Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the players linked to a several NBA trade rumors since the start of the season. Today, Jahlil Okafor is linked to the Chicago Bulls as his name has been pulled for a rumored trade talks.
The CSN Philly said that the Chicago Bulls seemed to be interested to Jahlil Okafor over the past months. The team is obviously in search of a reliable in-paint scorer, making the Bulls to open up a potential trade with the position 5 jam-packed Sixers.
Jahlil Okafor is currently spending a lot of time on the bench this season compared to his productive rookie year. With the emergence of Joel Embiid this season, Okafor's playing time have declined significantly. Embiid has been more effective than Okafor on both offensive and defensive end of the floor.
Last season, Okafor led the Sixers in scoring with 17.5 points, while snatching the ball 7 times in 30 minutes of action per contest. Jahlil Okafor's offense is undeniably competitive for he can score in the post, perimeter and he can actually squeeze the defense on the driving lane.
Okafor's major issue is that he allows more opponents' score than Embiid on the floor, allowing 6.7 points per 100 possessions. With this, Jahlil Okafor may seem to be a liability when it comes of defense, especially in the post. This issue leads him on the bench that makes his contribution decline as well.
Okafor's future with the Sixers will seem to diminish in the next 2 years until his contract expires. Being overshadowed by Joel Embiid in overall performance, Jahlil Okafor's future will be very limited with the Sixers.
Meanwhile, the Bulls' chance to acquire Jahlil Okafor is very little to none at all. With the Bulls' current roster, the Sixers may seem to decline the offer since the Bulls have no young players that can actually even or match Okafor's value. Other than that, the Sixers are not interested in taking any veteran salary in the likes of Rajon Rondo, Robin Lopez or Taj Gibson as per the Bleacher Report.
