Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
I am going to do a more detailed post on Jahlil Okafor soon, but I wanted to get some thoughts down on the draft as a whole.
On Okafor:
Something to keep in mind: this draft will come down to Jahlil Okafor. If he hits, no one will care the least about what Sam Hinkie & Company did with their second round picks. If he does not, those decisions become magnified. But this draft starts and ends with Okafor.
It should come as no surprise that I am happy with this pick. I had Okafor as my best prospect in this draft. Yes, it would have been nice to land D'Angelo Russell. He has a very high ceiling and fills a position of greater need.
But getting Okafor at 3 was tremendous value. Okafor was considered the number one prospect in this class for years for a reason. He is stupid talented on the low block. His footwork, low post moves and hands are about as advanced as any prospect to come along at his age.
A lot of people seem to view this skill set as thought it has reached its zenith. As though there is some cap placed upon just how much better Okafor can become at the things he already does at an elite level. We fixate on measurables and wing span and production on 40 minute projections that we often ignore, or at the very least downgrade, the elite skill staring us in the face.
Yes, Karl Anthony Towns might put it all together and become an elite two way player. Or, he might end up being an elite shot blocker (which he is now), and mediocre at everything else.
We know that Okafor is an elite low post scoring threat. We know that he can draw double teams and make advanced passes to the open shooter. We know that his foot work and low post moves and counters to those moves are something only a handful of people on this planet can do at his size. And he is only 19. Why should we expect him to plateau?
Finally, and this might be the biggest take-away from last night: I have reached my saturation level with the "Okafor does not fit today's NBA" criticism. It is the single most frustrating knock on Okafor's game that I have heard. And it has been repeated by an alarming number of people that know the game of basketball very well.
Repeat after me: the NBA adjusts to elite talent. Elite talent does not have to adjust to the NBA.
When Steph Curry was drafted, he was too small, too slow, and not a good enough defender to be a franchise caliber cornerstone.
Now? He's the league MVP and reigning NBA champion.
James Harden was considered too limited on defense and unathletic to become anything more than a scoring option off the bench.
Now? He was the runner up for the league MVP and the scoring title.
Kahwi Leonard dropped in the draft because he was considered nothing more than an athletic wing that could not shoot; traits that were devalued at the time he was drafted.
Now? He is about to get a max contract and he has become the Beta version for super-athletic, versatile wings that are all the rage in today's NBA.
Point being: the NBA is constantly changing, evolving, adapting to the talent within its purview. So it is downright silly to dismiss a guy with an elite skill set simply because last year's champion did not use a player like him to win it all.
Put it this way: if Okafor was in his prime, do you have any doubt that the Warriors would have benched him? Me neither.
Okafor is an elite low post player in a league starving for elite low post players. He instantly gives the Sixers an advantage over a significant majority of the teams in the NBA because they do not have a similarly dominant low post force. This is a good thing.
Rest of the Draft
I'm not sure what Sam Hinkie was doing after the Sixers took Okafor third. If you believed the reports, there were plenty of opportunities for the Sixers to trade back into the first round. But whether it was because Hinkie was being too frugal, unlucky, or because he's being blacklisted by GM's in trades, the Sixers could not get a deal done.
While it is hard to completely fault the Sixers without knowing the asking price from other teams, I can't help but think he could have gotten something done. The TimberWolves were able to get their hands on the 24th overall pick by giving up the 31st and 36th overall draft picks. The Sixers, with five second rounders this year and four first rounders next year could not top that?!
The Hornets were also open to move their number nine pick before settling on Frank Kaminsky. With Justise Winslow on the board, would it have made sense for the Sixers to offer up a few firsts next year to get a potential elite wing player in the mold of Kawhi Leonard?
Instead, the Sixers sat tight and drafted a collection of second round players that likely will not contribute to the Sixers in any meaningful fashion. One of those players, Spanish center Willy Hernangomez, was then traded to the Knicks for two future second round picks in 2020 and 2021. Ugh.
Again, it is hard to get too hung up on second round picks. But with news of the Embiid "setback" it just seemed like the perfect time for the Sixers to accelerate the rebuild by cashing in some of these accumulated draft picks for an additional first round pick. For whatever reason, the Sixers did not get it done. And for whatever reason, it seems like a lost opportunity.
