Jahlil Okafor Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Details On Paul George Talks Between Sixers, Pacers

March 21st, 2017 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

In a piece for ESPN.com earlier today, Zach Lowe noted that the Pacers engaged in Paul George trade talks with the Celtics, Hawks, Nuggets, and Sixers at last month’s trade deadline. Boston’s interest in George was well documented, and we heard right after the deadline that Atlanta and Denver made substantial offers for the star forward. However, specific details regarding Philadelphia’s interest in George hadn’t surfaced until now.

Following up on Lowe’s report, Kyle Neubeck of Liberty Ballers did some digging on those pre-deadline trade talks, and learned from multiple sources that the Sixers made a “significant” offer of their own for George. According to Neubeck, the Sixers were willing to give up Robert Covington, at least two first-round picks, and the Pacers’ choice of Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor. The Sixers reportedly preferred to include other teams’ picks – such as the Lakers’ and Kings’ first-rounders – rather than their own.

Neubeck adds that there wasn’t a consensus among his sources about the Noel/Okafor aspect of the 76ers’ hypothetical package. One source said that the team specifically offered Noel, while others suggested that Philadelphia would have been willing to sub in Okafor if it made a real difference to the Pacers. Ultimately, Noel was sent to the Mavericks instead, while Okafor stayed put.

According to one member of the Sixers, the team wasn’t turned off by George’s reported interest in the Lakers. Neubeck writes that the Sixers believed that if they acquired George they could convince him to stay in Philadelphia long-term, forming a tantalizing core with players like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric.

As Lowe wrote earlier today, the Pacers never appeared all that serious about moving George at this year’s trade deadline, but it’s possible that stance will change down the road. Even with Noel no longer in the mix, the Sixers still have plenty of assets to make another run at All-Star forward, if they so choose.

Sixers Notes: Okafor, Splitter, Brown, Silver

March 9th, 2017 at 10:49pm CST by Milo Taibi

Despite a lingering knee injury, Jahlil Okafor hasn’t considered shutting down his season, Jessica Camerato of CSN reports (Twitter link). Okafor’s been experiencing soreness ever since a March 2016 surgery, but the former No. 3 overall pick will be relied upon in Nerlens Noel‘s and Joel Embiid‘s absence.

“We just rest and do treatment whenever we think is necessary, and just go from there.” Okafor told Keith Pompey of Philly.com.

Sixers Notes: Simmons, Embiid, Long, Okafor

March 6th, 2017 at 7:27pm CST by Milo Taibi

Even if the Sixers use their top pick on an elite guard, Ben Simmons will still be given an opportunity to show what he can do at point guard, Keith Pompey of Philly.com writes. After suffering a Jones fracture in his right foot, Simmons was ruled out for the duration of 2016/17. According to coach Brett Brown, the team will “immediately” give Simmons minutes at the point next season.

“I feel that the team has to try that immediately,” Brown said. “In my eyes, we are going to try that. I feel that it’s something that I doubt you say, ‘That didn’t work,’ and you just move on quickly. There has to be a body of work that you judge him on.”

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Rose, Horford

March 3rd, 2017 at 1:04pm CST by Austin Kent

The foundation of the Sixers franchise is cracked, writes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The scribe turns a spotlight on the organization for its handling of injuries to star players and even the management of its payroll this year and last.

Ambiguity and a lack of transparency with regard to the recovery times of players like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons call into question whether the club has a management problem or just a communication problem. Regardless, the “fans and players need this organization to be run better,” he writes. Recently the Sixers revealed that both Embiid and Simmons will miss the remainder of the 2016/17 campaign after several weeks of misplaced optimism and muted details about the severity of their injuries.

Finally, Cooney acknowledges that for the second time in two years the franchise has taken on and eaten the lofty contracts of opposing teams’ veterans in bids to push their payroll closer to the salary floor. A team that doesn’t reach the salary floor is obligated to pay the difference out to the players on their roster, but by taking on Andrew Bogut‘s deal, the club absolves itself of the responsibility. The part of Bogut’s $11MM contract that the Sixers inherited in the Nerlens Noel trade, of course, is prorated relative to how much of the 2016/17 season he spent with each organization.

“Don’t think that hasn’t soured some, if not most,” of the Sixers’ players, Cooney cautions.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

A less-than-impressive showing on defense in Wednesday night’s Sixers loss has Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford wondering if “Jahlil Okafor‘s career in Philadelphia may have ended with that one play.”
Injured big man Joel Embiid is taking his setback in stride. “Be back soon,” the Sixers rookie tweeted Thursday. “The process has to be postponed.”
While the Knicks as an organization moved to embrace the triangle offense, point guard Derrick Rose isn’t so enthusiastic. “S—, do I have a choice? Do I have a choice?” he joked with Ian Begley of ESPN and reporters on Thursday.
While it wasn’t long ago that it seemed Derrick Rose was on his way out of New York, he’ll remain with the Knicks for the rest of the year and, per Laura Albanese of Newsday, is working on adding a three-point shot.
The Raptors will need to play with more energy and passion if they’re to stop their slide down the Eastern Conference standings, writes Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun. Modified minute distributions for the second unit may be in the cards as well.
The impact of Al Horford on the Celtics isn’t always measured by traditional statistics, writes A. Sherrod Blakey of CSN New England. “He makes plays, high basketball IQ, he can score, he can pass, he can rebound and the way he played (against Cleveland) we need him to play like that for us to win. He does a lot for us that doesn’t even go on the stat sheet though,” says point guard Isaiah Thomas.

Sixers Notes: Anderson, Okafor, Bogut, Splitter

February 24th, 2017 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

When word broke that the 76ers would likely end up receiving a pair of second-round picks from the Mavericks in the Nerlens Noel trade, rather than a first-rounder, critics were quick to rule the deal a misstep for GM Bryan Colangelo and the Sixers. However, in the view of Mavs GM Donnie Nelson, the draft compensation isn’t even the most important part of the package heading to Philadelphia — Nelson thinks Justin Anderson is that centerpiece.

“Look, they had an extremely difficult situation,” Nelson said of the Sixers, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “They were overstocked at the center position. You’re looking at basically the possibility of a couple-month rental, and so I think they did the best that they could with the situation they had. It was really a need position for us, and it was taking the best possible deal they could get. They like Justin Anderson a lot. He is the critical piece, and it was hard for us to give them that piece.”

David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News agrees with Nelson’s sentiment, writing – even before the Mavs GM spoke to reporters – that the success of the deal from the Sixers’ perspective figures to hinge on the development of Anderson.

Here’s more on the Sixers, who announced earlier today that Ben Simmons will be out for the rest of the season:

The trade market for Jahlil Okafor leading up to the deadline was “much more broad” than the market for Noel, but the right deal didn’t present itself, per Colangelo (Twitter links via Jake Fischer of SI.com). The Sixers GM hinted that the team will probably revisit trade talks involving Okafor at a later date.
Andrew Bogut won’t be with the Sixers for at least a week while dealing with personal issues, but that doesn’t preclude the two sides from negotiating a buyout during that time, says Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links). A buyout is considered likely, so Bogut may never end up reporting to Philadelphia.
Colangelo said today that Tiago Splitter is hoping to get back onto the court this season and the Sixers will help him rehab, but the big man – acquired from the Hawks this week – isn’t part of the club’s long term plans (Twitter links via Fischer and Pompey). Splitter will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Colangelo said today that Ersan Ilyasova will be seeking a long-term deal in free agency this summer, but wasn’t part of the Sixers’ long-term plans, which was why the club felt compelled to move him this week (Twitter link via Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com).
Joel Embiid wasn’t thrilled with the cagey way in which the Sixers handled updates on his knee injury, as Tom Moore of The Burlington County Times writes. “I was told I was going to kind of miss two or three weeks, so I wasn’t happy with the way it was handled,” said Embiid, who was announced as day-to-day when he first went down. “I thought keeping my name out there was going to literally have people think about me all the time instead of just saying when I was going to be back.”

Sixers Trade Nerlens Noel To Mavericks

February 23rd, 2017 at 8:48pm CST by Luke Adams

8:48pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Sixers. The announcement suggests that if the 2017 first-round pick from the Mavs isn’t conveyed, Philadelphia will receive Dallas’ second-round picks for 2017 and 2020.

11:58am: According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter links), if the Sixers don’t receive the Mavs’ first-round pick this year, they’ll instead receive 2017 and 2018 second-round picks from Dallas. Since that first-rounder is top-18 protected, it seems very unlikely to change hands, so the conditions on the pick make the deal look even better for the Mavs.

11:30am: There are still some moving parts to sort out in the deal before it becomes official, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com, who tweets that the trade may expand to involve a third team so that the Sixers don’t have to waive a player.

10:46am: The Sixers are in agreement with the Mavericks on a deal that will send Nerlens Noel to Dallas, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Philadelphia will receive Justin Anderson and a first-round pick from the Mavs. ESPN’s Marc Stein adds (via Twitter) that the Sixers will also get Andrew Bogut‘s expiring contract.

According to Stein (via Twitter), the first-round pick heading to the Sixers in the deal will be top-18 protected in 2017, which makes it unlikely that it will change hands this year. As our 2016/17 Reverse Standings show, Dallas currently projects to have the No. 7 overall pick, though Noel should help improve this year’s team. Future protections on the first-rounder have not yet been reported.

Noel, who will turn 23 in April, was frequently mentioned as a trade candidate earlier this season, particularly after he publicly questioned the Sixers’ decision to head into camp with a logjam at center. However, the former sixth overall pick had played well as of late, averaging 8.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and a career-best .611 FG% in less than 20 minutes per game for the season.

Recent trade rumors had focused more on Jahlil Okafor than Noel, so it will be interesting to see if the Sixers end up moving Okafor today as well. In his full report on the trade, Wojnarowski suggests Okafor is now likely to stay put. However, as Jake Fischer of SI.com notes (via Twitter), the Sixers have been “steadfast” this week in their efforts to move Okafor, so it would be a change of direction to hang onto him now.

[RELATED: Latest on Jahlil Okafor]

For the Mavs, Noel represents a substantial upgrade at center, giving the team the sort of athletic, rim-protecting big man it had been seeking. As Wojnarowski tweets, Dallas has “long been intrigued” by Noel, and will look to lock him up this summer. The Kentucky product will be a restricted free agent, so the Mavs will have the opportunity to match any offers he receives from other teams.

From the Sixers’ perspective, the move represents a chance to pick up a young player and a draft pick while also potentially not having to worry about reaching the salary floor. Anderson has yet to make a real impact in his two NBA seasons, but he’s still just 23 years old and won’t be a restricted free agent until the summer of 2019. Meanwhile, the combined salaries for Bogut ($11MM+) and Anderson ($1.51MM) are worth approximately $8MM more than Noel’s salary, allowing Philadelphia to surpass the salary floor.

However, if the Sixers were to flip Bogut in another deadline deal, that could change the equation, and the team has yet to decide what they’ll do with the veteran center, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). ESPN’s Chris Haynes reports (via Twitter) that Bogut and the Sixers are expected to engage in buyout talks, with potential suitors like the Cavs keeping a close eye on the situation. However, TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter links) suggests Philadelphia could reroute the former No. 1 pick to another team, with the Celtics as one possibility.

A couple final bookkeeping notes on the swap: Assuming it’s completed as reported, Dallas should have the opportunity to create a pair of trade exceptions in the deal. One would be worth about $6.64MM (the difference between Bogut’s and Noel’s salaries), while the other would be worth approximately $1.51MM (Anderson’s salary). The Mavs should also now comfortably avoid the luxury tax this season, having previously been about $1MM away from the tax threshold.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eastern Notes: Bulls, Okafor, Ainge, Lopez, Hawks

February 23rd, 2017 at 3:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before making today’s deal with Oklahoma City, the Bulls tried to obtain point guard Patrick Beverley from the Rockets, tweets Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago. Chicago reached out to Houston on Wednesday with an offer of Taj Gibson and Isaiah Canaan in exchange for Beverley, but the Rockets turned it down.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference on an active deadline day:

The Sixers didn’t trade center Jahlil Okafor, but it wasn’t because they didn’t try, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). He says Philadelphia made a strong effort to unload Okafor but was unable to find equal value so close to the deadline.
The Celtics were rumored to be seeking Jimmy Butler and Paul George, but decided to stand pat. GM Danny Ainge explained the conservative approach to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). “We had a lot of conversations,” Ainge said. “There were things we could do to improve our team, but nothing that was good enough to do.” The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski claims that Boston was willing to make both of the Nets‘ first-round picks available (Twitter link).
Nets GM Sean Marks didn’t indicate if he tried to trade Brook Lopez, tweets Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. “Brook’s here and we’re happy he’s here,” Marks said when asked about the veteran center. “He’s been the face of this franchise for a long time.”
After shipping Mike Scott to the Suns, the Hawks have two open roster spots, notes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link). The team will focus on the buyout market and possibly D-League callups.

Deveney’s Latest: Tucker, Favors, Gallinari, Anthony

February 23rd, 2017 at 9:49am CST by Dana Gauruder

P.J. Tucker‘s expiring, affordable contract makes him the player most likely to be dealt before today’s trade deadline, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. The Suns are holding out for a first-round pick for the veteran small forward, even if it’s a future first-rounder that they can use down the road as an asset, Deveney continues. The Jazz, Celtics, Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Hawks and Bulls have all shown interest in Tucker, giving the Suns hope they can get a first-round pick for him, Deveney adds.

Deveney touched on a number of other players who could be wearing a different uniform by the end of the day:

Luxury-tax concerns have the Jazz exploring the market for power forward Derrick Favors. Rudy Gobert‘s extension kicks in next season and Utah is hopeful of re-signing Gordon Hayward in the likelihood he opts out of the final year of his current contract this summer. That makes Favors expendable but his nagging knee injury has tempered the market for him.
Danilo Gallinari is drawing more interest on the market than fellow Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler. Denver is seeking a first-rounder for either player but Gallinari’s ability to opt out of his contract after the season makes it more difficult for the Nuggets to get value for him.
Carmelo Anthony is likely to stay put unless Knicks president Phil Jackson can revive talks with the Clippers. Jackson is also trying to deal free agents he signed last summer — Courtney Lee and Joakim Noah — for draft picks.
The Hawks, Hornets and Bucks have shown interest in point guard Darren Collison as the Kings continue their latest rebuild in the wake of the DeMarcus Cousins blockbuster.
The Bulls, Pacers and possibly the Mavericks are still in play as potential suitors for Sixers power forward Jahlil Okafor but Philadelphia is not determined to move him unless it gets the right package.
The Mavericks are hopeful of getting a first-rounder for either Andrew Bogut or Deron Williams but may be willing to settle for a couple of second-rounders.

Latest On Sixers, Bulls, Okafor, Mirotic

February 23rd, 2017 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

With the trade deadline several hours away, rumors continue to swirl around the Bulls and Sixers on a potential Jahlil Okafor deal. ESPN’s Marc Stein reports this morning (via Twitter) that Chicago is the Sixers’ preferred destination for Okafor if they end up moving him.

Still, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), the Bulls haven’t yet been inclined to include a first-round pick along with the sort of player the Sixers is seeking in an offer for Okafor. Based on Johnson’s tweet and what we know about the 76ers’ asking price, it sounds like Philadelphia would want a young player – perhaps someone like Denzel Valentine – along with a first-round pick for Okafor, while Chicago is reluctant to include two assets of that caliber.

As Johnson notes in his tweet and writes in his latest piece for The Chicago Tribune, the Bulls have made Nikola Mirotic available in talks with the Sixers. However, Philadelphia doesn’t appear to have all that much interest in the veteran forward, who has been offered to the Clippers as well, per Johnson.

Meanwhile, although he may not be connected to the talks with the Bulls, Sergio Rodriguez could be available today, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Facebook Live link). Charania suggested last night that Rodriguez has fallen out of favor in Philadelphia, making him somewhat expendable at the deadline for the Sixers.

Trade Rumors: Suns, Okafor, Butler, Favors

February 23rd, 2017 at 1:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have expressed some interest in trading for Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, reports Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Kuzminskas has averaged 14.6 MPG in 47 contests in his rookie season in New York, chipping in 6.0 PPG and 1.9 RPG. He’s under contract next season at a rate of about $3MM before he becomes eligible for restricted free agency in 2018.

Here are a few more trade rumors and notes from around the NBA:

Within his latest rumor notebook for HoopsHype, Alex Kennedy writes that rival executives believe Sixers big man Jahlil Okafor is much more likely to be moved at the deadline than Nets center Brook Lopez. Kennedy notes that Okafor has received interest from the Kings, while Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer says the Lakers could be in the mix for Okafor. In a non-trade item, Kennedy also adds the Heat to the list of potential suitors for veteran free agent Larry Sanders.
Appearing on NBA TV on Wednesday, TNT’s David Aldridge suggested that the Bulls would insist on Jae Crowder in any package for Jimmy Butler, and the Celtics would be very hesitant to include him, given his role in Boston’s rotation and his extremely team-friendly contract. Brian Robb of 98.5 The Sports Hub (Twitter link) passes along Aldridge’s full comments. Meanwhile, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports that the Sixers inquired on Butler, but were rebuffed by the Bulls.
Based on his knowledge of the offers the Jazz have received, agent Wallace Prather doesn’t expect the club to move his client Derrick Favors before Thursday’s deadline, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. However, Prather acknowledged that things could change as the last minute.
After reporting earlier on Wednesday that the Thunder were eyeing Wilson Chandler, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets that the Nuggets forward is no longer on OKC’s radar. Still, Amick didn’t rule out the possibility of the Thunder circling back to Chandler if other options fall through (Twitter link).