Jahlil Okafor’s first season with the Philadelphia 76ers went pretty poorly. After winning the national title with perennial powerhouse Duke, Okafor joined a historically pitiful roster and struggled to adjust to both the basketball and real-life obstacles of an early NBA life.
He got into legal trouble at one point, and did not exactly flourish on the floor as his team limped to a 10-72 record. Okafor also missed 29 games due to injury, a state of being his teammate Joel Embiid knows all too well after two seasons of sitting on the sidelines.
Okafor did, however, prove to have the scoring touch that made him the No. 2 overall selection in the 2015 Draft, averaging 17.5 points per game. Now the Sixers, under new GM Bryan Colangelo, are trying to carry that promise over into a trade for another top-ten pick in this year’s draft, in which they already hold the top spot.
Celts and Sixers trade talk heats up. Philly really really wants Dunn per Tim Welsch. @CSNNE
— Gary Tanguay (@Gary_Tanguay) June 20, 2016
Providence’s Kris Dunn is probably the best point guard in the draft, and alongside ostensible top selection Ben Simmons, Nerlens Noel, and a potentially healthy Embiid, the Sixers may have enough of a young talent core to suggest something like a future. They’re not as asset-smart as they were under the guidance of the recently departed Sam Hinkie, but they may soon be watchable again.
