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Why the Suns need to trade for Jahlil Okafor As Soon As Possible

By Matt Litzenberg

Dec 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) and center Joel Embiid (21) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the 76ers 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) and center Joel Embiid (21) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the 76ers 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) against Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the 76ers 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) against Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the 76ers 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Reason #1- Jahlil was one of the greatest college scorers ever and was a solid rookie

It’s often forgotten that two years ago, Jahlil was fighting with Karl Anthony-Towns for the number one spot in the 2015 draft.  Okafor had great post moves and was praised as being the “more polished” center compared to KAT. It seems that people forgot how dominant Jahlil Okafor was in college.

As a freshman, he was the ACC’s Player of the year and put up 17.5 PPG, 8.3 rebounds on 66.4 FG%. These stats prove that Jahlil has a lot of potential to be a great player.

During his rookie season, Jahlil made the most of a bad situation, averaging 17.5 PPG with 7 rebounds on 50% FG shooting for a 10-72 Sixers team. Pretty impressive stats from a team whose best players were Nerlens “I can’t believe Mark Cuban might give him a max deal” Noel and Ish Smith. Although the 76ers were terrible, it’s impressive how efficient Okafor was on an inefficient 76ers team.

Okafor has proven he can be a great offensive player, he has just experienced injury issues in his short time in Philadelphia and had a huge loss of playing time last season. In the right situation, Okafor has proven to be a star and the stats from his days at Duke and his rookie season can back this up.

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