The only good thing to come out of last night’s NBA Draft Lottery was the buzz that the Sixers could be stupid enough to trade Jahlil Okafor to Boston for the No. 3 overall pick so they can bring Providence College’s Kris Dunn to Philly.
DO IT NOW!
Let’s be real: Anything after the first and second picks in this draft is a crap shoot. For drafting purposes, three sounds better than five and six. That’s the only advantage to picking third in this draft. This year, there's no guarantee you'll get a better player at No. 3 than you would at No. 5 or No. 6.
So if the Philadelphia Dumbsixers want Kris Dunn so bad that they're willing to give you their best player to get him, DO IT NOW!
Last season as a rookie, Okafor put up 17.5 points and 7 rebounds per game. He's only going to get better, and with the Celtics he'd be a beast. Boston has a better coach (sorry, Maine’s Brett Brown) and players who will get him the ball. If Okafor had been a Celtic this season, Boston could have won the Hawks series. The Celts probably still couldn't have beaten Cleveland, but Atlanta? He might've made the difference.
I understand Okafor has a checkered past. But a couple of bar fights and busting the century mark while cruising the Ben Franklin Bridge is small potatoes compared to the murder, drug use and domestic abuse that we've seen with other athletes.
Boston Celtics
And how about this idea? (Full disclosure: I'm stealing this from someone in the CSN newsroom, but I forgot who.) If the Celtics could land Okafor and then bring in Al Horford as a free agent, the team would improve a lot and still have Brooklyn’s first-round pick next year.
So, all is not lost. Danny Ainge just needs to get Jalhil Okafor for that third overall pick.
Because to actually have to use it would be a real bummer.