Celtics want to trade 3rd pick for Okafor

[Prime_Shaq]

Not every team has Steph

Okafor is arguably the most skillled post player in the league already

He still isn't as good as Al Jefferson

[Derka]

This. I don't care what anyone says, guys like Okafor are valuable on ANY team. I'd ditch Bradley in a heartbeat for this dude

The Celtics succeed when they play defense and push the pace of the game. These are two things Jahlil Okafor is singularly unsuited towards. He plays no defense, can't protect the rim and doesn't really care to and is not a big who can get up and down the floor with ease because he's as athletic as a kitchen sponge. Top it off with a piss poor attitude? No thanks.

[keep-itreal]

Do it.

get Jahlil Okafor and get Jimmy Butler or Kevin Durant.

Instant contender

[Edgar Friendly]

I'd be open to pick 3 and 16 for Noel and mb pick 26 gets the deal done

GOBB stfu old man and get some sleep

[JonatanRey]

If I were the Celtics, I would trade for Jokic.

[kurple]

He still isn't as good as Al Jefferson

That is extremely arguable

And Steph wasnt better than prime Abdul-Rauf as a rookie.. Whats your point?

Rookie Okafor >>>> Rookie Al-Jeff, DMC, Favors, Brook Lopez, Jonas, Kanter.... Pretty much anyone not named Towns or Jokic

[GOBB]

GOBB stfu old man and get some sleep

You are bright thinking that's me.

[Smoke117]

He still isn't as good as Al Jefferson

I can never get over how overrated Jefferson's post game is. Every shot he takes goes AWAY FROM THE BASKET...he's a high volume scorer who can't play defense...which is just horrible for a center.

[bdreason]

That is extremely arguable

And Steph wasnt better than prime Abdul-Rauf as a rookie.. Whats your point?

Rookie Okafor >>>> Rookie Al-Jeff, DMC, Favors, Brook Lopez, Jonas, Kanter.... Pretty much anyone not named Towns or Jokic

Look at that list of names;

Al Jeff - Doesn't even start for a team that barely makes the EC playoffs.
DMC - Can't even get his team close to a playoff spot as the primary option.
Favors - The 3rd or 4th option on a non-playoff team.
Lopez - 1st option of one of the worst offensive teams in the league.
Jonas - Team refuses to even let him touch the ball most of the time. Instead opting for his two guards to chuck relentlessly.
Kanter - 3rd or 4th option. Doesn't even start.



Low-post Bigs are dinosaurs. Modern analytics show that playing the game from the outside-in is simply more efficient with modern NBA rules. These are not my opinions, these are facts. Just look at the league, there isn't a single example of a successful team built around a low-post scorer. Modern Bigs need to be able to defend the rim, defend the pick and roll, rebound, and shoot. I'd say low-post scoring probably falls around the 5th or 6th most important aspect for modern Bigs... and you want to trade the 3rd overall pick + an elite wing defender for a player whose primary attribute is low-post scoring, and whose weakness's are lateral movement, rim defense, and shooting.

[Kblaze8855]

These are not my opinions, these are facts. Just look at the league, there isn't a single example of a successful team built around a low-post scorer.

Just depends on the scorer and the team. There arent many players to do it with. If Shaq, Hakeem, or Duncan came out in the draft they would be worth playing that way.

Not like the 3 being worth more just became true last year when a team finally won with its best player being mostly a 3 point shooter after 37 years of midrange shooters, attackers, post players, and great defenders leading teams to rings.

For 20+ years teams have had their role players shooting. Hakeems Rockets had 4 players hit 25+ threes in the playoffs. The 14 spurs had 4 as well...and Horry(46) and Kenny smith(44) made as many as Danny Green(48) and Manu(41) who led the Spurs. And the rockets played one less game.

So its not like teams just now noticed that the shot is smart....its just that everyone is doing the same thing instead of having teams at either end of the extreme with a good group in the middle. There really isnt much to say a team built around a great post player with shooters everywhere(how many teams used to do it) couldnt be great now. There just isnt anyone trying to do it.

Nobody tried to be the Warriors till someone did. Well let me take that back....Dantoni tried it with Diaw at center making plays and playing small ball. But it wasnt the norm. Nelly tried it 20+ years ago with guys like Billy Owens and Paul Pressey before him playing 1-4. Owens I saw play the 5 and make plays....

We have just hit the point where it went so far one way people act like any other way is madness. Like how people spazzed out when the league had a few 3 happy teams when the conventional wisdom was....go inside. Then it became inside out....then outside in...now...just outside....and drive just enough to keep your shooters open.

You can win with any style provided you have the right players.

These days you would need a lot of shooters to win with a post player....but thats been the case for some time. Hakeem, Shaq, Duncan, and so on have been kicking it out for some time now.

If Hakeem came along a team would just play along the lines of his Rockets but this time Kenny would set the finals record with 10 threes instead of 7.

Teams generally have like 2 more shooters than they used to. And they do use them more....but even the interior teams like Shaq/Kobes lakers had all their guys to kick out to.

You dont have to be on either extreme. You could win playing in the middle with the right players.

Dwight did lead a team to like 60 wins and the finals by them shooting record numbers of threes around him still getting the ball an awful lot. What did he have to get them to the finals? 46/13?

It can still be done with the right guy.

Okafor might not be the guy. But it can be done.

Far as him being worth a #3 pick?

If he stayed in college he might be the #1 pick right now. This isnt striking me as the strongest of drafts.

[bdreason]

^^^

You just compared Okafor to Hakeem, Shaq, and Duncan. If you think he's gonna be those guys, sure, build around him. Otherwise, if you build around a player whose main value is low-post scoring, and he can't get you ~30ppg on 50%, your team will not survive in the modern league.

Another discernible difference is that all of those players, as well as Dwight Howard, were paint/rim protectors. So even when they weren't scoring at an efficient rate, they were playing a key role on defense. Okafor, at least from what we've seen, is slow-footed, and a poor defender. That makes him a liability on defense in the modern NBA (see Kanter, Al Jeff).

Unless the rules change, I don't see a team ever building a successful franchise around a low-post scorer. Any franchise Big who can efficiently score on the low box will still need to be able to shoot the ball and protect the paint. For example, I could see the T-Wolves being successful building around KAT, and he may turn out to be an efficient low-post scorer... but if that's all he can do, that team will fail.

Ironically, I think it's actually more effective to post Guards/Wings these days. You see quite a few of the top teams, including the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, etc. who successfully use their guards/wings to post, because of the small stature of many modern NBA guards/wings. Posting with a guard/wing also allows for more offensive rebounding, as opposed to posting a Big, which typically results in one shot because of defensive positioning.

[Optimus Prime]

I think Okafor's ceiling is regular All Star. Which is a heckuva a lot better than D'Bustaslow, who will be out of the league in 5 years.

3 point shootouts might be the fad right now, but a low post player with skills can still get you points pretty easily, especially with how soft the NBA is these days. Okafor can get you buckets and rebounds, though he doesn't play much D, so he'd be a great #2 or #3 guy. He's not someone you can build your franchise around in today's NBA, but his skills still have value.

[T_L_P]

Okafor is a dinosaur. The modern league favors agile, defensive Bigs who can shoot. Okafor looks like Al Jeff 2.0 to me.

Truth bombs.

[SummrtimeEmbiid]

Avery Bradley is worth a lot more than a throw-in piece & I don't see Philly getting a better offer than the #3 pick plus whatever other fodder the Celtics wanna throw in there.

Personally, I'd rather the see Boston swindle Doc outta Blake Griffin for their picks.

[ClipperRevival]

Just watch, Okafor is going to be a BEAST offensively. He's going to feast on the small ball line ups. He's had one of the quietest 17.5 ppg rookie seasons ever due to KAT's emergence. Can't teach what he has (touch, huge hands, light feet, feel for the game, post moves and that big booty). He's just got way too many positive traits not to be a dominant low post scorer.