Jahlil Okafor‘s career has gotten off to a pretty rough start, to put it mildly. In addition to all the off-court issues during his rookie season, the former No. 3 pick’s in-game deficiencies have been exposed on numerous occasions. That, combined with the Sixers’ logjam in the frontcourt, made him the subject of various trade rumors prior to the February deadline.
Yet, Philadelphia ultimately opted to trade the perpetually-disgruntled Nerlens Noel instead, leaving Okafor in a veritable limbo with the team that drafted him but apparently no longer wants him. On Wednesday night against the Heat, Okafor – who’s never been known for his defensive prowess – turned a lot of heads on this one particular defensive possession when he betrayed a stunning lack of interest in trying to challenge shots or block anyone out to get the rebound.
He looked on listlessly as Goran Dragic wormed his way into the paint right in front of him and didn’t even bother to put a hand in his face. He then failed to box out under the basket as Miami grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it back to Hassan Whiteside, who sank a little push shot from the dotted line as Okafor once again stood there like a stick in the mud with this hands at his sides.
It’s certainly not the type of effort that will endear him to prospective teams if and when he’s finally shipped out of Philadelphia.
