Looks like the Embiid/Okafor tandem has mercifully been put to rest

[LongLiveHinkie]

Read on Twitter

...at least for now.



Our professional organization was only about 3 weeks behind the fan base on this one, but better late than never.

[oken]

But he's only "not sure". He may need a month or 2 before making the final decision.

[sixers hoops]

I think the trial pairing was a way to avoid criticism from the people who would say "they should have tried Embiid and Okafor together!" before trading Okafor.

Now you know Okafor makes Embiid worse so you get rid of him.

[HartfordWhalers]

The tank just lost a bit of ammo.

[Unbreakable99]

I wonder what the Prokofors will say now? What will their excuse be? Let me guess. Poor guard play. Wings can't defend. Okafor is really good if this happens and if that happens and this also happens and he does this and he does that. People need to give it up. Okafor isn't good for us. He needs to be off this team. I don't even want him as a backup. I'd rather have Noel.

[LloydFree]

I think the trial pairing was a way to avoid criticism from the people who would say "they should have tried Embiid and Okafor together!" before trading Okafor.

Now you know Okafor makes Embiid worse so you get rid of him.

Exactly.

Three weeks ago a vocal portion of the fanbase and a number of writers were screaming they had to try it. "It's coaching malpractice if you don't put your two 'best' players on the court together." Only took 2-3 games to show everyone it didn't work. They tried it for 6 games, and made even the biggest proponents beg for it to stop.

The front office and the coach knew this was nonsense. But they had to do it, because they would never hear the end of it, if they decided to ship Okafor out of here before ever trying it. They did the smart thing. They did it and got it out of the way before it could effect Ben Simmons' debut. Now that everyone is clear that Okafor has to be a backup they can trade him if they please, without backlash.

[Ericb5]

I wonder what the Prokofors will say now? What will their excuse be? Let me guess. Poor guard play. Wings can't defend. Okafor is really good if this happens and if that happens and this also happens and he does this and he does that. People need to give it up. Okafor isn't good for us. He needs to be off this team. I don't even want him as a backup. I'd rather have Noel.

If Embiid and Okafor don't work it doesn't mean that Okafor can't play. I mean they are both natural centers. I always put it at a 50-50 proposition of it working.

The thing is that it CAN work, but it limits Embiid's effectiveness and that is a no no for us.

As I said the other day, I now think that we should trade Okafor and sign Noel. Hey look at that. I'm able to be for one of them without crapping on the other player. Most of you guys can't figure it how to do that.


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[CoreyGallagher]

I didn't like the forced pairing to begin with and I had said that from the get go (as I had posted in the Okafor thread), they were playing just fine picking and choosing when to play them together based upon match-ups.

Regardless of the big that they decide to keep, they'd primarily be playing when Embiid isn't and only occasionally/situationally together - that's why I didn't understand the overreaction. It was never going to be like it was these games, it was never going to be a long term pairing. I am glad that I saw it, though, I hope to see Embiid with Noel more as well.

[Unbreakable99]

I think the trial pairing was a way to avoid criticism from the people who would say "they should have tried Embiid and Okafor together!" before trading Okafor.

Now you know Okafor makes Embiid worse so you get rid of him.

Exactly.

Three weeks ago a vocal portion of the fanbase and a number of writers were screaming they had to try it. "It's coaching malpractice if you don't put your two 'best' players on the court together." Only took 2-3 games to show everyone it didn't work. They tried it for 6 games, and made even the biggest proponents beg for it to stop.

The front office and the coach knew this was nonsense. But they had to do it, because they would never hear the end of it, if they decided to ship Okafor out of here before ever trying it. They did the smart thing. They did it and got it out of the way before it could effect Ben Simmons' debut. Now that everyone is clear that Okafor has to be a backup they can trade him if they please, without backlash.

One snag. We will still have a few people say we didn't see Okafor and Embiid with Simmons. They will come out and say you can't trade Okafor until you see him with Simmons. Ugh. One last hurdle to get through before there are no more Prokafors.

[MatthewGeigerII]

nerlens was out.
sixers tried jah with embiid.

nerlens is back...
sixers should/will now try nerlens with embiid.

nerlen's being out was the reason that pairing got first dibs.
i think they were going to try both C's with embiid one way or another anyway.

let's just hope NoelJoel works well - making "who to trade" crystal clear.

[LloydFree]

I think the trial pairing was a way to avoid criticism from the people who would say "they should have tried Embiid and Okafor together!" before trading Okafor.

Now you know Okafor makes Embiid worse so you get rid of him.

Exactly.

Three weeks ago a vocal portion of the fanbase and a number of writers were screaming they had to try it. "It's coaching malpractice if you don't put your two 'best' players on the court together." Only took 2-3 games to show everyone it didn't work. They tried it for 6 games, and made even the biggest proponents beg for it to stop.

The front office and the coach knew this was nonsense. But they had to do it, because they would never hear the end of it, if they decided to ship Okafor out of here before ever trying it. They did the smart thing. They did it and got it out of the way before it could effect Ben Simmons' debut. Now that everyone is clear that Okafor has to be a backup they can trade him if they please, without backlash.

One snag. We will still have a few people say we didn't see Okafor and Embiid with Simmons. They will come out and say you can't trade Okafor until you see him with Simmons. Ugh. One last hurdle to get through before there are no more Prokafors.

You are right. There will still be some that say they should/should've tried Okafor with Simmons and Embiid, but that will probably just be the most ridiculous, fringe, minority.

There will never be a "stamping out" of the group. It's not about how Okafor positively or negatively effects the team. Never has been. It's about refusing to be incorrect in your evaluation of the player/prospect and/or salvaging something from your strong investment in one side of the argument. Same thing as the Evan Turner arguments.

[sixers hoops]

Exactly.

Three weeks ago a vocal portion of the fanbase and a number of writers were screaming they had to try it. "It's coaching malpractice if you don't put your two 'best' players on the court together." Only took 2-3 games to show everyone it didn't work. They tried it for 6 games, and made even the biggest proponents beg for it to stop.

The front office and the coach knew this was nonsense. But they had to do it, because they would never hear the end of it, if they decided to ship Okafor out of here before ever trying it. They did the smart thing. They did it and got it out of the way before it could effect Ben Simmons' debut. Now that everyone is clear that Okafor has to be a backup they can trade him if they please, without backlash.

One snag. We will still have a few people say we didn't see Okafor and Embiid with Simmons. They will come out and say you can't trade Okafor until you see him with Simmons. Ugh. One last hurdle to get through before there are no more Prokafors.

You are right. There will still be some that say they should/should've tried Okafor with Simmons and Embiid, but that will probably just be the most ridiculous, fringe, minority.

There will never be a "stamping out" of the group. It's not about how Okafor positively or negatively effects the team. Never has been. It's about refusing to be incorrect in your evaluation of the player/prospect and/or salvaging something from your strong investment in one side of the argument. Same thing as the Evan Turner arguments.

I struggle admitting that we wasted a #3 overall pick on a guy who isn't very good. However, it's a sunk cost and you have to accept it.

[LloydFree]

One snag. We will still have a few people say we didn't see Okafor and Embiid with Simmons. They will come out and say you can't trade Okafor until you see him with Simmons. Ugh. One last hurdle to get through before there are no more Prokafors.

You are right. There will still be some that say they should/should've tried Okafor with Simmons and Embiid, but that will probably just be the most ridiculous, fringe, minority.

There will never be a "stamping out" of the group. It's not about how Okafor positively or negatively effects the team. Never has been. It's about refusing to be incorrect in your evaluation of the player/prospect and/or salvaging something from your strong investment in one side of the argument. Same thing as the Evan Turner arguments.

I struggle admitting that we wasted a #3 overall pick on a guy who isn't very good. However, it's a sunk cost and you have to accept it.

That's perfectly understandable. That's a different struggle. I hate the stigma of my team wasting top 3 picks on Shawn Bradley, Keith Van Horn, Evan Turner and Jahlil Okafor. It makes my team look dumb. I don't like it. But I'm not going to argue the guy is good, just because I'm a fan of the team, when the guy is clearly not good. You are exactly right... you accept the mistake and move on.

[Negrodamus]

I wonder what the Prokofors will say now? What will their excuse be? Let me guess. Poor guard play. Wings can't defend. Okafor is really good if this happens and if that happens and this also happens and he does this and he does that. People need to give it up. Okafor isn't good for us. He needs to be off this team. I don't even want him as a backup. I'd rather have Noel.

If Embiid and Okafor don't work it doesn't mean that Okafor can't play. I mean they are both natural centers. I always put it at a 50-50 proposition of it working.

The thing is that it CAN work, but it limits Embiid's effectiveness and that is a no no for us.

As I said the other day, I now think that we should trade Okafor and sign Noel. Hey look at that. I'm able to be for one of them without crapping on the other player. Most of you guys can't figure it how to do that.


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I'm with you.

I also don't think Okafor is hopeless, but I don't think he has a future on a team like the Sixers. He needs to be brought along like a project on a team that is contending (I'm one again alluding to the Spurs for him) so that he can have better guidance while being forced to work towards something, ie playing time. I feel like everyone assumed he was a "start from day 1" center that had his minor flaws but a readymade player. He's not that. He's a project that is exceptional at ISO scoring for a big man. I do think that mindset made him complacent and he leaned heavily on the things he's good at while never really improving on the parts of the game he struggles most with (rebounding, team defense, PnR defense, etc etc).

If he finds the right situation, he can be a beast in this league.

[TeamHigh]

If Embiid and Okafor don't work it doesn't mean that Okafor can't play. I mean they are both natural centers. I always put it at a 50-50 proposition of it working.

The thing is that it CAN work, but it limits Embiid's effectiveness and that is a no no for us.

As I said the other day, I now think that we should trade Okafor and sign Noel. Hey look at that. I'm able to be for one of them without crapping on the other player. Most of you guys can't figure it how to do that.

Okay, this drek needs to stop.

You're not a superior fan just because you're stubborn and adamant that Okafor is a good player, so why you're on your high horse is beyond me. Most posters aren't attacking Okafor personally; they're cynical about his skills and place in the NBA. And that's perfectly reasonable!

Look at what Okafor is realistically. He's a post scoring big and not much else.

Look at what the NBA is. It's not a post scoring league anymore.

It's pace, space and passing. Okafor is slow, a poor shooter, and a ball stopper. It's about rim protection, rebounding, and filling the lane off the pick and roll. Okafor is a poor defender, a substandard rebounder, and is poor at PnR offense and catching lobs.

He's touted for his post scoring, but post scoring is the most inefficient form of offense (averages 0.78ppp), and Okafor had actually been below this mark much of his career. Because he's not good at fighting for good position, passing out of the post, or drawing fouls.

By what measure is he a good player and would be a good fit in today's NBA? The fact he would have been a decent player twenty years ago is completely irrelevant. An objective look at what the NBA is and what Okafor is shows that he doesn't fit. And that's not hate or "crapping on" him. That's trying to be objective instead of blindly defending him because he's on your team or that he cost a valuable asset to acquire.

[phiphan]

Now you know Okafor makes Embiid worse so you get rid of him.

[XDevilBoiX]

The tank just lost a bit of ammo.

Not when you have the Commander in Chief.

[PhilasFinest]

We are awful with Okafor on the floor and not as awful when he is off it. Tons of stats show this, and the more time that passes it just becomes more and more prevalent.

Pretty clear that he does not fit. Sucks we wasted a top 3 pick, but its time to move on.

[MatthewGeigerII]

I do agree with some of the above that it's getting more and more apparent that okafor is the one that needs to go...

but what if his value right now (some reports have said this)
is a few 2nds...

would you take 2 2nds just to move him, being honest?

i don't blame BC for not trading him just yet and waiting (ala eagles) for an oppurinity to knock closer to the deadline or draft where teams are getting desperate for rookie contract bigs. there is value in that.

what i do not understand, and i'm on the same page as most... is why BB is giving him a ton of crucial minutes. the phx and sac games... where you have a late lead you need to protect - sub in the defensive player.

so yeah i don't mind holding onto jah until an actual good deal or AT LEAST 75 cents on the dollar is there.. not 2nds.
but you can't be playing him at points of the game where BB has. he should be crushing 2nd units and driving up his trade value.

i mean he has a place as a backup big in this role, but you did not take someone #3 overall to be a backup.

[Unbreakable99]

I do agree with some of the above that it's getting more and more apparent that okafor is the one that needs to go...

but what if his value right now (some reports have said this)
is a few 2nds...

would you take 2 2nds just to move him, being honest?

i don't blame BC for not trading him just yet and waiting (ala eagles) for an oppurinity to knock closer to the deadline or draft where teams are getting desperate for rookie contract bigs. there is value in that.

what i do not understand, and i'm on the same page as most... is why BB is giving him a ton of crucial minutes. the phx and sac games... where you have a late lead you need to protect - sub in the defensive player.

so yeah i don't mind holding onto jah until an actual good deal or AT LEAST 75 cents on the dollar is there.. not 2nds.
but you can't be playing him at points of the game where BB has. he should be crushing 2nd units and driving up his trade value.

i mean he has a place as a backup big in this role, but you did not take someone #3 overall to be a backup.

GM from team X: Bryan would you trade Okafor for...

BC: Yes

GM from team X: But I haven't told you what I wanted to give you for Okafor.

BC: Yes I'll take it.

GM from team X: But I still didn't tell you what...

BC: Yes let's make the trade. I like it.