I've almost given up on Young, so it's basically Kelly and Rozier for Okafor. I wouldn't do it. I understand that there are folks out there who will consider this position crazy, but I am really not a fan of Okafor. I have a hard time picturing him in the role of significant contributor to a real contender. I guess for me the best case scenario would be him playing a kind of Enes Kanter or Mo Speights type role as a super sub, big man scorer off the bench.
That's a nice role, but not worth giving up two young players who I still have high hopes can be very productive players on good teams. I think that in the right situation, Kelly can be a starter on a good team. Not a number one, two, or three starter, but a really dangerous, versatile player as your fourth or fifth option. Offensively, his versatility is almost unmatched as a big. He can stretch the floor, he can put the ball on the floor and create offense, he's a good passer, he can finish in the lane, run the floor.
Defensively, he gets ripped apart by fans. And, I agree that at times he looks cringe worthy, but the fact is that the numbers consistently have shown that the team performs better defensively when he is out there. The evidence adds up. When you start to look for the good things he does, as opposed to focusing on the bad, you notice that he is very clever as a pick and roll defender. He rarely overcommits to either the guard or the big and gets caught completely in no man's land. He plays angles and space well. This helps explain his very solid career steal stats. He gets most of them playing the pick and roll smartly. He's adequate as a one on one defender in the post. I feel like his weakness is covering perimeter oriented bigs, but, hey, I'm not saying he's perfect.
Anyway, this turned into a bit of a Kelly Olynyk admiration post. It's been a while since I've had one of those. I look forward to seeing him play this coming season after coming off what was definitely a disappointing, injury riddled campaign last year. If he stays healthy, I see him as a crucial third bit in the rotation along with Big Al and Amir. I know Kelly has teased us before and never really managed to put it all together. Hopefully, this is the year.
Oh, and I like Terry Rozier too.