After some incidents away from basketball, Sixers rookie Jahlil Okafor is looking to overcome what’s been a rocky start to his promising career, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports writes. Okafor told Spears he has received mentoring from former and current NBA veterans. The Sixers, as Spears points out, have reportedly looked into adding veterans to help the situation.
“When it first happened it was clear that his world was rocked in the biggest way, I’m assuming, of his sporting life,” Sixers coach Brett Brown told Spears. “You can see it in his eyes, his demeanor. His swagger got bumped around a little bit. We explained a lot. ‘We all go through mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up. You screwed up. We got people here that will help you. Time will pass.’ I feel what I see now is a distant memory. It’s taught all of us and I see him playing basketball again.”
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens expressed gratitude for the job Brandon Bass did while the veteran power forward was in Boston, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays. The Lakers signed Bass in July after he spent the previous four seasons with the Celtics, where he helped usher a rebuilding project. In that sense, his current job in Los Angeles is much like the one he had in Boston, Blakely writes. “I really like Brandon; I’m very fond of Brandon,” Stevens said. “He really worked hard and helped get this thing going in the right direction with his work ethic, the way he took care of his body, the example he set for his young teammates.”
- The Hawks recalled Edy Tavares from the Austin Spurs of the D-League, Atlanta announced in an emailed press release. Tavares was assigned to Austin yesterday via the flexible assignment rule because the Hawks do not have their own affiliate.
- The Pacers recalled Rakeem Christmas from their D-League affiliate, the team announced via its website.