Hype for Jahlil Okafor = over. He’s still the same player as always (except he added some arc to his free throw), but now there’s a new game in town:
Ersan Ilyasova.
Ersan offers so much that Jahlil simply doesn’t. Three-pointers being the main thing. Jahlil has tried a little bit to add range, but he’s just not there yet. Ersan is also amazing at drawing charges. He’s one of the best in the league at that aspect of the game, bringing excitement to every game with his strategic standing still. I don’t think Jahlil has ever drawn a single one.
The American viewing public is ever enchanted by the exotic, the foreign, the unknown. Jahlil, U.S.A. born and bred, will never have that advantage over Ersan, a desert warrior from Turkey/Uzbekistan.
The 76ers need to trade Jahlil. There is just no room for him and Ersan on the same team, and it’s hurting both of them.