Why is everyone in love with Okafor?

[soulman]

I Like Noel more...

[CoachBo]

Crimson, if you can't figure out what having an actual point guard to pass him the ball has to do with anything, I don't know what to tell you.

Same applies to your Towns comparison.

KAT is unquestionably a much better player and prospect. But he did have the benefit of actual NBA players around him who didn't play the same position.

TP. I can only laugh at all the fabricated criticism of an undeveloped big guy with enormous potential on this board.

If some of you were running the Sixers, you'd unload everyone because of what happened last year. I don't care what the numbers say about a rookie kid on a historically terrible team. I care about what I see.

[Vox_Populi]

Crimson, if you can't figure out what having an actual point guard to pass him the ball has to do with anything, I don't know what to tell you.

Same applies to your Towns comparison.

KAT is unquestionably a much better player and prospect. But he did have the benefit of actual NBA players around him who didn't play the same position.

TP. I can only laugh at all the fabricated criticism of an undeveloped big guy with enormous potential on this board.

If some of you were running the Sixers, you'd unload everyone because of what happened last year. I don't care what the numbers say about a rookie kid on a historically terrible team. I care about what I see.

There's a difference between having Okafor on your team and having to use assets to acquire him.  Just because some here don't want to trade for Okafor, doesn't mean if he was on the team they'd want to trade him.

[bdm860]

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski had enormous praise for star freshman Jahlil Okafor today on The Jim Rome Show. The Hall of Famer said he’s never had anyone better than the likely first overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft during his time in Durham.

“He’s as good as anybody I’ve coached at Duke,” Krzyzewski said. “I think, as a pro, I didn’t get a chance to coach Kyrie (Irving) only 11 games, he’s of that ilk, of Grant Hill’s ilk, actually Jason Williams, if he didn’t get hurt. You’re talking about National Player of the Year caliber and then the type of talent that translates into being a great pro.”

Coach K says Okafor’s skills translate off the court too.

A couple of things I worry about with this quote. 

I remember Jay Williams being very underwhelming as a pro.  He was pretty much written off as having any chance to be a star by the end of his rookie year before his injury.  Just too slow and not quick enough to be an effective starting guard in the NBA.  People act like he would have gone on to be a star if not for his injury, that is just not true.  Before the draft sure, but after a full season in the NBA he was really exposed.  And I was a big Jay Williams fan and thought he could be a big star too.

And I definitely don't expect Coach K to badmouth any of his guys.  But I bet he's just just using hindsight here, naming two of his top players in terms of NBA success (Hill and Irving), an urban legend (Jay Williams), and using that to compare to his latest gem (Okafor).  I would imagine Coach K thought Laettner would be a better pro than Hill, did he also think NBA busts like William Avery, Shelden Williams, Trajon Langdon, and Austin Rivers were of that ilk?  How about good but not special NBA players like Brand, Boozer, Battier, Maggette, Dunleavy, Reddick, etc.  I'm just saying my guess is he's thrown those "special" comparisons around before.  If Elton Brand had a more spectacular NBA career he'd been using him as an example too.  If Okafor doesn't, then next time he makes that comparison for one of his players he'll conveniently forget about him.

If Coach K didn't say good things I'd worry, but him saying good things doesn't instill any confidence either.

[jbpats]

Hoping somebody can explain to me why Okafor is the assumption of "odd man out" in Philly and not Noel?
Understood why it's not Embiid, guy hasn't stepped foot on a court yet so his value is next to nothing right now.

Personally I think making a move for Noel makes more sense, and he would cost less.
Assuming that Okafor costs us the #3 and Bradley can we assume Noel would cost something along the lines of the Dallas pick and Rozier or Hunter?
Based on this assumption doesn't Noel make more sense?

[Moranis]

I don't get It either really.

I mean I do get why people are high on him:

* He's only 19 years old
* He's almost 7 feet tall with a 7'5" wingspan
* He's already an outstanding post scorer
* His college game suggested he had high basketball IQ

But after a year in the NBA I just feel that he has a LOT of limitations / red flags that make me very hesitant to take a risk on him, such as:

* Conditioning issues (don't want to go through that again)
* Weak rebounding numbers
* Questionable off-court behaviour
* Terrible defence
* Poor lateral mobility
* Lack of offensive outside of the paint
* Weak court feel (poor assist-to-turnover ratio)

Okafor was supposed to be an elite offensive talent, yet he only managed 17 PPG on what was by far the worst team in the NBA.  Wiggins was seen as a pretty raw prospect and yet h averaged the same in his rookie year on a team with much more offensive talent.

Okafor is a big man and he was surrounded by horrible shooters who couldn't create for anybody even themselves.  He didn't have an actual point guard passing him the ball till halfway through the season.

Are you forgetting that Karl-Anthony Towns was playing with Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins?  You can't get a backcourt that shoots much worse then that.

Also what does having a PG to pass to him have to do with anything?
 
Does that explain why:
* His jumper is so bad?
* He averaged around 2 turnovers for every assist? 
* He rebounded at an almost embarrassing rate for somebody his size?
* He couldn't defend anything that isn't standing still?

Of course it doesn't. 

Okafor is a talented player.  There is no denying the fact that he has physical talent, and he has some skills.  The problem with Okafor is that he has so many weaknesses in his game right now, that it makes it extremely difficult to find another big man you can pair him with.

Okafor + Kevin Love = fail because you'd have horrendously bad defense
Okafor + Olynyk = fail because you'd have atrocious rebounding
Okafor + Dwight = fail because you'd have no ability to stretch the floor

A guy like Okafor has so many major flaws in his game that there are a very select few guys you could actually play alongside him without giving in to major liabilities in one part of the game or other. 

For all his offensive shortcomings, Noel is actually easier to pair with because at least he:

1) Has the mobility to defend multiple positions and switch on defence
2) Is a good rim protector
3) Is a pretty good (if not great) rebounder
4) Doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective

As long as you can pair him with a good offensive big man who can hit a long-two (or even better, the odd three) you're fine. 

But Okafor...you need to cover for his poor defense, his poor rebounding, his poor jumper, his poor mobility, and the list goes on.

Okafor would have been a beast back in Jordan's era, when the lack of a zone defence option would have allowed him to dominate the post at will. This is a different era, and it's much harder for a guy like him to excel in a time like.

Even Monroe is easier to pair with then Okafor, because at least he can rebound at a high level and is an excellent passing big.

Okafor may well improve his jumper, his rebounding, his defence.  I just don't feel comfortable gambling assets of any significant value he hope that he will do that.

His jumper isn't bad.  I have no idea where you are getting that from.  From 3-10 feet Okafor shot 46.3%.  Now you might be thinking that doesn't sound so good, yet there are only two Boston Celtics that shot better than that James Young (who has almost no shots) and Amir Johnson.  Even from 10-16 feet where Okafor shot 35.3% that still puts him ahead of Sullinger, Bradley, Crowder, Olynyk, Young, Jerekbo, and a few other Celtics.

This notion that Okafor can't shoot is just silly nonsense.  He does not have three point range, but he is a very good mid-range shooter.

Okafor also isn't this terrible rebounder you are making him out to be.  He was only a slightly worse rebounder than Porzingis (both in totals and rate), whose rebounding is widely praised. 

[Moranis]

Hoping somebody can explain to me why Okafor is the assumption of "odd man out" in Philly and not Noel?
Understood why it's not Embiid, guy hasn't stepped foot on a court yet so his value is next to nothing right now.

Personally I think making a move for Noel makes more sense, and he would cost less.
Assuming that Okafor costs us the #3 and Bradley can we assume Noel would cost something along the lines of the Dallas pick and Rozier or Hunter?
Based on this assumption doesn't Noel make more sense?

I get the sense that it is a combination of factors.  He is on a longer contract and thus has more value than Noel in that regard.  Noel and Embiid's skill sets seem to mesh better than Okafor and Embiid's.  Noel is a better defender and rebounder which are harder to find and work better on any team.  Okafor is a better prospect than Noel is, though, and if you told me I could have either one, I would take Okafor every single time.

[tankcity!]

I don't get It either really.

I mean I do get why people are high on him:

* He's only 19 years old
* He's almost 7 feet tall with a 7'5" wingspan
* He's already an outstanding post scorer
* His college game suggested he had high basketball IQ

But after a year in the NBA I just feel that he has a LOT of limitations / red flags that make me very hesitant to take a risk on him, such as:

* Conditioning issues (don't want to go through that again)
* Weak rebounding numbers
* Questionable off-court behaviour
* Terrible defence
* Poor lateral mobility
* Lack of offensive outside of the paint
* Weak court feel (poor assist-to-turnover ratio)

Okafor was supposed to be an elite offensive talent, yet he only managed 17 PPG on what was by far the worst team in the NBA.  Wiggins was seen as a pretty raw prospect and yet h averaged the same in his rookie year on a team with much more offensive talent.

Okafor is a big man and he was surrounded by horrible shooters who couldn't create for anybody even themselves.  He didn't have an actual point guard passing him the ball till halfway through the season.

Are you forgetting that Karl-Anthony Towns was playing with Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins?  You can't get a backcourt that shoots much worse then that.

Also what does having a PG to pass to him have to do with anything?
 
Does that explain why:
* His jumper is so bad?
* He averaged around 2 turnovers for every assist? 
* He rebounded at an almost embarrassing rate for somebody his size?
* He couldn't defend anything that isn't standing still?

Of course it doesn't. 

Okafor is a talented player.  There is no denying the fact that he has physical talent, and he has some skills.  The problem with Okafor is that he has so many weaknesses in his game right now, that it makes it extremely difficult to find another big man you can pair him with.

Okafor + Kevin Love = fail because you'd have horrendously bad defense
Okafor + Olynyk = fail because you'd have atrocious rebounding
Okafor + Dwight = fail because you'd have no ability to stretch the floor

A guy like Okafor has so many major flaws in his game that there are a very select few guys you could actually play alongside him without giving in to major liabilities in one part of the game or other. 

For all his offensive shortcomings, Noel is actually easier to pair with because at least he:

1) Has the mobility to defend multiple positions and switch on defence
2) Is a good rim protector
3) Is a pretty good (if not great) rebounder
4) Doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective

As long as you can pair him with a good offensive big man who can hit a long-two (or even better, the odd three) you're fine. 

But Okafor...you need to cover for his poor defense, his poor rebounding, his poor jumper, his poor mobility, and the list goes on.

Okafor would have been a beast back in Jordan's era, when the lack of a zone defence option would have allowed him to dominate the post at will. This is a different era, and it's much harder for a guy like him to excel in a time like.

Even Monroe is easier to pair with then Okafor, because at least he can rebound at a high level and is an excellent passing big.

Okafor may well improve his jumper, his rebounding, his defence.  I just don't feel comfortable gambling assets of any significant value he hope that he will do that.

His jumper isn't bad.  I have no idea where you are getting that from.  From 3-10 feet Okafor shot 46.3%.  Now you might be thinking that doesn't sound so good, yet there are only two Boston Celtics that shot better than that James Young (who has almost no shots) and Amir Johnson.  Even from 10-16 feet where Okafor shot 35.3% that still puts him ahead of Sullinger, Bradley, Crowder, Olynyk, Young, Jerekbo, and a few other Celtics.

This notion that Okafor can't shoot is just silly nonsense.  He does not have three point range, but he is a very good mid-range shooter.

Okafor also isn't this terrible rebounder you are making him out to be.  He was only a slightly worse rebounder than Porzingis (both in totals and rate), whose rebounding is widely praised.

TP...I hope we keep the pick and offer a package surrounding Thomas for Okafor.

[BDeCosta26]

Crimson, if you can't figure out what having an actual point guard to pass him the ball has to do with anything, I don't know what to tell you.

Same applies to your Towns comparison.

KAT is unquestionably a much better player and prospect. But he did have the benefit of actual NBA players around him who didn't play the same position.

TP. I can only laugh at all the fabricated criticism of an undeveloped big guy with enormous potential on this board.

If some of you were running the Sixers, you'd unload everyone because of what happened last year. I don't care what the numbers say about a rookie kid on a historically terrible team. I care about what I see.

What do you see? Do you see a guy who can switch onto 4's in the NBA? God no. Do you see a guy who can protect the rim? I hope not, cause it's pretty clear he's not very good at that. Do you see a guy who can run a whole offense from the post the way Marc Gasol or Monroe can? I certainly don't see that. He's merely an adequate, not great, passer.

Do you see a guy who will become a floor spacer? Nope, can't imagine that. How about a guy who can be part of motion offense? Well, if your only great skill is low-post ISO scoring, and your not a great passer, shooter, rebounder or defender, I don't see how that can turn out to be the case.

Okafor is VERY similar to a young Al Jefferson. Is he useful? Sure. Is he REALLY dang good scoring in the post? He's one of the best at it as a rookie. But he's got so many flaws that there's just no way he develops into a legit star. And with his skillset, you'll have to tailor your entire offense/defense around him just to maximize his positive contributions, but if your not good enough to be a transcendent superstar, is it really worth doing that?

That's the thing man. Okafor has to be one of your two most featured players to see the benefit of his skillset, but if he's your best or second best player, your not gonna make it very far. I would NEVER trade the 3rd pick in the draft for him, IDC what year it is.