a 16 & 9 player in his 2nd year when in fact he was 13 & 10, but he was injured most of the year only playing 25 games. He put up 15 & 11 and 14 & 11 his 1st and 3rd years in the league which is right on pace w/ his projection. Then they listed his "max potential" as 18 & 10, but it's way to early to say Okafor will not get close to that. He could very well develop into a consistent 16-18 ppg scorer as more of a focal point offensively.

Frankly your characterization of those projections is one sided and flawed. They supported my position more so than yours.

[WadeKnicks2010]

lol why is he a bust? Howard is better and he was picked before him. Okafor was the second best player in the draft and guess what? He was picked second. And he's a very good player on both ends. He's a legitimate big man. He is tough, he mans his ground and holds down his position and will get you the boards and blocks you need to win in the NBA. Any championship caliber team would love to have him. No one thought he was going to be Shaquille O'Neal. He's performing just about the way we all thought he would.

[halfHAVOC]

he sucks on offense

i think he still has time to improve, but imo bobcats need to focus on him more, maybe get him a BIGMAN Mentor to teach him like patrick ewing with d12, or keem' wit yao....

[thamadkant]

As a suns fan..

I would absolutely love him next to Amare Stoudemire..

Watch him put up 15/12/3 in a system where a lot of shots put up and a lot of opportunities for touches.

[orl1724]

Well I don't think Okafor is a bust by any means but I do think there were quite a few players who were better than him in the 04 draft, like..

Al Jefferson>>
Luol Deng>>
Josh Smith>>
Andre Iguodala>>
You can make a case for a few other players there too i guess.
oh yea Jameer Nelson>>>>>

[jax98]

If he's a bust, Bulls will gladly take him off Charlotte's hands.

But he isn't. He really, really isn't.

[jazzfan1971]

Jazz will take him. Of course, I'd still take Kwame... So, maybe you shouldn't ask me.

[A.J.]

emeka is not bust, even is a great defensive center...who expected him to be a force offensivley?

[Schad]

Absolutely not. There isn't a team in the league that wouldn't want a 13/11 big who plays excellent defense. Plus, were he to play with a better point guard tandem, I am sure that Okafor would crack 15 points with little difficulty.