Should the Celtics consider Jahlil Okafor if he is bought out?

It's not very often a top-three pick is both good enough to warrant consideration after not getting his option picked up by the team that drafted him and bad enough that nobody wants to trade for him, but that's exactly the spot Jahlil Okafor has landed in.



Long-rumored to be of interest to Danny Ainge, Okafor has been on the block seemingly since he first stepped foot on NBA hardwood, and for good reason. He's got the pedigree and attitude of a top draft pick, but his skillset and rumored disinterest in developing the weak points of his game have made him something of a pariah among even his own fanbase with the Philadelphia 76ers.



He's a player who'd probably have been a star in another era, one that didn't care about big men who mail it in on defense with a knack for scoring in the post. But we don't live in that era and have not for some time - unfortunately for Jah, he seems to have missed the memo. He probably signaled his dissatisfaction with his current situation on a team that seems better at ruining players than developing them that also happens to be chock full of front court guys - some of which, like Amir Johnson, were brought on board despite the minutes crunch they had already been staring down.


This should tell you everything you need to know about Okafor the younger (for a hot second, he shared the team with former UConn product Emeka, his distant cousin, elder, and...also a big man) and his mistrust of The Process. With Joel Embiid looking fairly healthy and an amicable extension rate out of range for both for a lot of reasons, this is almost certainly where the extension talks would end up: a buyout. Okafor, while not worth the likely double-digit millions asking price he's going after in any extension, is still a solid player, averaging 10 points, 9 boards and two blocks over just 22 minutes per game this season.



Should Boston kick the tires here? It's not like Danny and Brad Stevens haven't turned a top pick wasted by Philly into a solid NBA player before (Hi Evan!), and the risk seems minimal. Would he take a make-good minimum contract deal, or would Boston need to use most or all of the DPE granted by the NBA in the wake of the Gordon Hayward injury? Let us know in the Twitter poll, or in the comments below.


For more stories by Justin, click here.



Follow Justin at @justinquinnn
Share