Brooklyn Nets acquire Jahlil Okafor from Philadelphia
By Nick Zaccone
Jahlil Okafor’s wishes have been granted: He’s finally out of Philly, and ready to pair up with D’Angelo Russell with the Brooklyn Nets.
Two of the top three picks of the 2015 NBA Draft will now team up with the Brooklyn Nets. On Thursday afternoon, the Nets sent Trevor Booker to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jahlil Okafor, along with shooting guard Nik Stauskas and a 2019 2nd-round pick.
At first glance, this is a steal for Brooklyn. Okafor alone is 21 years old with a boatload of talent. Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown didn’t implement him as he should have, and disciplinary problems were also a large issue. Combined, this prevented Jahlil from playing to his full potential. This also, unfortunately, has led to bust labels from all directions. Okafor has only played in 2 games this season. He posted 10 points and 9 boards against the Raptors, and put nothing on the stat sheet in 3 minutes of play against the Jazz.
Disappointment? I beg to differ. In his rookie season, when he had a full role, he was putting up 17.5 PPG and 7.0 RPG. He even outperformed Kristaps Porzingis as a rookie. However, Porzingis didn’t lose his job to Joel Embiid like Okafor did. Embiid seemed to be the reason for Okafor’s plummet. He now has the opportunity to re-write his career with Brooklyn.
Aside from Jahlil, Nik Stauskas is another young player who’s deemed a disappointment. Drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2014, Stauskas failed to put up the numbers an 8th overall pick is expected to put up. As a result, he was traded to Philadelphia, where he saw better play. However, he never panned out the way many expected him to. The 24-year-old should serve as an efficient shooter off Brooklyn’s bench.
Next: Nets epitomize next man up
To get these players plus a 2nd-round pick for 30-year-old Trevor Booker looks like a steal to me. Trevor Booker’s role on the Nets was solid, but 10.1 PPG and 6.6 RPG doesn’t match two players under age 25 and a 2nd-round pick. The Sixers were obviously trying their hardest to dump Okafor. Most likely, they didn’t gain much ground in other negotiations, so they settled for Booker.
Giving away Brook Lopez doesn’t seem like much of a burden anymore now that the Nets have Okafor. Will he be able to take the league by surprise and become a star in Brooklyn? We’ll have to see, but for now let’s get ready to enjoy the new Russell-Okafor duo.