At the deadline on Tuesday, the Sixers decided they would not pick up the fourth year of Jahlil Okafor’s rookie deal. Okafor was the No. 3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, going after Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell and one pick before Kristaps Porzingis. Towns and Porzingis will likely be all-stars this season; Russell is probably going to get an $80-90 million contract extension this summer.
Jahlil Okafor’s time is up
We have that and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.
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Okafor, meanwhile, will be an unrestricted free agent.
This is a sad prelude to what will be a sad end for Okafor in Philadelphia. As Jordan Brenner wrote before the season, it’s been one long mess since draft day, and nothing to date this season looks different. The Sixers will likely continue to try to trade Okafor for value — there’s no reason to keep him, as he’s played all of 22 minutes this season.
Marc Stein reports Okafor’s camp might begin pushing for a buy-out if no trade materializes. This makes sense: the dude is 21, and he now has to prove himself as an NBA player by July 1 to get a new contract. Common sense dictates that the Sixers will settle on a trade eventually; there’s no purpose in keeping him around, especially as miserable as he seems.
Okafor wasn’t the only top 2015 pick whose fourth year was declined: the Magic also wrote off the Mario Hezonja era. Hezonja has been at the center of trade rumors involving the Kings. Hezonja’s failure to catch on in Orlando hasn’t been as hot a topic as Okafor over the years primarily because no one talks about the Magic. But what a disappointment after all the hype, no?
Scores Galore ...
SAC 83, IND 101
PHX 122, BKN 114
OKC 110, MIL 91
DET 93, LAL 113
... And So Much More
On Tuesday we asked whether Kristaps Porzingis was a unicorn or a G.O.A.T. for Halloween. He was a unicorn, it turns out.
I love this piece from Whitney Medworth in appreciation of black masks in the NBA.
One more notable option decline: the Warriors said no más to Kevon Looney. Why? Cap flexibility, of course.
Paul Flannery lays out the best of Gregg Popovich in Boston.
Where is Porzingis shooting from? An investigation by Chris Greenberg.
One correction from a piece on NBA discipline I wrote this week: the bench rule stems from the 1990s, not from Malice at the Palace. My point about the odd incongruence in discipline stands!
The Pistons beat the Clippers and Warriors on the road and ... then lost by 20 at the Lakers. Weird.
Reminder: the great Kelly Dwyer can be found at The Second Arrangement these days. His seminal Behind the Boxscore begins running on Wednesday.
Who Got Next?
Busy Wednesday slate with 12 games. ESPN has Rockets-Knicks (8 p.m. ET) and Mavericks-Clippers (10:30). There are a number of other intriguing games, as well. My League Pass Game of the Night is Wolves vs. Pelicans (8 p.m. ET). Full schedule here.
Be excellent to each other.
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