The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t picking up Jahlil Okafor’s fourth-year player option, which means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next season. With that in mind, Okafor asked for either a trade or a buyout on his deal. Brett Brown made it clear that Okafor is out of the rotation in Philadelphia, but the team still isn’t moving him without receiving an asset in return.
Isaiah Thomas is upset over the 76ers treatment of Jahlil Okafor
It certainly won’t be forgotten anytime soon
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What is happening with Okafor seems a bit harsh — he hasn’t gotten consistent play over the last two seasons. They’re wasting the early years of his career by keeping him on the bench, and players around the league are noticing.
Isaiah Thomas, specifically, had something to say about it.
Thomas isn’t the only one, either. Later on Thursday evening, Jared Dudley chimed in with his two cents on Okafor’s situation.
The NBA is a fraternity and players have one another’s backs. What’s happening with Okafor right now, as a former third overall pick, is pretty unprecedented. Players are taking notice of what the 76ers are doing here.
This isn’t a great look for the 76ers
The 76ers have two very exciting players in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Thank goodness they do, because otherwise, people would be talking about how they’re treating their players instead. Okafor’s situation is ugly. They won’t play him and won’t buy him out. As a 21-year-old, he’ll waste a year of his career on the bench in Philadelphia.
When you couple that with Markelle Fultz’s shoulder injury and how 76ers General Manager Bryan Colangelo has handled it, there’s lots of room to question how much the 76ers actually care about their young players. As Dudley said, for NBA players, that matters.
Not playing Okafor doesn’t help move him
Based on what we’ve seen from Okafor, we know he’s a flawed player on both ends of the court. He occupies space on the low block and hasn’t shown he’s a great passer from that area. Plus, he leaves a lot to be desired on defense.
But Okafor also hasn’t had a real chance to show how much he’s improved, if at all. The 76ers have shied away from playing him at all this season and only played him in 50 games last season at about 23 minutes per night. That’s a solid sample, but it didn’t improve his trade value at all last season.
And with him not playing, it isn’t getting any better. And if they can’t move him and won’t buy him out, he’ll only be able to sit on the bench for a season until he hits free agency.
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