NBA Rumors: Could Sixers trade Jahlil Okafor for C.J. McCollum?

The NBA trade deadline is coming up, but could the Sixers and Blazers make a deal that actually makes sense?

When the NBA trade deadline rolls around each year, we usually see come crazy stuff go down that doesn’t always help a team make it to the NBA Finals. In fact, it’s rare that a team makes a move and then propels itself into serious title contention. There are examples like the Bucks and Celtics from last year as teams who made trades and then became playoff teams, but they were never serious Finals contenders.

Teams sometimes make moves that are focused on the future though, which is why the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers swapping players makes some sense for the sake of their future.

What if the Sixers and Blazers swapped C.J. McCollum for Jahlil Okafor straight up? It’s an interesting idea, but as NBA scribe Chuck Myron points out, it’s not something that is like to happen.

"I think the Sixers would say no here. I think Okafor’s upside exceeds McCollum’s, if not by much. But the key here is the relative cost. Okafor has three years left on his rookie contract after this one. Next season is McCollum’s last on his cheap deal, and he’s extension-eligible this summer. So I’d try to keep the inexpensive guy."

The reason this won’t happen isn’t because it’s a lopsided deal one way or another, but rather it’s money issue. The Blazers will likely try to sign a decent piece in free agency this summer and even if they don’t, they’ll need to have money allotted to signing McCollum long-term when that time comes. There’s also the character issues that are at play when it comes to Okafor, something that the Blazers might not want to have to deal with.

It’s not a trade that will happen, but it’s one of the more intriguing — and realistic — hypotheticals that have been floated out of the rumor mill.