Jahlil Okafor doesn’t yet have a new home.
But he might soon.
And that home will probably be in Atlanta or Chicago, according to NBA.com’s David Aldridge:
League sources indicate the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks are the most likely destinations for Okafor. But the Sixers are still holding out for at least a Draft pick, and could still opt to keep Okafor either as insurance against further injury to Embiid, or as a potential expiring contract to aggregate as the trade deadline nears.
First off, the Philadelphia 76ers holding out for a draft pick here is hilarious. Or close to it. If they’re going after a second-round pick, fine. But if they’re chasing a first-rounder or multiple seconds, then yes, that approach is hysterical.
The Sixers, remember, have no leverage. They declined Okafor’s team option. He will be a free agent after this season, at which time any interested teams can sign him outright, rather than giving up anything of value for a player they’ll have to pay over the summer even if they acquire him.
And, as many have pointed out, due to one of the collective bargaining agreement quirks, Okafor’s new team cannot offer him more than the $6.3 million option the Sixers declined. So there’s literally no incentive to giving up anything for him now, unless Philly is absorbing a bad contract (beyond unlikely) or his new squad really wants 80 percent of the season or so to sell him on sticking around.
Anyway, both the Bulls and Hawks make sense. They’re rebuilding and have the flexible timeline to invest minutes in a fallen prospect. Both also already have bodies jumping center, but neither Robin Lopez nor Dewayne Dedmon seem long for Chicago and Atlanta, respectively. Dangling one of them in subsequent trades (Dedmon cannot be dealt into December) allows for a relatively smooth transition into the Okafor era.
