The 76ers Must Trade Jahlil Okafor This Offseason

Jahlil Okafor was in contention to be the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He wound up going third to the Philadelphia 76ers and following an up-and-down rookie season, it appears the franchise is already looking to move on from the Duke product. It has become increasingly obvious that the 76ers must trade Okafor this offseason.

Okafor’s value is still very high. He won’t turn 21 until December, he’s a very skilled offensive post player and he has room to improve. There are teams out there that would jump at the chance to add him. The downside is that Okafor is a sieve defensively and he’s far from an elite rebounder.

The 76ers are loaded with front court options. They already have Nerlens Noel playing nearly 30 minutes a game, and it finally appears that Joel Embiid may actually see the floor as a professional. On top of that, Dario Saric – the 12th pick of the 2014 draft – appears ready to make the jump to the NBA. The 22-year-old Saric is an uber-skilled 6-foot-10 forward who could be the best of Philadelphia’s young big men.

The 76ers have the first pick in the 2016 draft, and are currently deciding between LSU’s Ben Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram. Both players would only further the team’s front court logjam.What Philadelphia needs is help in the back court, and Okafor should be used to get that.

The Boston Celtics could be interested in Okafor and they have three first-round picks this year (No. 3, No. 16, No. 22). The Celtics need a consistent low-post scorer and could package a pick and a player to secure Okafor, or just give up the third pick for him. That’s a steep price to pay, but Boston badly needs that low-post punch and this year’s draft is extremely weak after Simmons and Ingram.

The Celtics are just one example. If the 76ers really put it out there that Okafor was available, plenty of offers would come in.

In today’s NBA, a true low-post player is an awkward fit for most teams. Okafor is a slow-things-down, half-court-offense big man. He’s a relic of another era. While some teams could still use a guy like that, he’s completely incongruent with the rest of the Sixers’ roster.

Philadelphia could get a solid return for Okafor right now, but if he has another average year or gets in trouble off-the-court again, his trade value would plummet. The Sixers have to strike now to recoup maximum value.