Jahlil Okafor 27 Points Full Highlights (1/29/2019)

It's official. Anthony Davis wants out of New Orleans after they spent over half a decade trying (and failing) to put a decent team around him. What does this mean for our favorite marginalized big man, Jahlil "Jah Rule" Okafor? This is going to sound like a cop-out answer but: it depends.

If Alvin Gentry continues to play Davis all the minutes he deserves as if nothing is amiss, then Okafor returns to backup duty. Unlike AD, who can play power forward, Okafor can play nothing but center. His jumpshot, which we saw flashes of in Philly (really ugly flashes), doesn't exist anymore as far as I can tell, so he's stuck at the five-spot. Gentry would have to creatively re-allocate minutes (and heavily marginalize either Mirotic, Randle, or both) in order to give Okafor all the minutes that he's currently getting.

If Gentry decides that Davis doesn't need to play as much now that he's let it be publicly known that there is no future for him in New Orleans, then Okafor can still get the minutes he needs. Since Okafor has a super-cheap team option for next season, it's in the Pelicans' best interests to continue trying to develop him so they can figure out if he is a core piece going forward. I'm not really sure of his CORE status, but if he keeps playing like he is right now, his CORE status is all but guaranteed. Whether his presence in the CORE will lead to long-term success for the Pelicans is also unknown. The core will either be HARD-CORE or SOFT-CORE, and that difference might come down to how HARD or SOFT Okafor is going forward.

The third option is that Davis gets traded right away, freeing up minutes for every big on the roster, including Okafor. This might be best from a development perspective, as everybody gets used to playing on a team without a top-ten player on it. Actually, they're already used to it since Davis is so injury-prone. Hahaha! Get it?

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[soundcloudsash]

I’m so happy big jah is being unleashed. His last couple of years were wasted away. He’s definitely got to work on defense and jump shooting but his post game is incredibly good

[chuchuchuchia]

I love him so much he's already in much better condition than previous years

[RaptorsReport]

In previous stints, he looked like he was going through the motions. He seems to actually be trying in New Orleans. Good for him.

[jobbhorog]

Rockets are the definition of a short team.

[nbalive]

He is a good attacker but the coach don’t trust him