Ruocco: Okafor’s Talent and Skill Still Has a Place in NBA

With the reports of the Bulls interest in acquiring Sixers Center Jahlil Okafor, hope is rekindled that the 76ers could finally have an opportunity, sooner rather then later, to break up the logjam of big men they have on the roster.  After being the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and having a solid Rookie season, Okafor's last several months have taken his career for a downward dip.  From ending last season with knee surgery to the emergence of Joel Embiid as the cornerstone big man of the franchise, Jahlil has been relegated to a fill in role when Embiid does not play.  The writing is on the wall that Okafor's time in Philadelphia is coming to an end soon.

ESPN NBA Broadcaster Ryan Ruocco joined Mike Gill on Friday and discussed in what way Okafor still has value in the NBA:

"(Okafor) may not be best for this team but that doesn’t mean he is not a fit for the league. Because at some point when everybody else is going one way if you have an asset that goes the other and can do it really well, that's not the worst thing in the world.  It is a little bit of what San Antonio has done over these last two years, they’ve seen everyone kind of going one direction and said 'you know what were gonna take advantage of our size inside and we are going to try to pound you on the offensive glass and we are going to have bigs that pass really well out of the high post'....I think (Okafor's) talent and skill still has a place but I’m not sure that place is with this 76ers team."

Hear what Ruocco had to say about why the Sixers are handling Joel Embiid correctly along with the state of the modern NBA: