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The Philadelphia 76ers, under growing pressure from the NBA community to trade Jahlil Okafor, have agreed on a deal to send the center to the Brooklyn Nets.
The Sixers will send Okafor, guard Nik Stauskas and a 2019 second-round pick to the Nets for 30 year-old forward Trevor Booker. Booker is averaging a career-high 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game so far this season. He is shooting 51.3% from the field.
The Nets clearly won this trade by acquiring a promising big man from the 2015 NBA Draft. Okafor, the third pick in that draft, will complement star guard, D'Angelo Russell, the second pick of that draft.
Both players are out to prove themselves, with Russell having been traded for Brook Lopez by the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason to make Lonzo Ball their primary option and Okafor finding himself out of Philadelphia's rotation.
Earlier, Okafor had declined to pick up his fourth-year player option, meaning he would be a free agent at the end of this season. After averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his rookie year, he has found himself out in and out the team's rotation because of off-court incidents and injuries.
The Sixers were trying to ship him off somewhere rather than letting him go for free at the season's end. Unable to reach any trade agreement and Okafor warming the bench, #FreeJah came to his aid. He received support for a trade from other players like Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum.
Nik Stauskas can provide steady production coming off the bench. He averaged 9.5 points and 2.4 assists per game last season. He also found himself out of the rotation in Philadelphia, playing just 7.5 minutes per game in six games this season.
Trevor Booker will come off the bench as a backup to Dario Saric at the power forward position. He now finds himself playing for a playoff team with the Sixers, who occupy the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 13-10 record.
Here's a reminder of what Jahlil Okafor can bring to the Nets, courtesy of House of Highlights:
In comparison, the Nets are in 12th spot in the Eastern Conference and have a 9-14 record. If Russell and Okafor click, the Nets could be a threat in the conference for years to come.
