Sixers need to look for a new Jahlil Okafor trade partner

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The Sixers have a big roster. Big, meaning, they have 5 players over the height of 6’10. With that being said, they will not be able to keep all of these big men around for much longer, so that means trade talks have surrounded the Sixers and their boat load of big men. One man that the Sixers have baited out there is Jahlil Okafor. The team that was linked to Okafor was the Boston Celtics, with the rumors swirling around the NBA Draft the heaviest.

Since the draft has ended, the Celtics did not pursue Okafor, but instead used their #3 overall pick on Jaylen Brown. The Celtics signed free agent Al Horford as well, which means the Celtics may have lost interest in Jahlil.

That seems to be true as news has come out that the talks have become “stale” between the two teams.

With the Celtics pretty much stopping all pursuit of Jahlil Okafor, the Sixers have to figure out if it is worth waiting to trade a big man and seeing how this upcoming season plays out.

As of right now, the Sixers are probably having trouble finding teams that want Okafor because of where the league is trending towards. Offensively, teams have heavily favored small ball and guard play over the past few seasons. Defensively, a big man who can defend has become almost more valuable than a big man who can just score. That is the category that Jahlil Okafor has fallen into recently. The Sixers are stuck in a position where they have Joel Embiid coming back and finally playing after sitting out two full seasons, leaving them with three big men who have a lot of value.

Leaving all of these players on the same team to play together may not be the best option, but the safest option. They should not just force a trade because they feel that they can’t divide playing time up evenly among all of these big men. Ben Simmons is a lock to stay on this team. Besides Simmons, every other big man has a reason to prove why they should be a part of this future. It will be the one who fits with Ben Simmons the most as an offensive duo. It may not be fair to a guy like Okafor if he does not fit with Simmons, but this team will benefit in the future if players are put around Simmons.

The Sixers may not be finding this trade partner right now, but once the season comes around, anything can happen with such a young team on this rise.

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