On a scale of 1-10, 1 being “fully included in all team activities as an equal” and 10 being “pressing face against a window of the house where all his teammates are having a sweet party, high-fiving each other while hookers give them BJs”, how marginalized does Jahlil Okafor feel right now?
The 76ers have now won a bunch of games in quick succession where Okafor either didn’t play or played sparingly. Philly doesn’t even need Embiid necessarily; apparently Nerlens Noel can do a decent impersonation. But the trend is clear: Okafor minutes = Philly losses.
For a while there, The Nerlen Wall (thank Alaa for that one) looked like the odd center out, barely playing and airing his dirty laundry with the media. Things have improved for him, though, and a trade is not looking imminent for him. That’s good. Defenders like him don’t grow on trees, and they would be wise to keep him around, at least for now. Or until some team offers a ridiculous package for him, which isn’t out of the question. How much do you think some of the contenders around the league want this dude right now?