Where in the World is Jahlil Okafor Going?
Here is where we are with the Jahil Okafor trade situation: Last night, Okafor reportedly started shaking the hands of players and team personnel. Nerlens Noel was tapped as the starter just 20 minutes before tip-off. Okafor sat out. After the game, Brett Brown admitted that Okafor didn’t play because of trade talks. There is no coming back from that. He’s gone.
Hearing that Jahlil Okafor has told teammates he anticipates being traded soon.
— Jake Pavorsky (@JakePavorsky) February 12, 2017
Won't know until flight leaves mid-afternoon. https://t.co/ORbo6c1Xd8
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) February 12, 2017
But where? The teams rumored to have been involved in talks recently (no matter how weak the rumor) included the Bulls, Trailblazers, Lakers, Nuggets and Pelicans. Woj just broke the story that Denver is trading Jusuf Nurkic to Portland for Miles Plumlee, so that big man swap may take both teams out of the dealings. The Lakers talk never seemed to actually be coming from reliable sources, so you can probably remove them too. That leaves the Bulls and Pelicans.
Both teams, at some point, had been directly tied to Okafor in trade rumors. The Pelicans deal almost felt like it was going to get done last week, and the Bulls have seemed like an on/off suitor for a while.
A deal may seem imminent, but we really don’t know. There are only two more games before the All-Star Break, so the Sixers could realistically sit Jah for two nights as this all gets worked out:
There's a chance that Okafor could sit out the final two games prior to the all-star break due to ongoing trade talks.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 12, 2017
One thing seems certain, because you don’t bench someone in case they might be traded and then come back from that like nothing happened: Jahlil Okafor has probably played his last game for the Sixers.