Brooklyn 2016 Pick + KO for Okafor

[Granath]

Alright, I'm not big on making "what if" polls. There's a first time for everything I suppose. Let's say Philly sees Noel as their guy. He and Okafor don't play well together. If Okafor has to go, do the Cs make a move to get him? Note that I'm not a proponent of this trade though I find it an interesting situation.

The Pros:
I know quite a few people tend to poo-poo him but without a doubt Okafor is a talent. You simply don't see many 20 year old (and he just turned 20) rookie big men averaging 17.5 ppg and 7.5 boards a game while exiled in Basketball Siberia. With some growth in his game he could be a dominating offensive force inside for many years. Even now he's basically as good as David Lee was in Lee's prime - and a better defender (which ain't saying much folks).

The Cons:
By trading that Brooklyn pick the Cs give up any chance of Simmons or Ingram. And yeah, Danny probably be kicking himself if that pick turned out to be #1. But there are no sure things in the draft - even Greg Oden busted - and that has to be considered. A bird in hand...

Of course, there's Okafor's immaturity. I think that is in part due to the environment in Philly but I'm not forgetting him getting into fights and generally acting like a brat.

And then there's the system fit. Okafor doesn't shoot 3 pointers and he really doesn't have a shot outside of 10 feet. Thus he doesn't have that stretch component that Stevens likes. Nor is he a defensive presence and probably never will be one. But still his offensive game more than makes up for it.

Personally I'd rather give up Sully but if this deal were to go down Philly would probably demand KO.

So what say you...and why?

[blackbird]

I don't understand the poll, so I'm just gonna go with no freaking way.

[PhoSita]

I would love to go after Okafor.  I think trading for one of Philly's center prospects is a good opportunity to pick up a top talent at a discount rate because everybody knows that Philly will have to trade one of them eventually.

That said, Okafor isn't helping any teams win this year, and I don't think there's any urgency on Philly's part to trade him.

I'd wait until after we know exactly where that 2016 pick is going to be slotted before looking to trade it for Okafor.

I think Okafor would go in the top 5 of this draft, but I doubt he'd go ahead of Simmons or Ingram. 

[Ilikesports17]

The fact that he is in basketball Siberia makes those numbers less impressive, not more.

I would not do Brooklyn and KO

[arctic 3.0]

Oly is emerging as a player and finally proving Danny right in selecting him over giannis.
The nets pick is an unknown with fair odds of landing a transformative talent.

Okafor is a throwback talent who will excel in the league but I don't see him as a great fit in our system.

I'd avoid trading Oly (a player perfectly tuned to CBS system) and a free shot at a top 3 pick for a player who would force a restructuring of our offense.

[TheFlex]

I would seriously consider that. IT/Okafor could possibly be the best below-the-rim P&R combo in the league. We'd likely have to trade Sullinger, who I like more than most on here, as he doesn't fit defensively with Okafor at all. If we could get an athletic stretch 4 (tall task, but not impossible) with some combination of Sully, our 1st rounders last year + James Young, some 1sts (basically, our leftover assets, which would still be a lot), or Jordan Mickey becomes that guy (an even taller task, but also not impossible), we'd really be set:

IT
Smart/AB
Crowder
[Athletic Stretch 4]
Okafor

+ whatever is left of Sullinger, Rozier, Hunter, Young, Mickey, 2016 DAL 1, 2016 BOS 1, future owned 1sts, boatload of 2nds, etc.

[danglertx]

What is the option for HELL NO!

[86MaxwellSmart]

Not K.O.----He's gonna be a career 60% 3 Point Shooter at this rate-!

[Granath]

I don't understand the poll, so I'm just gonna go with no freaking way.

I'm guessing you don't have children or grandchildren.

[Granath]

Oly is emerging as a player and finally proving Danny right in selecting him over giannis.
The nets pick is an unknown with fair odds of landing a transformative talent.

Okafor is a throwback talent who will excel in the league but I don't see him as a great fit in our system.

I'd avoid trading Oly (a player perfectly tuned to CBS system) and a free shot at a top 3 pick for a player who would force a restructuring of our offense.

I like KO. It's hard not to with his attitude, hustle, hair and occasionally his game. But I also am a firm believer in not overestimating our own players.

KO's defensive game has improved this year without a doubt. But his offense? He's still the same 10ppg, 4rpg guy he was last year. His eFG is nice but not really different from last year plus I don't think he's going to continue to hit 45% of his 3s. His recent play is good but it's not really any different than December of 2014. He's 24 1/2 years old. Will he continue to improve? There's a chance he will because of his late growth spurt. But there's a better chance that he'll always be what he is now - a 7th man off the bench who can score. Giannis, however, continues to show improvement and he's only 21. He'll continue to be a starter in the NBA. The edge is to Giannis now and in the future.

As far as the pick goes, you're absolutely right - it could be transformative. But what happens if the Nets' pick end up 4th and then dropping to 6th in the lottery? Then it doesn't look too good. That's the risk here and that's why this trade likely only happens before the ping-pong balls are picked IMO.

[danglertx]

There is more to KO's game than ppg.  I know this because he consistently has crazy + - numbers.

[PhoSita]

You're absolutely right - it could be transformative. But what happens if the Nets' pick end up 4th and then dropping to 6th in the lottery? Then it doesn't look too good. That's the risk here and that's why this trade likely only happens before the ping-pong balls are picked IMO.

I'd rather wait and find out where the pick slots and have to add more value into the trade in the form of other picks or players (e.g. Bradley), as opposed to trading it at the deadline and then watch it turn into a top 2 selection.

[max215]

I'll pass.

[jambr380]

It's not that I think KO or the BKN pick are untouchable, it's just that I don't think Okafor is the guy to target with those two assets. If we were to bring in Okafor, I would much rather trade Sully than KO and it would probably be fairly essential to keep Amir for toughness and rebounding.

If the pick falls to five or below and we are keeping KO, then I may change my mind.

[D Dub]

Feels like we're in a good position to sit back and keep that pick. 

Especially with regard to Philly, whom everyone in the NBA world knows has to trade a big man this year.