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Boston writer will pay up for Okafor/Jefferson

This Boston writer (Chad Finn) sees Okafor as Al Jefferson+ and will pay up to get him...

Celtics trade for Jahlil Okafor would make sense

His case is pretty straight forward. Boston has a back-court talent glut and Philly has a front-court talent glut.

His view of Okafor is pretty realistic in comparison to Al Jefferson. He sees him as a -defender but a ++offensive talent similar to Jefferson. He sees Okafor as ahead of Jefferson at the same age.

Jefferson was able to become a critical trade piece for Boston (as well as a good NBA player still contributing to a playoff team). His point, Okafor could still top out as a very valuable player on a very good team and as such at his age he'll be a valuable trade piece.

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From the article:

Jahlil Okafor averaged 17.5 points and 7 rebounds per game in his first NBA season. ... The situation makes Okafor, potentially, a hell of a trade chip. He’s classic post-up scorer whose first season was abbreviated to 53 games due to a torn meniscus in his knee. Yet, he finished fifth in the rookie of the year balloting. ...

Okafor's rookie year was impressive in general but particularly if a team considers the mismatched front court and lack of an NBA quality backcourt he posted his number with. This writer seems to get that.

Okafor is good. So why would they trade him? Because it makes a hell of a lot of sense. The Sixers, who might actually try to win more than a dozen games this year, might be better – they’d certainly be more well-rounded – if they traded him for capable guard help. Which, finally, brings us to the portion of our program that perhaps qualifies as that epiphany, or maybe a semi-epiphany, I hope.

Philly should improve significantly with 'capable guard help'. Their other players trade value could increase across the board with a better Point Guard and veteran presence not to mention passing forwards like Simmons & Saric.

If the Celtics did trade the No. 3 pick and assorted other pieces to the Sixers for Okafor, I don’t believe it would be to keep him long-term. I don’t think Ainge or Stevens would look at Okafor as a core player, as reasonable as such a presumption would be. I think they’d look at him as the key piece to help them get the superstar they need in a trade. I think they’d look at him as their new Al Jefferson.

The #3 pick + 'assorted other pieces' is what I'd require if I'm Philly. This year's #3 is not a sure thing pick and has at least some degree of bust potential. Jahlil Okafor has already proven he's not a bust. The assorted other pieces should guarantee Philly's GM that he comes away with some value especially in the case that Jahlil Okafor is lighting it up inside for the Celtics the way he's shown signs of doing in Philly. Surrounded by Boston's talent his perceived league value could shoot up very quickly.

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I think they’d look at him as their new Al Jefferson. The comparison is obvious from a skill set standpoint: Both players are polished and instinctive back-to-the-basket scorers who can’t or don’t play a lick of defense. It makes sense from a statistical standpoint: Okafor, as a 20-year-old rookie after one year at Duke, averaged 17.5 points and 7 rebounds per game while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Okafor is more advanced than Jefferson, chosen 15th overall by the Celtics in 2004 out of Prentiss (Miss.) High, was at the same age. But at 22, in his third season, Jefferson averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the field. Basically what Okafor did this year, right? Right. And that offseason, Jefferson was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves as the centerpiece in the Celtics’ blockbuster trade for Kevin Garnett.

He see's Boston adding a young valuable piece that would not necessarily be the franchise piece but could be good enough to anchor a deal for that franchise piece. Granted low post scoring might not be perceived with same value is was when the deal for Garnett was made but Okafor has also shown signs of being not only an elite post scorer but an elite inside scorer in general. He's displayed an array of face up and spin moves that combined with his post up game makes him a double team draw that guy's like Isaiah Thomas and company could feast from. Add in Okafor's valuable rookie contract year's and Bryan Colangelo should be able to get at least one solid backcourt/wing player along with the #3 pick. If he can't do that he should continue to check the rest of league for offers on Big Jah.

Jahlil Okafor has some incredible strengths and many damaging weaknesses.
It takes a certain kind of team to maximize those kind of players, but it can be done
.

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