Where is Jahlil Okafor?

[TTP]

i happier to keep him around for a little more insurance, and then if we do let him go for a bag of beans, i'd rather give him either to Pops, who would have the best chance figuring him, or Chicago to make his own Pop happy. because the one thing he does real well could be real good for Boston, especially in the playoffs, i don't want him anywhere near there.

He's unplayable vs good teams in the playoffs, just like Kanter is. He'd just get PnR'd to death.

He wasn't taught how to defend a NBA PnR. He could improve with coaching and experience.
Team defense should be his #1 priority.

Offensively, he should be a great finisher with better guards to feed him.
Simmons and Fultz could use a big man that can finish strong, his elite skill.

In the playoffs, Embiid and Okafor should get other teams in foul trouble.
No way, Kevin Love, Draymond, Horford, Adams, and other centers can defend their size, a big advantage.

Jah isn't an elite finisher though, especially not in tandem with guard play. He doesn't play above the rim and doesn't perform well in PnR. His strength is in his self creation.

Fultz and Simmons will function much better with Richaun and Amir than with Jah.

Pretty sure Draymond will do a better job containing Jah than Jah will do containing the Warriors when they PnR him to death. You'd be delusional to think otherwise.

[Chris76]

He's unplayable vs good teams in the playoffs, just like Kanter is. He'd just get PnR'd to death.

He wasn't taught how to defend a NBA PnR. He could improve with coaching and experience.
Team defense should be his #1 priority.

Offensively, he should be a great finisher with better guards to feed him.
Simmons and Fultz could use a big man that can finish strong, his elite skill.

In the playoffs, Embiid and Okafor should get other teams in foul trouble.
No way, Kevin Love, Draymond, Horford, Adams, and other centers can defend their size, a big advantage.

Jah isn't an elite finisher though, especially not in tandem with guard play. He doesn't play above the rim and doesn't perform well in PnR. His strength is in his self creation.

Fultz and Simmons will function much better with Richaun and Amir than with Jah.

Pretty sure Draymond will do a better job containing Jah than Jah will do containing the Warriors when they PnR him to death. You'd be delusional to think otherwise.

Good points. Jah doesn't play above the rim, but he is very efficient within 10 ft. Good passers could feed Jah and make it easier for him to finish. Jah has good face up moves.

Draymond is a great defender, but he would struggle to contain Jah down low. Small ball centers will struggle to contain true centers.

I'm hoping for an improvement in Jah's team defense, he may surprise us. He has a good attitude and the effort seems to be there now. Obviously, Jah struggles in the PnR, but that's his challenge to slowly improve. We'll see soon?

[rzzzzz]

the vegan thing and losing weight is pretty obvious, no? uh, no! turns out that the real target for the major lifestyle change is INFLAMMATION. which makes sense. OK4's knee has been inflamed for more than a year and a half, well after the expected time for a surgically repaired meniscus to heal. yeah, he's a big guy, pounding the court which chronically puts major stress on the knee joint. but when it doesn't respond to rest and rehab, what do you do? maybe think out of the box, investigate, consult. so Jah is now versed in research suggesting a correlation between inflammation and diet, particularly dairy, which until late was a special favorite of his, y'know, cheese and all that. as well as the more outright carnivore stuff. maybe tackling gluten free as well. will it work? i don't know. the dude looks a lot better, and was moving a lot better on the court yesterday. as a Sixer fan, i can only hope he's stumbled onto a good thing for himself. and if it works for him...food for thought.

[Andrew McCeltic]

So I would say again an issue is him being overexposed.. Embiid is a superstar, he hit the ground running. Okafor isn’t going to be a superstar, it’s almost impossible - but given his talent and age, it’s totally possible he could become all star level good.

He was given too many expectations, too soon - that he would have an instant impact like Embiid - that he was an ok rebounder and defender and great* scorer.

I look at how Boston’s worked with Olynyk, Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Avery Bradley - they set reasonable expectations and goals, let guys build habits, gradually increase responsibilities and degrees of difficulty.

And Avery Bradley spent a whole year playing point guard when Rondo was hurt. It was awful. Our board hated him. But I don’t think he’d have the poise, awareness and handles he does now (decent, pretty good) if he didn’t get those reps being awful and building experience.

[rzzzzz]

I look at how Boston’s worked with Olynyk, Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Avery Bradley - they set reasonable expectations and goals, let guys build habits, gradually increase responsibilities and degrees of difficulty.

i think the best indicator is how well Stevens did with Evan Turner. same kind of polarizing figure here. washed up when y'all picked him up for a song. and too bad for you he did well enough to get offered the big, big bucks from a number of teams. 'cause he was your ham and egger, right? anyway, Stevens would know how to use OK4, if he's healthy. and again, no offense, i hope you guys don't get him, 'cause i believe the old rivalry is just about to switch back on again, and he would fit you too well.

[Andrew McCeltic]

I look at how Boston’s worked with Olynyk, Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Avery Bradley - they set reasonable expectations and goals, let guys build habits, gradually increase responsibilities and degrees of difficulty.

i think the best indicator is how well Stevens did with Evan Turner. same kind of polarizing figure here. washed up when y'all picked him up for a song. and too bad for you he did well enough to get offered the big, big bucks from a number of teams. 'cause he was your ham and egger, right? anyway, Stevens would know how to use OK4, if he's healthy. and again, no offense, i hope you guys don't get him, 'cause i believe the old rivalry is just about to switch back on again, and he would fit you too well.

Turner and Okafor are very different players. Stevens did think of a way to use him, and I'd bet he could do the same with Okafor.

But I mean more like, Kelly Olynyk got limited minutes and gradually improved defensively, and a little bit with his offensive assertiveness. By last year, he was a great contributor for us. If he'd been given major minutes right away, he'd probably have a different reputation.

Jaylen Brown, the third pick, spent his rookie year playing limited minutes, learning the system, and how to find occasional spots for himself, and playing defense. His instructions for the summer were to work on becoming a lockdown defender.

Rozier spent a whole season on the bench, they told him to work on his jump-shot and his ability to run an offense - he had a great summer league and then earned some end of the rotation minutes last season.

Smart, too - great defense, and on offense they just asked him to take threes to be guard-able, not much else. Gradually he got more responsibility making decisions with the ball and shooting from midrange.

The point is that if you bring players along slowly and gate their progress, it gives them an incentive to work on their weaknesses, and keeps them from being over-confident or under-confident, and doesn't overload them with responsibilities or give them minutes without accountability.

Boston was in a position to do that because we'd lucked into the Brooklyn trade. But it still matters.

The other issue is how team needs, expectations, and fan bases can distort the narrative around a player.

If you offered Okafor to the Suns board for Devin Booker, they'd laugh at you. But Booker also sucks on defense, and he shoots horrible percentages, but he can score the hell out of the ball. The reason he's "untouchable" and Okafor's considered toxic isn't their respective talent or upside, it's the narratives around them. Booker was the 13th pick, no one expected much, so his shooting is a pleasant surprise, and the team's been going nowhere, and everyone assumes he can get better defensively and in efficiency. Okafor was the third pick, he scores the hell out of the ball, but he's disappointed expectations, so all his weaknesses are seen as weights dragging the team down, not areas where he needs to improve.

[Sixerscan]

I look at how Boston’s worked with Olynyk, Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Avery Bradley - they set reasonable expectations and goals, let guys build habits, gradually increase responsibilities and degrees of difficulty.

i think the best indicator is how well Stevens did with Evan Turner. same kind of polarizing figure here. washed up when y'all picked him up for a song. and too bad for you he did well enough to get offered the big, big bucks from a number of teams. 'cause he was your ham and egger, right? anyway, Stevens would know how to use OK4, if he's healthy. and again, no offense, i hope you guys don't get him, 'cause i believe the old rivalry is just about to switch back on again, and he would fit you too well.

Turner and Okafor are very different players. Stevens did think of a way to use him, and I'd bet he could do the same with Okafor.

But I mean more like, Kelly Olynyk got limited minutes and gradually improved defensively, and a little bit with his offensive assertiveness. By last year, he was a great contributor for us. If he'd been given major minutes right away, he'd probably have a different reputation.

Jaylen Brown, the third pick, spent his rookie year playing limited minutes, learning the system, and how to find occasional spots for himself, and playing defense. His instructions for the summer were to work on becoming a lockdown defender.

Rozier spent a whole season on the bench, they told him to work on his jump-shot and his ability to run an offense - he had a great summer league and then earned some end of the rotation minutes last season.

Smart, too - great defense, and on offense they just asked him to take threes to be guard-able, not much else. Gradually he got more responsibility making decisions with the ball and shooting from midrange.

The point is that if you bring players along slowly and gate their progress, it gives them an incentive to work on their weaknesses, and keeps them from being over-confident or under-confident, and doesn't overload them with responsibilities or give them minutes without accountability.

Boston was in a position to do that because we'd lucked into the Brooklyn trade. But it still matters.

The other issue is how team needs, expectations, and fan bases can distort the narrative around a player.

If you offered Okafor to the Suns board for Devin Booker, they'd laugh at you. But Booker also sucks on defense, and he shoots horrible percentages, but he can score the hell out of the ball. The reason he's "untouchable" and Okafor's considered toxic isn't their respective talent or upside, it's the narratives around them. Booker was the 13th pick, no one expected much, so his shooting is a pleasant surprise, and the team's been going nowhere, and everyone assumes he can get better defensively and in efficiency. Okafor was the third pick, he scores the hell out of the ball, but he's disappointed expectations, so all his weaknesses are seen as weights dragging the team down, not areas where he needs to improve.

He's not just bad relative to being the 3rd pick, he's bad relative to someone like Richaun Holmes who was taken in the 2nd round and is his main competition for backup center.

This isn't about where he was picked. There are players on this team that play his position that have been straight up better than him. At this point if he wants to play over them he needs to earn it.

Heck, I would argue that you're the only one here focusing on where he was picked. We are well past that here.

PS - Terry Rozier is garbage, he would be on our D League team.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Come on, you tanked the poor kid’s career because you drafted him as an “asset” when you already had Noel and Embiid. The way he’s been treated by Philly fans is abominable - he had a flawed but offensively astounding rookie year, and you all embraced Embiid the second he got healthy, and forced Jah to play out of position, and as a backup, and instead of focusing on improving around the things he could do, you put him under a microscope and focus on what he can’t do. He’s not the reason the Sixers lost games, the reason they lost is that they had awful rosters built to lose games.

It’s the process, it’s a business, it’s all legal, but what the Sixers have done to his career is absolutely bush league and he deserves better.

[Simmons25]

Come on, you tanked the poor kid’s career because you drafted him as an “asset” when you already had Noel and Embiid. The way he’s been treated by Philly fans is abominable - he had a flawed but offensively astounding rookie year, and you all embraced Embiid the second he got healthy, and forced Jah to play out of position, and as a backup, and instead of focusing on improving around the things he could do, you put him under a microscope and focus on what he can’t do. He’s not the reason the Sixers lost games, the reason they lost is that they had awful rosters built to lose games.

It’s the process, it’s a business, it’s all legal, but what the Sixers have done to his career is absolutely bush league and he deserves better.

What. Okafor was given every opportunity and more. Not sure how many 76ers games you watched early last season but Okafor had been given first crack at playing with and backing up Joel... to the point that it was Nerlens Noel that was the one that was unhappy about the lack of playing time and crying about it.

The fact Okafor couldn't eventually hold his place in the team and was beaten out by even Richaun Holmes... says how bad Okafor was going. Overweight, Lacked fitness and more importantly lacked effort. His increased effort in the off-season by losing weight only shows how little he cared last year. Maybe he has woken up and realised he will be playing in China in 2 years if he didn't pull his finger out... but I fail to see how that has anything to do with how the 76ers treated him.

[Sixerscan]

Come on, you tanked the poor kid’s career because you drafted him as an “asset” when you already had Noel and Embiid. The way he’s been treated by Philly fans is abominable - he had a flawed but offensively astounding rookie year, and you all embraced Embiid the second he got healthy, and forced Jah to play out of position, and as a backup, and instead of focusing on improving around the things he could do, you put him under a microscope and focus on what he can’t do. He’s not the reason the Sixers lost games, the reason they lost is that they had awful rosters built to lose games.

It’s the process, it’s a business, it’s all legal, but what the Sixers have done to his career is absolutely bush league and he deserves better.

What. Okafor was given every opportunity and more. Not sure how many 76ers games you watched early last season but Okafor had been given first crack at playing with and backing up Joel... to the point that it was Nerlens Noel that was the one that was unhappy about the lack of playing time and crying about it.

The fact Okafor couldn't eventually hold his place in the team and was beaten out by even Richaun Holmes... says how bad Okafor was going. Overweight, Lacked fitness and more importantly lacked effort. His increased effort in the off-season by losing weight only shows how little he cared last year. Maybe he has woken up and realised he will be playing in China in 2 years if he didn't pull his finger out... but I fail to see how that has anything to do with how the 76ers treated him.

Thank you for laying this all out.

Frankly I am sick of people blaming Sixers fans, coaches and teammates for being why Jah has struggled. It's on him. Hoping that the light has turned on.

[Andrew McCeltic]

He was on a bad knee, too. The fanbase never embraced him. And everyone knew he was just insurance if Embiid didn't get healthy. He's human. I can imagine a ton of players cracking under the stress of those circumstances - and probably a lot of us, if we were put in a similar scenario at our jobs, would have trouble keeping up morale. The fact that he's still working hard, losing weight, getting healthy and working on his game says a lot for him.

And I hope he has a great career somewhere else, or at least gets a fair chance, with the winds in his favor.

[76ciology]

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[Kolkmania]

He was on a bad knee, too. The fanbase never embraced him. And everyone knew he was just insurance if Embiid didn't get healthy. He's human. I can imagine a ton of players cracking under the stress of those circumstances - and probably a lot of us, if we were put in a similar scenario at our jobs, would have trouble keeping up morale. The fact that he's still working hard, losing weight, getting healthy and working on his game says a lot for him.

And I hope he has a great career somewhere else, or at least gets a fair chance, with the winds in his favor.

Didn't you just advocate for a smaller role where he could grow as a player and develop his areas of weakness? So what is different about him being the backup and how you envisioned his role?

If he plays well enough Brett Brown will play him, he's had every opportunity to present himself last two years and he had way more credit than Richaun Holmes who simply outplayed him.

[Simmons25]

He was on a bad knee, too. The fanbase never embraced him. And everyone knew he was just insurance if Embiid didn't get healthy. He's human. I can imagine a ton of players cracking under the stress of those circumstances - and probably a lot of us, if we were put in a similar scenario at our jobs, would have trouble keeping up morale. The fact that he's still working hard, losing weight, getting healthy and working on his game says a lot for him.

And I hope he has a great career somewhere else, or at least gets a fair chance, with the winds in his favor.

All it really says is that he got the absolute shock of his life last year when the 76ers literally could not give him away and nobody in the NBA wanted him. That doesn't augur well for him making a career in the NBA and being paid.

You have to ask yourself why none of the other 29 NBA clubs were beating down the door to get him for what basically would have amounted to nothing more than a half eaten bag of chips.... if he was just this misunderstood amazingly talented and motivated guy that is just in the wrong situation? Teams aren't that stupid.

Look I like Jahil... I actually hope he breaks out and has a great season and I even hope he stays but I can't see it happening. He thinks he is a starting 5 just like Nerlens and I think he is more of a starting 5 than Nerlens was... but not behind Joel Embiid he isn't... and currently he would not be getting a starting gig on any team in the NBA... and that has little to do with Philly but his work effort up until now.

[TTP]

Come on, you tanked the poor kid’s career because you drafted him as an “asset” when you already had Noel and Embiid. The way he’s been treated by Philly fans is abominable - he had a flawed but offensively astounding rookie year, and you all embraced Embiid the second he got healthy, and forced Jah to play out of position, and as a backup, and instead of focusing on improving around the things he could do, you put him under a microscope and focus on what he can’t do. He’s not the reason the Sixers lost games, the reason they lost is that they had awful rosters built to lose games.

It’s the process, it’s a business, it’s all legal, but what the Sixers have done to his career is absolutely bush league and he deserves better.

So much ignorance here that I don't know where to begin.

When did we force Okafor to play out of position? You mean the 70 minutes he played with Embiid during his second season? Noel and Holmes were the ones being forced out of their natural position, not Okafor.

Okafor didn't even deserve to be a backup, yet he was gifted that role over more productive players.

You're blaming the fans for Okafor's failures? Congrats on fitting in the assets buzzword too.

Okafor was absolutely one of the reasons the Sixers lost games and it's absurd to think otherwise.

Also, it's par for the course that a page ago you're unfamiliar with the Sixers personnel around Okafor, yet now you're pretty confident that he wasn't put in a position to succeed. It's pretty clear that you've barely watched any of Okafor the last two years.

[TTP]

Also that Devin Booker analogy is garbage. Defense is much more of a requirement for bigs than it is for guards, and Booker is also a positive on offense (unlike Okafor).

[Mrcrockpots]

LOL at Booker and Okafor being in the same sentence because they both suck at defense. Come on man. The "narrative" around Jah is the reason why he has zero trade value?! I thought I heard it all.

[Simmons25]

Will be interesting to see if he thinks the Celtics are also to blame when they have a #3 pick Tatum rotting away getting DNP's because he was picked up as nothing more than an asset.

[Unbreakable99]

Will be interesting to see if he thinks the Celtics are also to blame when they have a #3 pick Tatum rotting away getting DNP's because he was picked up as nothing more than an asset.

I expect Tatum to get at least 15-20 minutes to start the season. By season’s end he could be up to 25-30 if he plays well.

[Chris76]

LOL at Booker and Okafor being in the same sentence because they both suck at defense. Come on man. The "narrative" around Jah is the reason why he has zero trade value?! I thought I heard it all.

Okafor has an opportunity to improve his defense, rebounding, and ball movement. Amir could be a good mentor for Jah and Holmes.