Jahlil Okafor could be traded from 76ers to Pelicans, according to reports

The 76ers and the Pelicans are discussing a potential trade for Jahlil Okafor, with Philadelphia wanting a first-round pick for the scoring center, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.

Philadelphia has needed to trade at least one of their big men for months now ever since Joel Embiid’s debut this season. Between him, Okafor, and Nerlens Noel, there haven’t been enough consistent minutes to go around for the three big men. Okafor has been seen as the most expendable for a while, since his post scoring doesn’t necessarily fit the modern NBA and his defense is below average for a center.

New Orleans would likely send Alexis Ajinca to Philadelphia in the trade, according to ESPN. The Pelicans are likely to have a lottery selection in this year’s NBA Draft, but any pick they send should have protections and be set in the future. Certainly, the Pelicans should feel like they have more leverage in this situation, given Philadelphia’s need to trade one of their bigs.

At least one player has to go. The 76ers cannot keep playing with all three big men, since Embiid is clearly the franchise centerpiece and the other two don’t fit particularly well around him. The team has been careful not to siphon off minutes from Embiid because of the other two, but that’s unfair to them.

Unfortunately, Okafor’s value in the NBA is very much in question, too. He’s a poor defender who stops ball movement, and while he really is a good scorer around the basket, there are questions about how much that matters to a modern NBA offense. There are also a couple nagging off-the-court issues that popped up, most notably Okafor apparently being involved in a street fight. Those are problems that should be behind him now, but it must briefly give any team pause.

Even if Okafor turns out to be a great player, there’s nothing he can do to prove it in Philadelphia with Embiid in front of him, and there’s no way the 76ers would ever value him over Embiid. The only end game is that Philadelphia sends him packing, hopefully for something in return. If they can get a first-round pick back for him — even a future, protected one — that’s a win.

This is a big gamble. The Pelicans must believe that Okafor’s skill set can fit well next to Anthony Davis, who is a good defender and does space the floor much better than Okafor. They’re also gambling on their own success, you’d have to think. It depends exactly what protections and how far in the future the pick is, but New Orleans probably believes they’ll be a playoff team in the coming years and therefore whatever pick they surrender will end up outside the lottery.

Given the Pelicans’ history, that’s certainly a gamble. They have Anthony Davis, a generational talent, and they’ve played better since the return of Jrue Holiday. If the Okafor experiment works, then perhaps that’s the push they need to get on track in the Western Conference.

But from what we know about Okafor, it’s hard to fathom how his lack of defense and unwillingness to pass will benefit any team. Philadelphia gets outscored by an average of 15 points per 100 possessions when Okafor plays, the worst mark of any player on their roster by a long shot. Sure, it’s a bad situation for him, but is it that bad? Or are we just seeing a player who isn’t effective at the highest level of professional basketball?

You can hope New Orleans has put a lot more thought and time into Okafor on their roster than we have. Maybe they know something we don’t, and are confident it’ll work out.