Jahlil Okafor Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jahlil Okafor On Sixers, Playing Time

January 10th, 2017 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jahlil Okafor has seen just 10 minutes of action over the last four games, a stretch in which he received three DNPs. The big man said he is working hard to improve, adding that he knows he can’t control the situation, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays.

“It’s not ideal to put anybody in [this situation],” Okafor said. “Obviously, it’s a funky situation. Funky for all of us. Right now, I’m the person who’s sitting out.”

There remains no timetable for when Okafor will return to the line-up, though he may play on Saturday against the Wizards since its the second half of a back-to-back and Joel Embiid doesn’t yet play in those because of health concerns. The Duke product understands the Sixers’ frontcourt logjam and isn’t upset with coach Brett Brown for the reduced minutes.

“Obviously, it’s not what I want to be in a position,” Okafor said. “I know I’m not the type of player that’s DNP. But that’s what it is right now. Coach Brown has been phenomenal with communicating with me. I know in the long run, I’ll be fine.”

Sixers Notes: Simmons, Okafor, Noel, Embiid

January 7th, 2017 at 6:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

Injured rookie Ben Simmons has started traveling with the Sixers and has intensified his workouts, according to Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Still recovering from the right foot fracture he suffered in September, Simmons ran sprints and shot jumpers before Friday’s game at Boston. “Because it’s starting to get into a new year and we’re seeing him without the boot and slowly integrated with the team, this is a part of it, including him on the road,” said coach Brett Brown. “At times, we have a physiotherapist and a better plan at home if we’re on really long road trips. It’s a sign that, you know, not too far away, we can see him and start integrating him more and more and more. This is the first small step to doing that.”

There’s more news out of Philadelphia:

Jahlil Okafor is the latest big man to fall out of the Sixers’ rotation, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Okafor never got off the bench Friday, even as Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel were in foul trouble. Pompey notes that Okafor doesn’t fit the team’s new emphasis on defense, but adds that the Sixers can’t decide how to manage their three young big men. “There’s a body of work now that is enough to make some assumptions, some decisions in a more reasonable way,” Brown said after Friday’s game. “It’s not like we all just met each other. We’ve been doing this for a while. The great challenge is sometimes pairings aren’t as successful as you wish they were.”
The most painful part of the Sixers’ rebuilding project appears to be over, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Philadelphia is a virtual lock to miss the playoffs again, but Washburn says the development of Embiid is one of many reasons for hope. The franchise will have room to offer two max contracts this summer and may get the Lakers’ first-round pick in addition to its own.
Embiid is part of a young crop of versatile, mobile centers who are changing the way the game is being played, states Michael Lee of The Vertical. Embiid is also campaigning to have the center position returned to the All-Star ballot. They were mixed in with frontcourt players in 2013. “I feel like they should put the centers back. We’ve got a lot of talent,” Embiid said. “There’s a lot of talented centers in the league. That’s on [the NBA] to do that. But my job here is to keep playing basketball and be the best I can be and push them to make that decision to put the center back on the All-Star ballot.”

Sixers Notes: Okafor, Embiid, Ilyasova

January 1st, 2017 at 2:10pm CST by Will Joseph

The Sixers are stuck in an unenviable situation of having two big men thought to be future standout performers playing the same position who struggle while on the court together. Indeed, the roster problem that having centers Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor presents is nothing new for the Sixers, but it is now evident that the experiment is taking its toil on the franchise, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. It is obvious that the team struggles when the two players share the court, but the Sixers have had trouble trading Okafor and Noel for what it perceives as equal value, Pompey adds. What’s more, the value of Okafor and Embiid will continue to dip if they are not on the court, thus making the situation quirkier and more problematic, Pompey notes. The Sixers are 1-5 in games they have both started and for specific reasons why the duo has not meshed, it is worth giving Pompey’s piece a read.

Here is more out of Philadelphia:

In a lineup that does seem to work, Embiid and power forward Ersan Ilyasova played well off of each other, Pompey writes in the same piece, and it will be interesting to see if Ilyasova’s role is increased. Ilyasova was acquired in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 1st.
Robert Covington has struggled with his shot this season, but erupted during the second half of Friday’s game after receiving a boost of confidence from Sixers coach Brett Brown, Brian Seltzer of NBA.com relays. Covington will make slightly over $1.0MM this season and the team holds an option worth roughly $1.1MM for the 2017/18 campaign.

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Okafor, Noel, McConnell

December 30th, 2016 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers may be ready to abandon their experiment of pairing Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor in the starting lineup, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The move has come under heavy criticism as Philadelphia is just 1-5 with both big men starting. Pompey notes that the pairing forces Embiid to play out of position at power forward, where he has looked uncomfortable on offense and often gets pulled away from the basket on defense. Embiid sat out Thursday’s game at Utah because it was the first of a back-to-back, and coach Brett Brown wouldn’t commit to starting him and Okafor tonight in Denver. “We’ll figure that out,” Brown said. “I feel like when you study the numbers, look at gut feel, it has not been, at the moment, successful.”

There’s more this morning out of Philadelphia:

Backup big man Nerlens Noel played 22 minutes Thursday, the most court time he has seen this season, according to Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly. Since returning from a knee injury, Noel has been unhappy with his lack of minutes and has been a frequent critic of the team’s abundance of big men. While he is considered a likely candidate to be traded before the February 23rd deadline, Noel is trying to help the team however he can while still in Philadelphia. “I’m just thankful,” Noel said. “Coach gave me an opportunity and I wanted to go out there and play my game. That’s what my focus was the whole night. Whenever I was in there, I wanted to contribute to the team’s winning efforts. When I wasn’t, I wanted to support my teammates to the best of my ability.”
Injuries have left T.J. McConnell as the only healthy point guard for tonight’s game, Pompey writes in a separate story. A sprained left ankle suffered by Sergio Rodriguez means McConnell will be in the starting lineup tonight, with shooting guard Nik Stauskas as his backup. What looked to be a position of strength in training camp has been decimated by Ben Simmons‘ broken foot and Jerryd Bayless‘ season-ending wrist surgery.
Thursday’s Sixers-Jazz game was a reminder of the impact of international basketball, Pompey states in another story. The teams have a combined 14 players on their rosters from outside the United States. “Basketball is all over the world,” said Turkish native Ersan Ilyasova. “Obviously in Europe, it’s still more like a soccer thing. But still, a lot of kids play and follow basketball, especially the NBA.”

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Lin, Sixers, Anthony

December 29th, 2016 at 6:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors have two very difficult decisions looming in their pursuit of the top spot in the Eastern Conference, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post opines. They must decide whether to go all-in this season in their quest to knock off the Cavs, which would mean trading off some young pieces for another impact player, preferable a power forward, Bontemps continues. The Magic’s Serge Ibaka and Hawks’ Paul Millsap — forwards that the Raptors have pursued in the past and will become free agents this summer — would be logical targets, in Bontemps’ view. This summer, they’ll have to decide whether to offer point guard and impending free agent Kyle Lowry a max five-year deal worth over $200MM or risk seeing him walk. Lowry will attract numerous suitors but his age — he turns 31 this spring — could make a long-term commitment a risky investment, Bontemps adds.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

The Nets are taking a committee approach with point guard Jeremy Lin sidelined again by a hamstring injury, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports. Coach Kenny Atkinson is rotating Randy Foye, rookie Isaiah Whitehead and Spencer Dinwiddie in Lin’s absence, while shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick is also taking a bigger role in the playmaking duties, Lewis continues. “I think it was ensemble,” Atkinson told Lewis and other media members. “That’s how we’re going to do it.”
The Sixers’ frontcourt pairing of Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor has been a colossal failure defensively thus far, as Derek Bodner of Phillymag.com details. In six games since coach Brett Brown paired the two big men in the starting lineup, the Sixers have given up an average of 122.3 points per 100 possessions when they’re on the court. What’s more troubling, as Bodner notes, is that the poor defensive performances have come against sub-par offensive teams.
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek doesn’t believe Carmelo Anthony should have been ejected on Tuesday for swinging his forearm at the head of Hawks swingman Thabo Sefolosha, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Hornacek asserted that Sefolosha grabbed Anthony around the neck before the forearm swing, though Berman notes that was not apparent on replays while labeling Hornacek’s stance as bizarre. “I don’t blame [Anthony] for what happened, honestly,” Hornacek told Berman. “Watch the replay, watch the action. The guy had his arms wrapped around his neck. … What are you going to do? Just stand there or you going to get the guy off you? It’s a natural reaction.”

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Porzingis, Powell, Sixers

December 22nd, 2016 at 9:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics will include one of their main backcourt pieces if they make a major trade, Chris Mannix of The Vertical anticipates. Boston will have trouble affording the quartet of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier in the long run and can’t add an impact player without shedding one or more of them, Mannix continues. Smart is eligible for an extension next summer and will command a starting salary of at least $10MM, while Thomas and Bradley can become free agents in the summer of 2018. It will take a good chunk of the salary cap to retain both, in Mannix’s view. The starting backcourt can also have their contracts renegotiated this summer but Mannix is skeptical that GM Danny Ainge would eat into future cap space to make that happen.

In other developments around the Atlantic Division:

Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis and other players with rookie contracts will get a significant boost in pay once the new CBA is ratified, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Porzingis will receive a 15% increase next season and a 30% bump in the final year of his four-year rookie-scale deal, Berman continues. Sources informed Berman that Porzingis’ revised salary will increase from $4.5MM to $5.1MM next season and from $5.6MM to $7.3MM in 2018/19.
The Raptors need another elite player to become true title contenders but they should try to hold onto shooting guard Norm Powell, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun opines. Powell has the ability to play three positions and could play some minutes at point guard if Toronto includes current backup Cory Joseph in a blockbuster deal, Wolstat continues. In any case, coach Dwane Casey should try to give Powell, 23, more consistent minutes, Wolstat adds.
Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor will continue to start together in the Sixers’ frontcourt during their upcoming West Coast swing, Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com reports. According to Seltzer’s research, that duo has 52 shared minutes over the Sixers’ last four contests, producing an offensive rating of 95.0 points per 100 possessions, and a defensive rating of 113.3 points per 100 possessions.

Sixers Notes: Brown, Noel, Okafor

December 22nd, 2016 at 1:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier in the week, Joel Embiid lobbied for the team to pair him with Nerlens Noel on the court, arguing that the Sixers need to try all options when it comes to playing time. Coach Brett Brown told reporters that he agrees with Embiid, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer passes along (video link on Twitter). “We have these three bigs. We need to experiment. We need to try different things.” Brown said “It’s on Nerlens to get himself back in shape and learn what we’re actually running. It’ll be on [the three centers] to find ways to coexist and me to manage it.” Brown added that he looks forward to seeing the Noel-Embiid pairing among other combinations.

Here’s more from Philadelphia:

[RELATED: Trade Candidate: Nerlens Noel]

The coach added that the Sixers are going through “one of the most challenging times” since he’s joined the organization, Pompey relays in a separate tweet.
The Sixers‘ easiest path to clearing up their frontcourt logjam is to trade Noel, but the team shouldn’t make a move just for the sake of opening up minutes for its other big men, Ben Detrick of The Ringer contends. If Philadelphia does deal Noel, Detrick believes Minnesota would be the best fit. The Wolves could put together a package that includes either Ricky Rubio or Tyus Jones along with a protected first-round pick in exchange for the 2013 No. 6 overall pick.
The Sixers should have traded Jahlil Okafor at the last year’s deadline, Detrick opines in the same piece. The scribe argues that the center’s trade value is hard to gauge now, but he believes the 21-year-old can still be a foundation piece for another team.
The Ersan Ilyasova-Embiid pairing is the team’s best option, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer contends. Ilyasova is a good 3-point shooter for his position and his presence on the floor opens up the paint for Embiid. The power forward is a free agent at the end of the season, though the Sixers will have plenty of cap space to re-sign him if they choose to do so.

Bryan Colangelo On Noel, Frontcourt Logjam

December 19th, 2016 at 1:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

GM Bryan Colangelo said he doesn’t feel the need to make a trade, as Derek Bodner of the Philadelphia Magazine passes along in a series of Twitter links. “If [all the centers are on the roster at the end of the season], so be it. I will not make a bad deal for this organization,” Colangelo said. The GM added that he’s aware everyone will be lined up to criticize any deal he should make involving Nerlens Noel.

Colangelo believes the root of the logjam in the frontcourt has been the health of Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid. “I don’t think we’ve been at a point where we could actively pursue a trade with any of the centers,” the GM said. He added that the team is “fascinated” with the Noel-Embiid combination.

[RELATED: Trade Candidate: Nerlens Noel]

The Sixers took Noel out of the rotation this week and the team maintains that it was not a direct response to Noel’s comments. Colangelo said the decision was made because they realized that there is a lot of talent on the team and not everyone can play, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter links).

Colangelo added that the team needs to play faster once Ben Simmons returns, but he didn’t provide a timeline for when that would happen, Jessica Camerato of Comcast Sportsnet tweets.

Nerlens Noel Out Of Sixers’ Rotation

December 18th, 2016 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Nerlens Noel is one of the NBA’s top trade candidates, but it seems the Sixers won’t be showcasing him for potential suitors in the immediate future. Earlier today, head coach Brett Brown told reporters, including Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, that he doesn’t expect to use Noel in tonight’s game against Brooklyn unless someone gets into foul trouble, and will likely keep him out of the rotation for the foreseeable future.

According to Brown, the decision wasn’t a direct reaction to Noel’s comments after Friday’s game. The fourth-year big man – frustrated by playing just eight minutes in the first game all season in which he, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor were all healthy – suggested the Sixers “need to figure this s–t out.” Although the updated rotation may not be punishment for those comments, it seems Brown took Noel’s suggestion to heart, attempting to figure out a way to put the team in the best position to win (Twitter link via Christopher A. Vito).

The situation in Philadelphia will likely remain fluid. If either Embiid or Okafor is forced to miss time with an injury, or Embiid is rested for a night, Noel figures to get a chance to play. Still, it’s somewhat surprising that the Sixers wouldn’t find a way to get the former sixth overall pick regular minutes. Based on Noel’s apparent unhappiness and his looming free agency, he seems very likely to be moved by February’s trade deadline, and keeping him on the bench certainly won’t improve his trade value.

While the move may hurt Noel, it could have a positive impact on Embiid, the Sixers’ franchise center. The third-year big man hasn’t thrived playing alongside Okafor so far, suggesting after Wednesday’s game that he didn’t love “standing on the perimeter” when the two bigs were on the court together. Keeping Noel out of the rotation should reduce the amount of time Embiid and Okafor share the floor.

For his part, Noel said tonight that he’ll handle the decision like a pro and will continue to work on his game, adding that “everyone knew it was going to come to this” (Twitter link via Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News).

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Noel, Celtics, Noah

December 18th, 2016 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers‘ plan to use Joel Embiid at power forward with Jahlil Okafor at center is off to a terrible start, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The new alignment takes Embiid away from the basket on offense, where he isn’t comfortable, and leaves Okafor to protect the rim on defense, which he isn’t equipped to do. “This is a work in progress,” Embiid said. “I’m not sure why we changed it. But I’m going to do whatever they want.” Pompey points out that the team was playing its best ball in two seasons, with back-to-back road wins, before that was derailed by the lineup change. “We decided to do this as an organization to see if it has a chance for working,” said coach Brett Brown. “How long we [keep] doing it? I don’t know. But we are going to go on trying it, certainly [Sunday against the Nets]. I think we can all step back and make a better assessment after that.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Nerlens Noel is doing everything he can to get traded out of Philadelphia, states A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Blakely added that the Celtics are among many teams that are watching the situation with the Sixers closely. Noel complained to the media Friday after seeing just eight minutes of playing time in a loss to the Lakers.
The Celtics are 8-3 when coach Brad Stevens‘ preferred starting lineup is all healthy, but he hasn’t been able to find the right bench combination, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN. Boston is losing ground in the second quarters of many games, and the three-guard lineup that Stevens sometimes favors has been particularly bad.
Knicks center Joakim Noah played just 11 minutes in Saturday’s loss at Denver, notes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. He was pulled from the game early after having trouble keeping up with the Nuggets’ pace in the high-altitude setting. After signing a four-year, $72MM deal over the summer, Noah is averaging just 21.2 minutes and 4.4 points per game. “We’re not getting off to great starts. That’s not on Jo. We’re trying to find the right combination to get us going,” coach Jeff Hornacek said.