Kevin O’Connor, writing for The Ringer:

Nothing has really changed since nine days ago when The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Pelicans were “engaged on several fronts to land a center,” including Okafor. Woj reported the Pelicans want to include a large salary (likely Alexis Ajinca), but the Sixers don’t want to take that on, which a source confirmed to me. Those negotiations are stuck in gridlock. The shelving of Okafor was likely meant to flush out the best offers around the league, sources speculate. It’s not uncommon for teams to use leaks to stir interest. The Nuggets and Blazers weren’t pursuing Okafor. The Bulls likely aren’t either. No one is buying what Bryan Colangelo is selling: a one-dimensional center who can’t defend, rebound, or pass on a roster loaded with big men.

Good lord. He went to the Ruben Amaro school of negotiating– swing your dick wildly, see if it hits something and gets wet.

Colangelo didn’t even catch a stiff breeze.

More: Remember when everyone said Sam Hinkie felt no human emotion and treated his players like assets? Where does Colangelo holding a player out as part of a negotiating tactic and then having it not work rank on the unintentional image tarnishment scale? Not only did he not get a deal done, but he also managed to make his asset look like a pile of shit in the process. He’s like the guy who constructs a small town on Baltic and Oriental in Monopoly and then gets fucked when he hits the right side of the board later in the game. Ah, I can’t pay you, but I can offer these two little red houses and a get out of jail free card? Unfortunately for Colangelo, that tactic only works if you’re playing against your grandmother. And when reached for comment, Pelicans GM Dell Demps asked, “DO I LOOK LIKE YOUR FUCKING NONNA?”

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Okafor is Baltic.

Related: John Gonzalez writes about the Sixers clusterfuck on The Ringer here.

Photoshop from (@ZooWithRoy)