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Report: 76ers held out Jahlil Okafor during trade talks with Blazers

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 8, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor prior to a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor prior to a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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According to a report, the Philadelphia 76ers held Jahlil Okafor out for two games as they engaged in trade talks with the Portland Trail Blazers.

When the Philadelphia 76ers held Jahlil Okafor out of two games earlier this week, many believed it was a sign that the young backup was on his way out via trade.

Indeed, TNT’s David Aldridge even reported that his absence was due to ongoing trade talks.

However, when a deal never emerged and Okafor returned to the lineup for the Sixers’ final game before the All-Star break, most assumed those discussions had fallen through…until it was reported that holding him out may have simply been a ploy by the Sixers to drum up some trade interest.

Now, Aldridge is reporting that Okafor was actually sidelined because Philadelphia was engaged in trade talks with the Portland Trail Blazers at the time.

At this point, we’re not sure what to believe. Though Aldridge is a perfectly reliable NBA source around this time of year, almost every team tries to use the media to create smokescreens during NBA trade season.

On the surface, Philadelphia and Portland talking about a trade involving Okafor makes sense. The Sixers need to ease their logjam at center between Okafor, Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel, while the Blazers were looking for a long-term answer at the 5 with Mason Plumlee’s free agency coming up.

Unfortunately for the 76ers, they were unable to work out a deal with Rip City before it landed a better trade with the Denver Nuggets, sending Mason Plumlee to the Mile High City for Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first round pick.

That deal gave the Blazers their third first round pick in this year’s draft, along with an interior bruiser in Nurkic. Okafor’s raw numbers from his rookie season were impressive, but the advanced statistics reveal how bad he is on the defensive end.

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While it would make sense for these two teams to have engaged in trade talks, it could also be another ploy from the Sixers information to “leak” information that creates the impression that teams around the league really do want Okafor. Either way, this is an interesting bit of news leading up to the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline.