Yesterday, I wrote about how the DeMarcus Cousins trade has thrown trade values for a tizzy. Last night’s Lou Williams-for-Corey Brewer-and-a-first-round-pick deal may have started to put player values back in their rightful places. But teams still only have until 3 p.m. tomorrow to get deals done. According to David Aldridge, Jahlil Okafor will be gone then.
Speaking on NBATV yesterday, Aldridge said that the Sixers have “a lot of offers to sift through,” including ones from the Pacers and Kings, and said Okafor “will get moved by Thursday.”
Speaking with such conviction is probably just Aldridge’s way of putting a bow on all of the Okafor trade rumors. Where there’s smoke, there’s got to be fire, right?
Two things can be inferred from Aldridge’s report:
Additionally, Woj reported on a recent podcast that if an Okafor deal doesn’t get done, Nerlens Noel could be moved:
If they can’t get a deal for Okafor done before the deadline, I’m told that it’s possible they’ll start – there are still teams still checking on Noel, re-engaging on him. What complicates it for Noel is that he’s a restricted free agent, and teams want to know ‘what is it going to cost to us to re-sign him’. And it’s going to be a big number.
Woj is typically deadly accurate, but he has a lot of qualifiers in his statement here. He said a Noel trade is only likely if the Sixers can’t get an Okafor deal done, even though Aldridge is claiming that it will. As Kennedy wrote, “if Woj reports something, he has it from strong sources and it’s rarely wrong,” and when Aldridge does it’s often a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” situation. It sounds to me like an Okafor deal is certainly likely, but Woj is leaving the door open, still, for Noel to get moved, sub-optimal.
The NBA trade deadline is tomorrow at 3 p.m.