Jahlil Putting in the Time

This guy won't be deterred. His back has been against the wall before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ8avxMaPDU

I wonder when that was filmed.....not recent.

It's important to remember how young he is too. He's every bit a part of our young core as is Ingram, Lonzo, or Zion.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

I wonder when that was filmed.....not recent.

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It was recent

This is another player I think has been given up on way to early. I don’t get this whole thinking from basketball fans a player is a bust because they are traded to another team or don’t dominate before the age of 21 y/o.. I constantly see this going on and from many here unless they liked the player. Some of the best players in the NBA don’t start developing into a star until 25 and he is just 23 right around that breakout year. This is also the first time in his career where he can actually develop his game in the same system. Okafor is someone who has the potential to be a dominant scoring center which he has shown and not saying it would be best for a team to win but he could easily average 20+ ppg. When Cousins was healthy he was considered the best center in the NBA by some and I don’t see Okafor being that far off. No he’s not on that level but he can be a very solid NBA big for a long time.

I’m really excited to see Okafor now get the best trainer in the NBA to get in tip top shape which could take him to another level. Okafors game and skill set compliments Zion very well in a different way then the others. Favors/Okafor/Hayes all have their own unique skill sets that can be utilized as weapons for Gentry. It says a lot about Zion that he fits so well with all of them. I’ll be pretty happy if Jahlil Okafor 23 y/o and Jaxson Hayes 19 y/o is our center duo for the next decade.

I have followed Jahlil Okafor for a long time.. I don’t care if it’s just practice in the video above.. I have never seen him hit shots like that and have an offensive game with moves from mid range. I always said that if he works develop his mid range it would turn him into an elite offensive force and a star NBA big. If this video is any sign of what’s to come we got ourselves a flat out steal who will be worthy of that 3rd overall pick. He has always reminded me of an offensive center version of Tim Duncan.

Okafor is not one of those bigs that is limited by short arms and things like that. He has elite measurables and still a ton of potential he can reach. Favors is a great mentor for both Okafor and Hayes to learn from with things like the importance playing both ways is along with unselfishness. Also what better PG in the NBA for Okafor to get fed the ball by then Lonzo Ball.. On top of Ball and Jrues Okafor will have a lot of extra ball feeders with guys like NAW/BI/Frank who all have PG abilities. Gonna be a fun year!!

The issue with Jah was never his offense. His style of offense was a little archaic, sure, but he could score points in bunches. He proved that wherever he went. The issue was always that he was a complete lump on D.

Now, he did look to have made some improvements on that last year. He still had moments of absolute uselessness, sure, but he also had some good moments and he looked like he at least had the potential to be solid. I don't think he'll ever be an incredible defender (feet too slow, doesn't have good hips for it, doesn't make great defensive reads) but he could become at least a reasonable defender with experience and dedication. At that point, the thing that he would need to do to take that next step is to modernise his game a little. Back to the basket is all good, and still useful (mixing up the offense can be helpful to keep defenses off balance) but he needs some range.

That's kind of where my scepticism is. I hope that it's legitimate, and that he's genuinely improving his range to a point that makes sense in-game. My only concern is that last year, we saw all these summer workout videos of him playing pickup-style games, and he was bombing threes! Then, the season came, and he shot 22%. The offseason workout video is one of my most deceptive things about the NBA.

Okafors offensive style was archaic in a way in certain systems. He is one of the best centers around the basket offensively in the NBA and lots of teams have a need for that. If he had gone to the right team from the get go the talk about Okafor would be quite different. If he continues to develop his offensive skill set and show what he’s doing in practice there is nothing archaic about his game at all but an elite offensive center.

No he is not some defensive force but he has also been a little under rated in this area as well. He has played on some of the worse team defenses in the NBA and I don’t care if you are the best defensive center in the NBA you will look bad outside of a few come from behind blocks. Okafor has gotten in incredible shape this offseason and looks very lean. He has all the traits to be an average defender at worse. With Okafor it is nothing but continuing to work on his defensive technique while having a good team around him which he has. He’s 7’+ with a 7’5’ wingspan and one of the bigger and stronger big men in the NBA. In the future we have guys like Hayes to defend the ADs, Porzingis, and Embiids of the world while Okafor can take the punishment guarding Jokic, Cousins, Nurcic, etc.. I’m talking more future or else I would have inserted.. Again Okafor is only 23 years old and it takes time for bigs in college to transition. He is on perfect pace to start turning into a very good NBA player. Had he should have just been getting minutes consistenly he would have very legit stats.

He's the perfect complement to Favors. Against some of our opponents' rotations, he might get more minutes than DF at times.

Also, depending on the maturation of JH (this is why he has to play), Okafor could be a mid-year trade consideration this year as he is an UFA at the end of the year We've already seen how Griff doesn't like to see an asset go to waste.

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Originally Posted by As I See It

He's the perfect complement to Favors. Against some of our opponents' rotations, he might get more minutes than DF at times.

Also, depending on the maturation of JH (this is why he has to play), Okafor could be a mid-year trade consideration this year as he is an UFA at the end of the year We've already seen how Griff doesn't like to see an asset go to waste.

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Yea I agree Okafor compliments Favors very well. Favors has very solid size and is an all around very well rounded 2 way big man. Okafor is one of the biggest bigs in the league and has elite potential offensively while defensively being able to hold his own in certain matchups. I think who Okafor happpens to compliment even more then Favors is Jaxson Hayes. They have very different styles and skill sets which will always be the case. If we decide to hang on to Okafor long term which I think we absolutely should then we will have a great 1-2 punch in Hayes/Okafor for a long time. Imo Okafor is a starter in this league but if we can keep him as our first bit off the bench to come in and score.