NBA Trade Rumors: In an attempt to to surround Paul George with more talent, the Indiana Pacers are interested in adding Jahlil Okafor
Over the weekend, it was reported that the Indiana Pacers were willing to shop their 2017 first-round draft pick in order to surround Paul George, who is expected to hit unrestricted free agency (if he doesn’t sign an extension before then) after next season.
The question is, which players on the trade block were going to be target by the Pacers? Over the last few days, we’ve heard names like Lou Williams and Brook Lopez possibly in play. However, there’s another player that Indiana has their eyes on.
And one of the players that the Pacers are reportedly targeting is Jahlil Okafor, who the Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly shopping hard.
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"[via ESPN]The Indiana Pacers have reached out to the Philadelphia 76ers to inquire about second-year center Jahlil Okafor, league sources told ESPN.Sources say Indiana is surveying the trade market looking for assistance on the wing as well as in the frontcourt, but it’s unclear how serious the Okafor talks are at this point."
The Pacers are 29-28, 6th in the Eastern Conference. However, struggled mightily heading into the NBA All-Star break. After winning seven-straight games towards the end of January into the beginning of February, the Pacers dropped six-straight games heading into the All-Star break.
Even though adding Okafor, or any fringe NBA contributor for that matter, won’t dramatically change the DNA of this team, the infusion of talent – even raw – certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Question is, will adding a rotation player be enough to appease George, who has been noncommittal about his future in Indiana.
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In the 38 games that Okafor has appeared in this season, he is averaging 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and a little over one block per game.