Four Possible Trades For Sixers To Unload Jahlil Okafor

Despite all the positives around the franchise heading into the 2017-18 season, the Sixers still have "The Elephant in the room" that has yet to be addressed: Jahlil Okafor.  Drafting and keeping him on the roster is arguably the worst decision made by former GM Sam Hinkie during his time in Philadelphia while Bryan Colangelo hasn't done much rectify the problem since he took control of the reigns of the front office.  Aside from a plummet in Okafor's statistics from his rookie year to his sophomore season in the NBA, he also looked out of place on the floor this past season as he was slow on defense and on offense stagnated the team's flow.  The sticking point for the Sixers to move Okafor is that most NBA teams are not looking for a "Classic Big Man" in an era of face paced play and heavy emphasis of outside shooting.

But what the Sixers can do is be the third wheel and latch onto other teams trying to move players as Philadelphia can absorb a pricey contract while grabbing draft picks.  Factoring in different NBA Rumors this offseason, here are four potential trades the Sixers could be involved in:

-Chicago Bulls trade Rajon Rondo to Miami Heat; Sixers send Jahlil Okafor to Bulls; Heat trade Josh McRoberts and Rodney McGruder to Chicago; Heat send Wayne Ellington to Philadelphia; Chicago and Miami each send a Second Round Pick to Philadlephia

Explanation: As the Bulls enter a Rebuilding Phase after trading away Jimmy Butler, they are looking to get younger while having a logjam of players at the Point Guard position.  After acquiring Kris Dunn, now Rajon Rondo looks expendable.  The Miami Heat are expected to be big time players to upgrade their team this offseason and may be a destination for Blake Griffin.  If Griffin does take his talents to South Beach, Josh McRoberts is expendable.  Rondo counts as 14 million against the Salary Cap so Miami would couple McRoberts and Ellington contracts to clear space for Rondo.  Philadelphia, more than able to absorb Ellington's contract, would insist on getting rid of Okafor and send him to Chicago for at least one draft pick from each team.  Bulls showed on draft night how unsavvy they are by fascilitating a weak return for Jimmy Butler while selling a Second Round pick to Golden State for 3.5 million dollars.  So why can't Bryan Colangelo and Pat Riley take advantage of Gar Foreman?

-Minnesota T'Wolves trade Ricky Rubio to the New York Knicks; Knicks send Courtney Lee to the Sixers; 76ers trade Jahlil Okafor and Gerald Henderson to Minnesota; Minnesota gets draft pick from Knicks

Explanation: With reports arising that Minnesota is again looking to trade Ricky Rubio, the New York Knicks may be the ideal destination as Rubio is a Point Guard who could in theory run the Triangle Offense of Phil Jackson while mentoring New York's First Round Pick Frank Ntilikina.  Sixers would like to upgrade their outside shooting and can absorb Courtney Lee's 11.2 Million Salary Cap hit.  Lee's salary would become a non-factor by unloading the combined 13.8 Million owed to Henderson and Okafor as they head to Minnesota to help their roster depth.  Meanwhile, T'Wolves will get a draft pick from the Knicks because it seems as though Phil Jackson doesn't value NBA Draft assets.

-Indiana Pacers trade Paul George and Thaddeus Young to Los Angeles Lakers; LA sends Luol Deng and Julius Randle to Indiana; Sixers trade Nik Stauskas to Lakers and Jahlil Okafor to Pacers; LA sends Corey Brewer to Philadelphia; Pacers get two conditional first round draft picks from Los Angeles and Sixers get Second Round pick from Indiana

Explanation: Paul George's Agent told the Pacers' GM that George wants to leave Indiana in Free Agency and head to home to Los Angeles.  Indiana wants value in return for their star player while the Lakers would like to unload some contracts.  Deng and George contracts line up well so that works financially but Pacers will certainly want more than just one player in return.  Julius Randle and Jahlil Okafor are two young players who some people think need new homes while Thaddeus Young has little value to Pacers moving forward.  Lakers want to unload Corey Brewer's contract and Sixers give the Lakers Nik Stauskas to sweeten the deal of taking on Young from Indiana.  Los Angeles throws in conditional picks to Indiana just in case George doesn't work out for them and Sixers get a Second Round pick from Pacers as thank you for being the Third Wheel.

-San Antonio Spurs trade LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson to Miami Heat; Heat send Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts to San Antonio; Sixers send Jahlil Okafor to the Spurs; Miami trades Wayne Ellington to Sixers; 76ers receive Second Round pick from Miami

Explanation: What if both the Spurs and Heat come up short by not landing any of their targets in Free Agency?  They can still upgrade their rosters by giving each other players they do not want.  Rumors are Spurs are looking to unload LaMarcus Aldridge while Goran Dragic has been apart of many trade rumors over the last couple years.  In this deal the Spurs get the Point Guard they need, the Heat get an All-Star caliber player to play next to Hassan Whiteside.  Meanwhile the Sixers are involved to get rid of Okafor and absorb Wayne Ellington's contract.  Brett Brown can call Greg Popovich and sell him on how Okafor is a good team player while Pat Riley sends the Sixers a Second Round "Thank You" Draft Pick for helping them facilitate a deal that upgrades their roster.