The Jahlil Okafor saga has come to an end. According to multiple reports, the Philadelphia 76ers have finally agreed to a trade that will send the former No. 3 overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets.
The news was initially reported by Zach Lowe of ESPN. Shams Charania of The Vertical confirmed the deal, and included that the Sixers will get veteran big man Trevor Booker back in return.
The Sixers are nearing a deal to send Jahlil Okafor to Brooklyn, league sources tell ESPN.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 7, 2017
Philadelphia is nearing deal to send center Jahlil Okafor to Brooklyn in deal that involves forward Trevor Booker, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 7, 2017
Lowe then added that the Sixers will include Nik Stauskas and a draft pick in the move, while Charania added the moves that Brooklyn will make to facilitate this trade.
Philly will send Okafor, Nik Stauskas, and a second-round pick to Brooklyn for Trevor Booker, sources say.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 7, 2017
Sources: Brooklyn will receive the Knicks‘ 2019 second-round pick in deal, and release guard Sean Kilpatrick to create roster space for Okafor and Nik Stauskas.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 7, 2017
As it turns out, this isn’t the first time this trade has been on the table. Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice reports that the two siders were discussing an Okafor-for-Booker move last season.
The Sixers had a similar deal on the table for Okafor involving taking Booker back last season, per source. Pulling trigger now pretty clear signal they're just happy to cut bait and preserve 2018 cap space.
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) December 7, 2017
It has been fascinating watching Okafor go from a young start to completely out of the Sixers’ frontcourt rotation, and led to Okafor garnering support from around the league with the #FreeJah movement. While the young big man wanted to get bought out after the Sixers declined his qualifying option earlier this year, the Sixers decided to wait and trade Okafor, even lowering the asking price on him to make something happen.
For his career, Okafor has averaged 14.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He has appeared in two games this season.
