5:22pm: The reported trade is now official, both teams have announced in press releases.
3:16pm: The Nets and Sixers are nearing a deal that will send Jahlil Okafor to Brooklyn, Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets. In the trade, Lowe adds, Philly will also send Nik Stauskas and a second-round pick to the Nets in exchange for Trevor Booker.
The second-round pick heading from the Sixers to the Nets will actually be the Knicks’ second-rounder in 2019, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. Charania also clarifies that the Nets will promptly release guard Sean Kilpatrick in order to create space for the two incoming players.
The move to Brooklyn serves as an excellent opportunity for 2015’s third overall pick. Having seen action in just two contests for the Sixers this season, Okafor was in desperate need of a change of scenery. His camp had been working directly with the franchise to find a suitable new destination since at least October.
Okafor will slot into the Nets’ depth chart as a potential starter. Given that Okafor averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game as a rookie back in 2015/16, it’s not unreasonable to expect him to eat into Timofey Mozgov‘s role at the five. Okafor, after all, showed up to training camp this fall in the best shape of his career.
Worth keeping an eye on is the fact that Okafor will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season thanks to Philadelphia’s decision to decline his 2018/19 fourth-year option. If the Nets want to re-sign him, they won’t be able to offer him a starting salary worth more than the value of that declined option (approximately $6.3MM).
The acquisition of Stauskas may not move the needle much for Brooklyn fans, but the former Michigan Wolverine will reunite with Caris LeVert and add depth on the perimeter. He’ll be eligible for restricted free agency in 2018.
Finally, the Sixers will benefit from Booker’s veteran presence and his expiring $9.1MM contract isn’t going to impact the team’s financial future. Booker has averaged 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds in just 21.9 minutes per game so far this season and will provide extra depth for a young team that is looking to turn the corner and seriously compete in the East.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse for Okafor
He gets playing time in brooklyn
Im sure hes fine with that
If he can’t beat out Timofy Mosgov, he’s really bad!
How is this worse?
I meant worse team
Okafor, Stauskas, 2nd to Brooklyn got Booker
Where’s the playing time at the 4 for Booker on Philly? I don’t like this at all for Brooklyn, but whatever. Weird trade
I’m happy for this guy, he gets to play and it doesn’t matter where he is at least he isn’t wasting his talent just sitting there. Was Shane what the Sixers were doing to the guy. I get it that you thought you had better players but trade him or release him instead of just sitting him and not playing him at all this season. Pretty ridiculous considering he is actually pretty good. I think he and Russell will play well together when Russell comes back.
He’s one of the top 5 worst defensive players I’ve ever seen in my 25 years of watching the NBA.
There’s a lot of guys in the NBA who aren’t good at defense. His offense makes him worth playing. He had a pretty damn good rookie year to just sit the next year and barely play.
His rookie year was a product of volume. The sixers missed the chance to sell high. His situation is similar to MCW, mass volume shots lead to bloated stats. Jah just never developed the other facets of his game, whether it be lack of effort or something else. His rookie stats aren’t that crazy. There just isn’t room for a no defense, can’t stretch the floor, can’t get to the line, ball dominant center for how the sixers want to play. And in the modern NBA, I don’t see him being a difference maker.
Philly should have have done better with Okafor, in multiple steps AND ways. In the end, they have Booker, who has already had his moderate peak.
Mass volume? You have no clue what his stats were. 50% clip on 14.7 shots per game. That is not mass volume, for the number 1 scoring option, which he was.
There’s also alot of guys in the NBA who have plenty of talent and don’t get much playing time. The fact that he has the offensive potential that he does, just outright releasing him never made sense. His option for this year was picked up last year as insurance for Embiid. And even not playing he offered more as insurance instead of dead money on the cap. It’s not the 6ers fault nobody was in any rush to acquire him.
I can see a bunch of rebuilding teams willing to bet more than the declined team option even if he does not play well for the Nets.
So, I don’t really get why a rebuilding team like Nets would trade for him right now, instead of just getting him in free agency.
They don’t have their first-round pick this year. It’s not much of a risk to take a flyer on a talented player and have some time to convince him to re-sign.
Booker isn’t a part of their future and has an expiring contract anyway. They desperately need help at the 5 so taking a gamble on Okafor is worth it
Brooklyn has Dlo and Okafor now. Thats would have looked good in 2015
Is his dad’s twitter name still something like dadofapro or mysonsapro or whatever?
So Brooklyn got a bunch of random stuff for basically nothing. Seems like a dumb trade for Philly, albeit a meaningless one.
Jeremy Lin, D’Angelo Russell, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Nik Stauskas, and Jahlil Okafor the Nets are finally gonna look interesting next season
That’s not their best players IMO… Dinwiddie, Crabbe, Allen, Levert, Harris, Acy, & Carroll better
What about Mozgov?
I haven’t really seen him. He hasn’t played much vs Clev. Disappointing
Philly dumping money for Lebron.
That’s what they did when they declined his option. All 3 players are expiring, and the 6ers actually took in extra money. This is acquiring a vet who might have a little value, and dumping the guy who was sulking at the end of the bench.
Okafor actually made more headlines crying for playing time, than he did when he was actually on the floor.
I remember Philly wanting to get Paul George too!
Philly won’t get LeBron. Look at Miami and Cleveland rosters since LeBron played for them.First thing he did for Cavs was trade rookies for vets. He wants vets, like Shaquielle O’Neal the first time in Cleveland. It does look like Cleveland vs. Houston with the biggest spender winning.