In a crowded Philadelphia 76ers front court, it appears that Jahlil Okafor may be the odd man out. Okafor, the 3rd overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, has already lost in starting Center position to Joel Embiid and he may fall completely out of the rotation due to the rise of promising young talent Dario Saric and Richaun Holmes. Reports surfaced today that the 76ers and the Boston Celtics had preliminary regarding a sign and trade including Okafor and Amir Johnson, but talks never grew to an advanced stage. While the 76ers may have high demands in what they want in return for Okafor as they believe he is a blossoming young talent that teams can build around, it is apparent that Okafor has yet to incorporate an outside game into his arsenal as the traditional center position starts to become unused and outdated in the NBA today.
A few teams have already stood out as potential landing spots for Okafor should he get traded either this offseason or possibly at 2017-2018 NBA Trade Deadline. The Atlanta Hawks could be a great destination for Okafor as soon they will likely have to start to look at rebuilding the organization after Paul Millsap signed a three year deal with the Denver Nuggets. Okafor could be their new starting Center, a massive upgrade to their current starter Miles Plumlee after the Hawks traded Dwight Howard to the Charlotte Hornets.
The Brooklyn Nets are also a team reportedly interested in Okafor should the 76ers indeed place him on the trade pick. Although the Nets are short on draft picks, they hope they can send a player such as Trevor Booker to the 76ers along with future picks in return for Okafor. Okafor is clearly better than Booker, but Booker could be a leader in the locker room and a significant veteran presence, which the 76ers organization certainly needs.
The Boston Celtics are clearly interested in Okafor and are armed with picks to be able to make a trade happen, although the Nets pick in 2018 will definitely be off limits. After losing Amir Johnson to Philadelphia and both Jonas Jerebko and Kelly Olynyk being free agents, Jahlil Okafor would be a tremendous back-up to his fellow Duke University comrade and first round pick Jayson Tatum.
Lastly, assuredly Okafor would love the opportunity to go back and play for his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. Okafor, who grew up in Arkansas, moved to Chicago, Illinois so he could have the opportunity to play at Whitney M. Young High School, a national powerhouse. There he was both a McDonald's All-American and USA Today Preseason All-American. Similar to the Hawks, the Bulls may be starting their rebuilding process after trading Jimmy Butler on draft night and Dwyane Wade is highly regarded as a potential buyout candidate at some point this season. The Bulls, whom are also aiming to get rid of Robin Lopez's dismal contract where he will make over 13 million dollars this upcoming season, would love to pair Okafor with their core of young talent including Zach Lavine, Denzel Valentine, Bobby Portis, and Lauri Markkanen.
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