Lets talk Okafor again....

[SmartWentCrazy]

If Okafor could actually fill the Amir role next season, Philly wouldn't be paying Amir 11M next year season.

[Andrew McCeltic]

I also can’t think of one major gamble this team has made on a young player in the last 20 years that really hurt us in any way.

If anything, we’ve devalued young talent or given up on it too soon - Billups, Joe Johnson are the major examples.

Ainge has shown a willingness to gamble on young players coming from bad situations - Chris Mihm, Ricky Davis, Jiri Welsch, Jae Crowder, Evan Turner.

And the ones who don’t work out - Patrick O’Bryant, James Young, etc. - fail at very little cost to us.

The only way Yabu for Okafor fails is if Okafor busts, and Yabu becomes a star. So far no one has weighed in on Yabusele’s upside - is he Glen Davis, Clarence Weatherspoon, Barkley?

[Edug27]

If Okafor could actually fill the Amir role next season, Philly wouldn't be paying Amir 11M next year season.

Hmm... Kind of confused. Amir was brought in to give a really young team veteran presence and his ability to impact the locker room. Colangelo explained that. How would Okafor fill that role for Philly? I was talking about Okafor filling Amir's role in Boston.

[Andrew McCeltic]

I don't understand, he shoots 51%, and rebound rate same as Horford. Defense is all effort, maybe Stevens can get Irving and Okafor to play defense.

Defense is not all effort. It sure helps a lot if you do have effort, but if you can't recognize or react in time you're doomed.

I think you can learn to recognize and react with time and practice, it’s just a cognitive skill.

I think he could improve as a rebounder, too, in theory - length, great hands, and getting into pro shape on the block could help.

But reaction times are a concern, whether it’s because of slow reflexes, inconsistent effort, fatigue (very likely factor), and/or being cognitively overwhelmed by the pace and complexity of NBA ball.

That said, he’s still only 21, he’s getting in shape, he knows he has to bust his ass to get minutes, he knows what he needs to work on - he could make a leap at some point. I’d rather have him getting developmental minutes than have Bogut getting bandaid minutes.

[Andrew McCeltic]

There’s a lot of homerism, too, forgetting how hospitable our organization is to its young players, and what a horrible situation Philly has been for Okafor.

Smart in Philly, we’d point out his historically bad shooting, call him a bust, say his defense is great but you can get that from a lot of players.

[Edug27]

So far no one has weighed in on Yabusele’s upside - is he Glen Davis, Clarence Weatherspoon, Barkley?

That's because we don't know. You'll hear names like Draymond Green, but that's a super duper stretch.

[Andrew McCeltic]

I think most likely Okafor gets traded to Chicago and is Vegan Curry, scores his ass off like Eddy Curry did, struggles on D.

[Andrew McCeltic]

So far no one has weighed in on Yabusele’s upside - is he Glen Davis, Clarence Weatherspoon, Barkley?

That's because we don't know. You'll hear names like Draymond Green, but that's a super duper stretch.

Right, I mean, it would help to see him play pro minutes.. but the swing shouldn’t be that wide. Dray Green, Barkley, or Brandon Hunter..

[Edug27]

So far no one has weighed in on Yabusele’s upside - is he Glen Davis, Clarence Weatherspoon, Barkley?

That's because we don't know. You'll hear names like Draymond Green, but that's a super duper stretch.

Right, I mean, it would help to see him play pro minutes.. but the swing shouldn’t be that wide. Dray Green, Barkley, or Brandon Hunter..

Anyone who told you Barkley, never talk to them again.

[SmartWentCrazy]

If Okafor could actually fill the Amir role next season, Philly wouldn't be paying Amir 11M next year season.

Hmm... Kind of confused. Amir was brought in to give a really young team veteran presence and his ability to impact the locker room. Colangelo explained that. How would Okafor fill that role for Philly? I was talking about Okafor filling Amir's role in Boston.

I doubt they brought Amir at 11M in to say "Good job, Good effort!" They very likely brought him in to take Okafor's minutes, because the guy has been a gigantic anchor on productive lineups. Going from a -10 point differential per 100 possessions to even neutral is a gigantic improvement.

Do you have any evidence that Okafor can be anything other than a negative? If not, he won't fill Amir's role.

[brackdan70]

I'd rather make an offer on Holmes instead, he's the type of big this team needs. Not a soft 1 on 1 big who are nearing extinction in this league.

I agree with you there, but I imagine the sixers are not putting him on the block without a big overpay.
I always liked Holmes.

[brackdan70]

except every 1 of those players is better than okafor, let alone 3 for 1. They'd need to give us both sac and lakers pick if we did that trade.

Based on what? I can tell you after seeing Semi 2 years at Duke and at SMU, he's not better than Okafor. I saw 2 years of Nader at ISU, there is a reason he went late 2nd round and there is reason why he didn't see any NBA action last year. I don't know much about Yabu except for the fact he went mid 1st round in a horrific draft. So I get the promise of Yabu because he's a 1st round pick but I think it's quite the stretch to say all 3 guys who haven't played in the NBA and 2 being 2nd round draft picks are better players than a guy that averaged 17/7 on 50% shooting with absolutely no help offensively.

Again I'm not saying Okafor is a great player, I also don't think he's a fit for what you guys need. But I think it's kind of out there to say 2nd rounders that haven't played in the NBA are better than he is.

I think all three fit in today's NBA game better than Okafor.

I agree that all three probably do fit the NBA game better today, but, of those three I only really see Ojeleye as having a chance to have a rotation role in the league. Maybe I am wrong here. Okafor definitely has that chance as well and he is younger than Ojeleye and Nader and two days older than Yabusele. I think there is still hope for the guy.


I believe that a team trading for Okafor would need only 2.8 million in out going salary so there is no need to include Ojeleye for salary purposes. Personally I would do Yabu and Nader along with a 2nd any day for Okafor. it is a gamble, but there is a chance that Okafor could become a solid player still in my mind.

[Patsfan1081]

I was kind of pro Okafor last season but this guy is desperately fighting for minutes and you see the effort he puts up on defense and it just makes you shake your head. I would have rather taken a chance on Sully, at least he tries to box out and go after lose balls.

[Crossy2008]

The big picture says there's no way they trade for Okafor. Yabu has four years left at cheap money. I also think Yabu is a high character guy with a good work ethic. The only way I see the Celtics getting Okafor is if Philly buys out his last year, and the Celtics sign him to a min contract.

[Andrew McCeltic]

If we could somehow add Okafor and Jamychal Green for spare parts, I’d feel much better about the short term and long term value of our frontcourt.

[Andrew McCeltic]

That's because we don't know. You'll hear names like Draymond Green, but that's a super duper stretch.

Right, I mean, it would help to see him play pro minutes.. but the swing shouldn’t be that wide. Dray Green, Barkley, or Brandon Hunter..

Anyone who told you Barkley, never talk to them again.

My point is, the only way I don’t deal a possible rotation forward at the end of the roster for a higher risk, higher reward center is if Yabu has a chance to be a sleeper star - like Jokic, Dray Green, Jimmy Butler, Manu, Marc Gasol, etc. - where he goes from afterthought to guy teams can’t believe they overlooked.

[Taget]

I'd rather not lose Nader. I think the NBA-DL MVP has potential to be a great spark plug for us.

[Andrew McCeltic]

https://www.celticsblog.com/2017/9/21/16340894/celtics-warriors-draymond-green-guerschon-yabusele-power-forward-nba-training-camp-boston-golden

Fresh writeup on Yabusele.

Have no problem dealing Nader. Nice point forward, we’ve built his value, but very low odds he’s the next Boris Diaw.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

I used to defend Okafor on here quite a lot using his youth ans scoring as a means of defense, but I've switched sides recently. That guy's defense is every bit as bad as his detractors on here have been harping about. It's cringe worthy to be kind. I dont think it's effort. I just liken his defensive ability to someone whose taking salsa lessons whose got minus zero rhythm and will always look awkward dancing to salsa no matter how many years they put into it. I think his aptitude for it is remedial. He's a special needs defender. He's in the defender Spectrum.

[Crossy2008]

Right, I mean, it would help to see him play pro minutes.. but the swing shouldn’t be that wide. Dray Green, Barkley, or Brandon Hunter..

Anyone who told you Barkley, never talk to them again.

My point is, the only way I don’t deal a possible rotation forward at the end of the roster for a higher risk, higher reward center is if Yabu has a chance to be a sleeper star - like Jokic, Dray Green, Jimmy Butler, Manu, Marc Gasol, etc. - where he goes from afterthought to guy teams can’t believe they overlooked.

Yabu doesn't have to be a sleeper star, he just needs to be a borderline starter to retain his value. He's going to have a relatively tough adjustment period while he finds his role, but he is much more likely to have a better all around impact than Okafor.