Sixers: Trade Winds are Swirling around Center Jahlil Okafor

The winds of change are in the air for the Sixers as the trade deadline begins to creep up with rumors swirling everywhere.

The Sixers rumors began with reports that the Cavaliers inquired about T.J. McConell’s availability but once those were squashed the next name to roll through the rumor mill was Jahlil Okafor. It should come as no surprise because the team has three big men all fighting to be Joel Embiid‘s primary backup. With the resurgence of Nerlens Noel (who was initially expected to be the first of the centers to leave the team) all signed began to point towards Okafor’s time in Philadelphia beginning to come to an end.

While he has been a class act during all of the speculation surrounding him, Okafor is the odd man out for the Sixers. The rumors began with talk that the Bulls are interested in Okafor. It makes sense due to Okafor being from Chicago and the Bulls also have assets that could intrigue the Sixers into making a deal.

The biggest issue for Chicago would be incorporating Okafor’s deal with some of their bloated contracts. While the two sides could come together before the February 23rd trade deadline, a new suitor has entered the fray.

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Welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to the negotiation table. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical, the Pelicans and the Sixers are engaging in trade talks centered around Okafor. While this may come as a bit of a surprise due to the presence of Anthony Davis in the post it speaks to a vision to play the brow at power forward more. Usually, if a team is going to move their best rebounder/defender to forward they would look to replace them with a strong presence inside.

The main targets that the Pelicans are linked to don’t scream “strong inside”

There is hope that Davis would draw enough attention away from the center that they’d be able to operate with a less than stellar rebounder. Also, in the case of Okafor, he is young enough that the coaching staff could work on improving his defensive side of the game. Offensively, Okafor would actually benefit from playing in the space that Davis frees up because it gives him an area to dominate. It isn’t perfect but Okafor to the Pelicans could work. Leading us to the question…

What could the Sixers get for Okafor?

The good news here is that the worst contract on the Pelicans’ roster, Omer Asik, is not a part of these talks. This is good to hear for the Sixers because while they have a lot of cap space it would not be a good idea to pick up bad contracts in order to grab draft picks with large paydays looming on the horizon. Even better news for the Sixers is that the Pelicans shopping their 2018 pick isn’t linked with a team needing to take Asik.

In trade talks, the Sixers reportedly would receive center Alexis Ajinca and a future first-round pick in exchange for Okafor. The first-rounder is expected to be the 2018 selection. Ajinca would be nothing but a warm body for the team but he could offer enough depth to serve as a stop-gap solution if they chose to trade Noel.

There is also potential that a third team could get involved but no clarity on who that team may be. Former Sixer, Jrue Holiday is another name that has come up in talks and with the team looking to make a run at him in free agency, why not add him to the team now if possible.

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At the moment it’s no longer the question of if Okafor will be traded the question is now when. It wouldn’t be too surprising if more offers emerge in the next few days but for the sake of the Sixers and Okafor a move away from Philly is the best move.