Valley of the Suns
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The Phoenix Suns should NOT trade for Jahlil Okafor

By Adam Maynes

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 9: Jahlil Okafor #8 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball during a preseason game on October 9, 2017 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 9: Jahlil Okafor #8 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball during a preseason game on October 9, 2017 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Let’s get one thing clear: I have been a long-time advocate of the Phoenix Suns acquiring embattled Philadelphia 76ers center and former Duke star Jahlil Okafor. I have wanted him in a Suns uniform since the draft in 2015 and would still take him now.

But for anything other than the Toronto Raptors’ second round pick, which, as much as Suns fans want Philadelphia to accept it seems highly unlikely, trading for Okafor this season would be a giant mistake that borders on the unforgivable.

Presuming that there isn’t a miracle waiting to happen in the Valley this year, the Suns are currently running through their eight consecutive season without a playoff appearance, a streak of non-playoff longevity that seemed entirely unfathomable when it quietly began in 2011.

Phoenix Suns
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Phoenix Suns

It is on the shoulders of General Manager Ryan McDonough to not only right the ship, but to do so with perfect precision, not wasting a single asset, not missing on a single trade or draft pick, and creating a streak of off-the-court victories that reverse emulates the streak of on-the-court ineptitude, only in a much more compact time.

This is why, as the 76ers dangle a former third overall pick to the league who is still only 21-years-young with a rookie season of 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and a 50.8 FG% already on his resume, McDonough and the Suns must avoid pursuit at this moment in favor of a wait-and-see approach that might even agonizingly stretch into the summer.

Not because he’s not worth a second round pick (the supposed current requested asking price for Okafor) but because he’s got one giant flaw (not including his defense) that makes using any asset to acquire him a gamble not worth the Suns taking at this moment: he will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

The Phoenix Suns are not in the market for acquiring rentals. Expiring contracts, yes, but those are players where the Suns receive a sweetener in return in the form of a first round pick or young player. To give up a tradable asset for a long-term pickup is too high of a price for a player who may look to knock the dust off his boots following the first summer haboob and leave for elsewhere thus leaving Phoenix minus a potential franchise center, as well as a draft pick.

For those still screaming “but they are only asking for a second round pick!”  I ask you: are they?

It would seem entirely likely that if Sixers General Manager Bryan Colangelo would really accept nothing but a second round pick, a trade would have been made already and Okafor would have been playing lackluster defense somewhere other than Philadelphia. Why keep this dark cloud hovering over a currently brightly shining franchise?

While the Suns wouldn’t have much of a problem acquiring the remainder of Okafor’s $4.99 salary this season and fitting it under the cap, there is also the issue of the roster having too many centers as it is (can you imagine ever saying that about the Suns in the past??)

Phoenix actually has four true centers on the roster at the moment (as well as Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender who can fill in when needed) so adding Okafor without moving at least one of the others (if not two) would make their current logjam impossible to deal with, a situation that has already nailed Alex Len and Greg Monroe with several recent DNP-CD’s, and Alan Williams has yet to even play this season.

The 76ers too have no interest in acquiring a contract greater than Okafor’s, so any dreams of flipping Tyson Chandler for him is both impractical and a pipe dream. Bryan Colangelo is also hoping to package Okafor as part of a larger deal, one that lands the Sixers something more in return than just a late pick, a perfect situation that he apparently has no fear in holding out for even up until the February 9, 2018 Trade Deadline.

Again, do not get me wrong: no one in the Valley of the Suns has advocated more vocally and consistently for the Suns to acquire Jahlil Okafor than me, and I would be ecstatic if somehow McDonough could pull it off without giving up the coveted draft pick.

Next: Counterpoint: The Phoenix Suns should trade for Jahlil Okafor NOW

But this franchise needs much more than a center who has somehow managed to go from seemingly star bound to outcast in less than three seasons.

Phoenix cannot, under any circumstances, risk a tradable asset in a trade for a player who has the chance to leave the Suns high and dry this summer.

The Phoenix Suns should NOT trade for Jahlil Okafor this season. But if they can land him at a reasonable price this offseason in free agency, you will not find anyone in the Valley of the Suns more excited about the move, than me.

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