The Jahlil Okafor saga with the Philadelphia 76ers has finally come to an end after he was packaged to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for forward Trevor Booker. The trade has been a long-time coming for Okafor, whose benching caused season-long speculation regarding his looming departure from the Sixers.
The former third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft may have finally gotten what he wanted after being traded. However, he may not be happy when he has to square off against former teammate Joel Embiid. The budding superstar was sure to remind Okafor of their future showdowns.
While Joel Embiid was undoubtedly poking fun at his former teammate, there was a certain degree of certainty in his words. That said, it is safe to assume these two have had their fair share of battles in Sixers practice over the years.
Jahlil Okafor's tenure as a Sixer actually got off to a promising start. The former Duke Blue Devil averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game as a rookie. However, he still has yet to play more than 53 games in a season after dealing with his fair share of nagging injuries.
Needless to say, it was not long before the emergence of Philadelphia's young frontcourt players like Embiid and Dario Saric essentially left him as the odd man out. As a result, the Sixers declined Jahlil Okafor's fourth-year team option in late October. Although Philadelphia also dealt guard Nik Stauskas and a 2019 second-round pick, they got a nice return by acquiring a steady player like Booker.
At least they could use him in games as they build up for a possible playoff run.