Philadelphia 76ers: should the 76ers trade Okafor to Boston?

The Philadelphia 76ers have an Okafor problem, and the Celtics are in desperate need of reinforcements to replace Gordan Hayward. Let’s make a deal.

Before Philadelphia 76ers home opener against the Boston Celtics, new broke that Jahlil Okafor had spent the previous night enjoying our beautiful city with Celtics’ forward Jayson Tatum.

The enemy.

A quick trip to the 76ers backup center’s Instagram only confirmed this reporting, and honestly, it’s a bit concerning. While both players did spend their respective year of college at Duke, and a kinship may have formed from that connection, it’s still unsettling to see Okafor so willing to hang out with an opponent the night before his team’s home opener.

But maybe the 76ers can actually capitalize on this connection for their own benefit.

It’s no secret that Okafor has been on the trading block ever since Joel Embiid burst onto the scene last season, but there has never been much interest in the former Blue Devil, at least at the team’s asking price. But after committing himself to a vegan diet, and slimming down considerably before the 2017-2018 NBA season, Okafor is starting to show why the 76ers invested the 3rd overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft in the young seven-footer.

And the Celtics could use an ascending young scorer, especially after Gordon Hayward‘s gruesome leg injury in game one.

Before the season began the Celtics planned on using Tatum, the 3rd overall pick in this past seasons NBA Draft, as a small ball power forward, but the loss of Hayward could ultimately force him to move back to small forward, the position many assumed he would play coming out of college.

While Okafor is far from a direct replacement for Hayward, he would give the Celtics a young scorer to pair with new point guard Kyrie Irving and would allow the team to play current center Al Horford at power forward, his natural position.

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After missing the 76ers’ opening game against the Washington Wizards due to illness, Okafor will have to prove on the court that he has made strides as a player in his third year as a pro, but if he does don’t be surprised to see him in Celtic green later this season.