Sixers Continue Talks About Okafor While Other Teams Swap Bigs
The trade talks between the Sixers and various teams are reportedly heating up, but other potential suitors are swapping big men.
The Sixers are at the center of heated trade talks. The team sat out trade chip Jahlil Okafor in Saturday’s win against Miami, and since then talks of a trade have continued to climb towards an apex.
16 Wins A Ring’s Keith Smith has been feverishly reporting various talks between the Sixers and multiple teams, such as the Bulls, Pelicans, Nuggets, and Blazers. The Bulls have emerged as front runners, and the Pelicans still have major interest, according to Smith.
This would mark a significant move in the Sixers’ rebuild, as it will finally start answering some of the team’s talent funneling questions. Okafor’s value is considerably lower than when he was first drafted, but with no shortage of interest it seems like the Sixers could still make a decent-valued trade.
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While the Sixers are still in talks, two potential suitors made the biggest trade of the season thus far. Per The Vertical, the Blazers sent center Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second-round pick to Denver for Jusuf Nurkic and Memphis’ top-five protected 2017 first-round pick. Interesting that the deal involved two centers, and the promise of a 2017 first-round pick makes you wonder if the Sixers were offered something similar.
The hours pass by and more rumors continue to pour in. Smith has reported that the Denver-Portland deal disrupted a potential three-way deal involving the Sixers, however it does not place Portland completely out of Okafor trade talks.
At this point, it seems the Sixers should take anything of value. Whether it’s a young perimeter player or a first-round pick, a return could somewhat salvage the continuously decreasing value of Okafor. The window for a trade feels like it’s closing with every waning moment, and with Bryan Colangelo’s reputation taking large hits lately, a deal would help save face with the fanbase.
The Okafor-Sixers marriage has been far from a happy one, but the two sides would be better off without each other. Nerlens Noel is seemingly here to stay as Joel Embiid recovers from injury, and there’s no real place for Okafor to make an impact on this team.
The trade swirls continue, and we’ll keep you updated. For the next couple hours it seems like talks will continue to progress. But there’s still weeks for a trade to be made. Smith, however is reporting the team would like to get a deal done before Monday’s game, so the team won’t have to hold out Okafor once again.