NETS MAKE A DEAL
Trade nabs Okafor from 76ers, adding youthful big to rebuild
BROOKLYN GETS FORMER No. 3 PICK OKAFOR FROM SIXERS
MEXICO CITY — The Nets need fresh, high-ceiling building blocks. Jahlil Okafor needed a fresh start. Both got what they needed with Thursday’s trade.
Now they just have to make it work.
Brooklyn’s rebuild continued when it acquired Okafor, Nik Stauskas and the Knicks’ 2019 second-round pick from the 76ers in return for sending veteran big man Trevor Booker to Philadelphia. They also waived Sean Kilpatrick.
While Okafor hasn’t lived up to his billing as the third-overall pick in 2015, general manager Sean Marks is betting on coach Kenny Atkinson and his staff to coax the 21-year-old’s vast potential out of him.
“We’ve been following him for a long time, like everybody has,” Marks said. “Maybe a change of scenery [will help]. We’re looking forward to getting him in our environment, around our coaches. And I could say the same thing about Nik. Both of those guys in this environment, I’m going to bet on my staff for sure.
“This is about bringing in talent. We’re going to try to do that. [We’re] in that talent-acquisition mode. And at the same time, I’m going to bet on Kenny and his staff. They’ve done a terrific job. Look at what they’ve done over the course of the last 18 months with a lot of the guys who’ve bought in.”
This marks the second 2015 topthree pick the Nets have added in the past six months, after dealing Brook Lopez and a first-round pick to the Lakers for D’Angelo Russell, 21, and Timofey Mozgov. Okafor — a free agent this summer — was taken one spot behind Russell and one ahead of Kristaps Porzingis in that same draft.
After averaging 17.5 points per game and seven rebounds as a rookie, Okafor’s stock plummeted. He fell out of Philadelphia’s rotation, averaging only five points in two appearances this season.
On Nov. 1, he begged to be bought out or traded somewhere he could play. After the 76ers declined his option for next season, Okafor finally got his wish Thursday — but he’ll have to earn his run.
“He’s got to earn it,” Atkinson said. “There shouldn’t be this thing where all of a sudden you’re handed it. They’re talented guys, but they’re going to have to earn it. That’s how I operate.” Marks concurred with his coach’s philosophy. “There is never a guarantee here,” Marks said. “Kenny and the staff have done a nice job of [saying], ‘You earn it. If you put in the work, you’re going to get it. You’re going to be rewarded for it.’ I think he’s hungry to show people that he wants to play, and we’re expecting good things from him.” Great things were expected from Okafor coming out of Duke, but he’s a 6foot-11, ball-stopping center who can’t stretch the floor and has seen his defense regress as his motivation has been questioned. Stauskas, 24 and the No. 8 pick in 2014, has a decent jumper but also is defensively challenged.
“I want to focus on the positive,” Atkinson said. “These are two very talented offensive players. Like anybody that comes into the program, we need them to defend the ball. That’ll be the challenge for both of them. We need those guys to be two-way players. We’re going to demand it. It’s our job to get those guys to fit into the system. That’s the coach’s job.”
Brooklyn traded away Booker, an expiring $9 million contract. Despite being well-respected in the locker room, he’s 30 and not part of the long-term plan. At 21, Okafor can be. But if the Nets develop him too quickly, they could have to work hard to hold onto him. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent, and they can’t offer him a starting salary over $6.3 million, the value of his option declined by the 76ers.
“Time will tell,” Marks said. “Let’s get him here, get him around our guys. I’m not going to question somebody’s motivation when I haven’t been around him the last few years. That’d be pretty unfair. I’m going to bet on the person, and I’m going to bet on the environment here to facilitate that.”