Everybody Deserves Blame For The Jahlil Okafor Situation

It was pretty surprising when the LA Lakers flipped the script on the league on June 25, 2015 by taking D’Angelo Russell. Russell was projected by almost everybody to go to the Philadelphia 76ers at #3, right after the Lakers select Jahlil Okafor at the second spot. But what was even more surprising was when Philly responded by taking Okafor- their third big-man in as many drafts. Then-GM Sam Hinkie believed in accumulating the most valuable collection of assets possible, but the Sixers taking yet another seven-footer and not dealing him was shocking.

Ever since then, it’s been a disaster. Okafor put up good counting stats on one of the worst teams in league history in year one, but his decent performance was overshadowed by his two off-court incidents: first, driving 108 MPH on the Ben Franklin Bridge, and more notably, getting involved in multiple bar fights in Boston after tough losses. He has done nothing but lose thus far, in the games, off the court, and with the fans.

Then Joel Embiid came along. And since Embiid’s debut last October, this team has become all about him, Ben Simmons, and other fan favorites- but not Okafor. Okafor played the majority of his minutes off the bench last season, and he struggled greatly. It seemed that the instant he checked in, the Sixers’ lead would evaporate. His archaic play-style leaves a lot to be desired- specifically, his defense, rebounding and effort- all three have been incredibly underwhelming in the first two years of his career. He quickly became a scapegoat, and in many ways, rightfully so. The Sixers are set up very well for the future, but they would be so much better off if they had just taken Kristaps Porzingis instead.

Okafor was brought up in trade rumors daily last season, and it seemed like a given that he’d be traded at some point. Trade talks got so intense that Okafor was sent home by the team for part of a road trip because he was told that he would be traded in the coming days. No trade ever happened. There was a lot of smoke- it seemed to be created by Bryan Colangelo in a desperate attempt to draw any interest in Okafor- but no fire.

And on Tuesday, the Sixers officially declined Okafor’s fourth-year option, which will make him an Unresricted Free Agent this summer. And Okafor, a healthy 21 year-old who wants to prove his worth, is currently the fourth-string Center for Philly. He has only played in one game, and provides no worth to the team. He has become open about his wanting to be bought out or traded to be given a chance to showcase his abilities and create some market value for himself. But after 18 months of failed attempts to trade him, Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo refuses to just cut his losses and give Okafor a chance elsewhere. Okafor told reporters that Colangelo said he won’t buy Okafor out because that would be “giving him away for free,” as if that wasn’t what declining his option does.

This has turned into a debacle, and all parties involved have messed up in a big way to help lead to this disastrous ending.

First and foremost, Jahlil Okafor deserves blame. He’s in a tough spot, but he has failed to perform time and time again, has failed to even slightly improve any of his significant weaknesses, and took three seasons to get in good shape.

Sam Hinkie deserves blame. Whether it was a pick that was mandated by ownership, one he thought he could flip like he had done with Elfrid Payton the year before, or if he was truly just convinced by the talent, this was as bad of a top three pick as you’ll see.

But so does Bryan Colangelo. He didn’t exactly inherit the best situation possible when it came to Okafor, but he has botched it at every turn. Not trading him when he had high value, only to attempt to move him once that value was nonexistent, sending him home only to bring him back, and now refusing to just let the kid go when he clearly has no use in Philly, which will surely anger Okafor’s agent, who happens to also represent two possible free agency targets for the Sixers next summer in Danny Green and Patrick McCaw. Colangelo needs to buy out Okafor’s contract now before embarrassing himself any more than he already has.

One thing that never gets brought up needs to be mentioned, though: Jahlil Okafor has been the consummate professional throughout all of this. Despite being put in an extremely uncomfortable position, he has never blown up or melted down, never ranted to the press, and always said the right thing. He may not be a good NBA player, but he should be proud of the way he has handled this mess.