Tag: Jahlil Okafor

Complete list of backup centers Sixers have employed behind Joel Embiid

Here is a complete list of the backup centers the Philadelphia 76ers have employed behind star big man Joel Embiid.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the top teams in the East since Joel Embiid stepped onto the floor for them in the 2016-17 season. The big fella has been the transcendent star the franchise needed to regain relevancy in the league.

The backup center spot has been a bit of an adventure for the franchise. They have cycled through a lot of different options behind Embiid looking for the right combination on the floor. Some have been duds and others have been solid players.

In Embiid’s seven seasons with the Sixers, Philadelphia has employed a number of backup centers, and it appears as though there will be a new backup in the 2023-24 season, veteran Mo Bamba. It was Paul Reed in 2022-23, but it appears he could get a look at power forward under new coach Nick Nurse.

Here are all the backup centers during the Embiid era:

Celtics camp invitee Bruno Caboclo on Boston’s offseason, plans for 2022-23

The Brazilian big man revealed a certain former No. 3 pick was an unreported early participant in the Celtics’ training camp. as well

Many fans of the Boston Celtics were excited by the news of Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo joining the team in the offseason on a training camp deal, hopeful the Osasco native might make the team as a potential depth option. Ultimately, the team would go in a different direction to solidify their roster for the 2022-23 NBA season, but it might not be the last time you hear Caboclo’s name connected to the Celtics.

Currently playing for the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes, the 6-foot-9 combo forward hopes to leverage a resurgent interest in big men in the league and his positional flexibility to find his way back to the NBA, whether with Boston or some other ball club.

Ahead of his season opener on Nov. 6 with the Capitanes, the Celtics Wire caught up with Caboclo to talk about his time in Boston, what brought him to Mexico, and more.

Former 76ers No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor opens up about Colangelo scandal, bid to return to NBA

Playing for the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes, Okafor reflected on his time in Philly.

The evolution of the game away from bigs who feasted in the paint and toward small ball taking off at almost exactly the moment former Philadelphia 76ers No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor came into the league did the Duke alumnus no favors.

But it probably did not help Okafor’s career that his team’s general manager at the time, Bryan Colangelo, found himself embroiled in scandal once it was revealed Colangelo had been using a secret Twitter account to attack him, fellow Sixers big man Joel Embiid, and the prior Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie, either. After the scandal fallout created an untenable situation, the 76ers dealt him to the Brooklyn Nets.

While it might not have seemed like it at the time, it helped set in motion the path that ultimately saw Okafor’s opportunities diminish as the league’s style of play underwent a tectonic shift.

Former 76ers top pick Jahlil Okafor talks on his friendship with Jayson Tatum, efforts to return to the NBA

Could the former Sixers center be a potential option for Boston if their current depth bigs don’t work out?

“This is a part of Mexico that I’d never even imagined,” said the former No. 3 pick of the 2015 NBA draft as we sat on the sidelines of an Olympic training gymnasium just outside of the upscale Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City. The Celtics Wire made the trip to see the Mexican metropolis’ G League team practice as a member of the Capitanes, the NBA’s only development league affiliate based outside the US or Canada.

The event was a first for the organization since relocating back to the country it calls home, having played the season prior — its first in the G League — in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. Speaking with us was said 2015 No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor, who had signed with the team for their 2022-23 campaign with the hopes of finding his way back to the NBA.

“The one obvious goal is to make it back to the NBA,” explained Okafor. “But while I’m here, I’m trying to get better each and every day.”

A list of the backup centers Sixers have employed behind Joel Embiid

Here is a list of the backup centers the Philadelphia 76ers have employed during the Joel Embiid era.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the top teams in the East since Joel Embiid stepped onto the floor for them in the 2016-17 season. The big fella has been the transcendent star the franchise needed to regain relevancy in the league.

The biggest issue has been the backup center spot. The Sixers have not settled on one guy who can give positive, productive minutes behind Embiid so the big fella can rest.

In Embiid’s six seasons with the Sixers, Philadelphia has employed a number of backup centers, and it appears as though there will be a new backup in the 2022-23 season, young Paul Reed.

Here are all the backup centers during the Embiid era.

Former Sixers big man Jahlil Okafor expected to sign with team in China

Former Philadelphia 76ers big man Jahlil Okafor is expected to go overseas and sign in China.

The Philadelphia 76ers selected big man Jahlil Okafor with the No. 3 pick of the 2015 NBA draft and he had himself a really solid rookie season. Despite the Sixers having a miserable season at 10-72, Okafor averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds with 1.2 assists as a rookie.

However, once Joel Embiid was ready to play and he made such a huge impact right away, the Sixers moved on from Okafor rather quickly as they sent him to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal early in the 2017-18 season.

After bouncing around a bit with the New Orleans Pelicans and, most recently, with the Detroit Pistons, it sounds like Okafor is headed overseas. Per Sportando, Okafor is expected to sign a deal with Chinese team Guangsha and try to move his career forward again.

Okafor can still be a valuable backup in the NBA as he still has some good skill on the offensive end. It will be interesting to see if he can play well enough in China to earn a spot again in the league.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=57077]

[lawrence-related id=57081,57071,57074]

Report: Brooklyn Nets waive Jahlil Okafor

The Brooklyn Nets are parting ways with Jahlil Okafor..

After acquiring Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor via trade from the Detroit Pistons, the Nets are now waiving Okafor. The 25-year-old big man is bound to get interest from various teams as a free agent, but it seemed like in Brooklyn a role could not be carved out for the Arizona native. Last season in Detroit, he averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 12.9 MPG.

When playing for the Nets in 2017, Okafor was given an opportunity to prove himself to the organization. In that season, the young big man went for 6.4 PPG along with 2.9 RPG. The stint was short lived though because a year later he joined the New Orleans Pelicans. It’s only a matter of time before another team in the league scoops him in the coming days.

[vertical-gallery id=23837]

[mm-video type=video id=01ff8hef9zv90my81vf2 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ff8hef9zv90my81vf2/01ff8hef9zv90my81vf2-906dd97e662636c7f9462953e8aae652.jpg]

Report: Brooklyn Nets trade DeAndre Jordan, four draft picks to Pistons

The Brooklyn Nets are trading DeAndre Jordan to the Pistons.

The Brooklyn Nets have reportedly traded center DeAndre Jordan, four second-round picks and cash to the Detroit Pistons for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Nets are sending their own picks in 2022 and 2027 as well as a 2024 second from the Wizards and a 2025 second from the Warriors, according to Wojnarowski. They will also include $5.78 million in cash.

This move saves the Nets $47 million in salary and tax, according to Wojnarowski. Jordan is owed just over $9.8 million in each of the next two seasons. The Pistons are planning to work out a buyout with the big man, allowing him to be a free agent.

Wojnarowski is also reporting that the Los Angeles Lakers would be a “serious contender” for Jordan should the Pistons buy him out.

The Nets are planning to waive Alize Johnson as well, according to Wojnarowski.

The Nets are inheriting about $5.7 million between Doumbouya and Okafor. Doumbouya is entering the third year of his rookie-scale contract after being drafted No. 15 overall in the 2019 draft out of France. The Nets can pick up his fourth-year option of about $5.5 million for next season if they want.

Doumbouya has not been overly productive in his first two seasons in the NBA, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. His shooting numbers do not jump off the page either, hitting 37.9% overall and 22.6% from beyond the arc last season.

Okafor entered the league as an exciting prospect in 2015 but has largely flamed out after averaging nearly 18 points per game his rookie season. He has spent time with four different organizations through six seasons, including a stint in Brooklyn in 2017-18.

[mm-video type=video id=01fenw83pytcr5qhvs06 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fenw83pytcr5qhvs06/01fenw83pytcr5qhvs06-050c219bdd42a766e8631cc3221954ba.jpg]

Sixers draft in review: Jahlil Okafor selected No. 3 overall in 2015

We now look back at the 2015 NBA draft when the Philadelphia 76ers selected big man Jahlil Okafor.

As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the 2021 NBA draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on July 29, we look back on past drafts.

The Sixers entered the 2015 NBA draft with a tough decision to make. Nobody knew the status of their top pick in 2014, Joel Embiid, who had missed the entire season with a foot injury, and they did not know what they would get out of the big man yet.

So they went with another big man with the No. 3 overall selection, Jahlil Okafor out of Duke. He had just wrapped up a phenomenal freshman season with the Blue Devils averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds. In his first season with the Sixers, he averaged 17.5 points and 7 rebounds as Embiid missed the entire season again due to a foot injury.

When Embiid finally took the floor in the 2016-17 season, he showed no ill effects from the injuries and he pushed Okafor out of the rotation due to his stellar play. Okafor averaged 11.8 points in the season before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets early in the 2017-18 season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G4R_zGqVbI

Okafor now plays for the Detroit Pistons as a backup big man after spending two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds while playing only 27 games due to a meniscus injury in the 2020-21 season for Detroit.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[listicle id=48387]

[lawrence-related id=48500,48489,48486]

Sixers pick of big man Jahlil Okafor ranked as biggest draft flop of 2015

The Philadelphia 76erss selection of Jahlil Okafor has been named the biggest draft flop of 2015.

[jwplayer UssR8JRO-z6KDnl0B]

In every NBA draft, there are always a few picks who can be labeled as flops or busts or whatever terminology one would like to use. The Philadelphia 76ers made one of those questionable moves in 2015 when they had the number 3 pick in that draft.

At the time, the Sixers already had big man Joel Embiid who they selected in 2014 and they also had Nerlens Noel from the 2013 draft. With their 2015 selection, they decided to go with Duke’s Jahlil Okafor who fashioned himself a fine season with the Blue Devils. He averaged 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in college.

The pick came with a ton of scrutiny as they were criticized for selecting yet another big man, especially in the middle of a massive rebuild when they had other needs, but hindsight is also 20-20. Okafor was the best player on the board, Embiid had not yet played and Noel showed promise on the defensive end, but had yet to show anything on the offensive end.

Bleacher Report put together a list of the biggest draft flops over the years and Okafor came in as the number 1 flop of 2015:

Adding a lumbering big who didn’t project to space the floor or anchor a defense should’ve been deemed dangerous regardless of roster context. The league was moving in the complete opposite direction. Burning another top selection on a third center made the optics worse, particularly when the Sixers didn’t immediately move any of them. They couldn’t play together, and it created an aura of combustibility to an already-flammable situation.

Okafor had a solid rookie season averaging a robust 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. However, Embiid finally made his debut and he proved to be worth the hype. Okafor’s minutes dropped from 30 to 22.7 in his second season and he was then shipped to the Brooklyn Nets in his third season along with Nik Stauskas for Trevor Booker.

He now plays for the New Orleans Pelicans as he has seemed to have found a role as a backup big man. His style of play is not quite suited for today’s era of run and gun basketball, but he does enough to have a niche in New Orleans. [lawrence-related id=38770,38755,38752]