Signing with Zaragoza in Spain hasn’t gone exactly according to plan for former No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor, with the team stumbling out to a 3-7 record after he signed this summer. According to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, Okafor is now departing Zaragoza to sign with a Chinese club, the Zhejiang Lions, who will pay for his buyout.
It sounds like the magnitude of the offer received from Zhejiang was the biggest sticking point for Okafor, and that it was more than he could’ve received from Zaragoza, as detailed in a piece from BasketNews.com.
Zaragoza head coach Porfirio Fisac openly discussed his thought process on the matter before Okafor left, as relayed by BasketNews.com.
“If he leaves, for me right now in his career, it’s a mistake,” Fisac said. “I think he’d be mistaken. He’s played 15 or 20 games and is in good physical condition. It is true that he still has a lot to improve, but we cannot put more pressure on him in terms of changes of pace and efforts.
“We are taking care of him. If he stays here, his career will be extended by 10 years. If he goes somewhere else, he will play five more years. It all depends on where the money is or whether you want to earn it today or later. Everyone has their own way of thinking.”
Okafor, 27, holds six seasons of NBA experience across stints with the Sixers, Nets, Pelicans and Pistons. His last NBA appearance came in 2020/21 with Detroit. He averages 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 247 games (116 starts) for his career.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Yogi Ferrell is receiving overseas interest, with Serbian club Partizan reaching out to the 30-year-old guard, according to Eurohoops.net. Partizan is currently dealing with injury issues in the backcourt, leading to their interest in Ferrell. Ferrell appeared in 259 games (53 starts) across five seasons in the NBA with the Nets, Mavericks, Kings, Cavaliers and Clippers. His last NBA appearance came in 2020/21 and he holds career averages of 7.7 points and 2.3 assists.
- While Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama have seemingly made the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award a two-man race early in the season, the entire crop of first-year players has been impressive. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie took stock of rookies across the league, ranking Dereck Lively, Brandon Miller, Ausar Thompson, Jordan Hawkins and Cason Wallace as the next five (in order) behind Holmgren and Wembanyama on the league’s rookie ladder. It’s a different take on the rookie class than what ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton offered last week — ESPN’s duo was a touch higher on Detroit’s Marcus Sasser and lower on Lively, though all of Marks, Pelton and Vecenie agreed Holmgren was the overall most impressive rookie so far.
- This summer’s trade requests from Damian Lillard and James Harden added another chapter to the NBA’s player empowerment saga. According to Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett, NBA owners are seeking ways to prevent or minimize the practice of players demanding trades in the fashion we’ve been accustomed to. “I think the whole player empowerment piece that has been running in the league for last couple of years? I think it’s about run its course, because so many just haven’t worked out,” Bulpett’s Eastern Conference source said.
Did Okafor ever return to the Delaware Blue Coats?
Also, what really happened to this guy, he had a lot of talent and just basically went into oblivion
Game moved past him and I think it was defense. No shooting range. Shame. 10 years earlier hed be an AS in the league.
He should 100% follow the money tho, hes 27. NBA is not a reality atm, not a guaranteed deal. Don’t listen to this Spain coach.
Well, it is a shame, he never got a second chance with the Sixers I would have lived to seen him again
Wasn’t just defense. The only way he can score is in the post, and he has no passing game to supplement it, nor can he finish in the pick and roll. He’s simply too slow with no jumper to be viable in the NBA, even in a bench role. In the G-League, he still looked good stats-wise, as the G-league still plays like the mid-late 2000s in terms of pace and spacing. His talents as a post scorer are undeniable, but he doesn’t have a game outside of that. Similar things have happened to other guys who came in during the late 2000s early 2010s, such as Kenneth Fareid. They excelled in one skill, but never developed any further, except within that one skill. And as the league moved into more of a pace and space game, they just became less valuable.
Facts on the pick and roll. Facts on the passing. He worked on the jumper, but you couldn’t put him on the floor with it. Not adding any rim protection either.
Rule changes put Jahlil out of the league. Couldn’t put him on the floor defensively. He remains one of the best low-post scorer’s on the planet. He did everything asked of him. He got into amazing shape. Became a vegetarian. Did amazing work on his body.
Really good kid as well. He had his moments as a rookie, but a good kid.
Jahlil has to follow the money to China.
Which rule changes? I would say more of a style change. Big men who can’t shoot or defend simply can’t play in the era of the three.
Rule changes designed to encourage offense, and to take the traditional big man out of the game. Points of emphasis for calls, and points of no emphasis at all.
Simple changes like only having 8 seconds to advance the ball past half court vs. 10 seconds have major impacts on the pace of the game, and your ability to control that pace.
Miami, Boston, Memphis or Washington should give Okafor a chance
Trey Burke is killing the GLeague…
Will he get another shot?