I think Okafor will be a star in this league. HUGE star. Butler already is a star, but he only signed with the Bulls because they fucked him over.
I think they want to keep their guard tandem. Ideally, they need a quality #3 option at PF, SF, or C.
I think Okafor is empty calories. Philly is right to try and trade him for a good haul. Bigs that don't protect the rim or have a 3 point shot underperform their stats. He requires a delicate fit. Not sure he should be the guy the Bulls go after. To be frank, I think I'd rather do a mini-tank and rebuild with 2 more lottery picks, prime Jimmy, and Cap Space to bring in a marquee player.
The reason Philly would trade Okafor is that Embiid is back in practice and looks like a beast. How many rookies score 17PPG? Durant's rookie season: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SEA/2008.html It took a few seasons before Durant played good D.
Not where I read it, but... http://basketball.realgm.com/analys...ahlil-Okafors-Trade-Value-Joel-Embiids-Return The reason I compare him to Durant is he was just 19 at the start of the season.
He has a good offensive skillset, but he looks more like Al Jefferson than Kevin Durant to me. Not a huge fan of his game, even if he is young.
I didn't think much of Omer. Thibs turned him into a high paid starting C for his defense and rebounding alone. Jefferson was an offensive specialist off the bench for those terrible Celtics that Krause didn't want the Bulls to become. He went to Minny in trade for Garnett, he must have been valuable at least. Those Minny teams were hot garbage, too. Once he got to Utah, his DRtg went from 108 to 103 to the 100-102 range it is now. Charlotte was a 43 win team featuring him. The Bulls had their pick, remember? You can put a lot of talent on Minny or Sacto and they suck. You can put this Bulls roster on the floor with Thibs and win 50. What I'm saying is I think Okafor becomes a beast if he gets into a good (Thibs-like) situation. The Blazers, with Stotts, is one of those situations. Atlanta, too.