Embiid still limited, but Simmons is ready to roll
CAMDEN, N.J. » A new vegan diet has allowed Jahlil Okafor to shed some pounds.
Nothing, it seems, will relieve his professional burdens.
On the eve of training camp Monday, it was clear that little has changed about Okafor’s situation with the Sixers, other than his belt size. He is still slowed by knee troubles, will be restricted in his camp participation, is crowded out of the center depth chart and realizes he remains available in trade.
“It has not been easy,” Okafor said. “I hear all the noise. But I wanted to stay professional. I want to look back at myself as a man and say I handled everything the right way.”
Okafor did not play after March 22 last season due to persistent knee discomfort. He has not been cleared for five-on-five activity but is believed to be close to returning to a fulltime schedule.
Though the Sixers still are uncertain about the health of Joel Embiid, they have crowded their frontcourt with big men Kris Humphries, Emeka Okafor and Amir Johnson, and they still have ever-improving Richaun Holmes in the center mix. Dario Saric, too, can play in the middle.
As for Jahlil Okafor, he waits … and stays away from dairy products.
“I do see light at the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “Last year it was tough with the knee pain and all the trade stuff. I went through a bad year from a basketball standpoint. But I did what I had to do, and I hope that translates to the court.”
*** To provide training camp depth and for a reasonable look-see, the Sixers have signed veteran big men Humphries and Emeka Okafor.
Humphries has played in 800 games with Utah, Toronto, Dallas, the Nets, Boston, Washington, Phoenix and Atlanta. At 32, he accepted a one-year, non-guaranteed contract.
“I just want to come in and continue to work hard,” he said. “It’s a new challenge for me, not having been on a non-guaranteed contract before. I’ll shoot some threes, compete. I just want to play basketball for as long as I can. And this is a good organization.”
Emeka Okafor, a distant cousin of Jahlil, was the second overall pick in the 2004 draft. He has played for Charlotte, New Orleans and Washington, but has not played since 2013 following a neck injury.
Okafor, 34, chose to allow the injury to heal naturally rather than surgically.
“I felt that there would be opportunity,” he said. “I always something that something would happen. I am very happy with this opportunity. I just went with my gut. I will feel the situation out and see where it goes. I like this organization and the guys that are here. It just feels like ‘it.’”
*** NOTES » Markelle Fultz, who suffered a severe ankle injury in the NBA summer league, said he is “100 percent” ready to play. “My advantage of being so young,” the 20-year-old said, “is that I can get bumps and bruises and recover real quick.” …. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will have a limited camp participation as he battles tendinitis in his knee … T.J. McConnell was married Sept. 9. “And what better place for a honeymoon,” he wondered, “than Camden, New Jersey?” … The camp will be held at the Sixers’ training center, a departure from their recent camps at Stockton University … The Sixers will open their preseason with an Oct. 4 visit from the Memphis Grizzlies at the Wells Fargo Center.