Will Guillory: Alvin Gentry says Jahlil Okafor will move into the starting lineup and Julius Randle will head back to the bench
Jahlil Okafor Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: C
Born: 12/15/95
Height: 6-11 / 2.11
Weight:270 lbs. / 122.5 kg.
Salary: $1,567,007
Born: 12/15/95
Height: 6-11 / 2.11
Weight:270 lbs. / 122.5 kg.
Salary: $1,567,007
Okafor, who now is in a backup role with the Pelicans, at first ignored the advice of Nets psychologist Dr. Paul Groenewal to seek counseling. “I deal with anxiety,” Okafor said before the Pelicans played the Nets Friday night at Smoothie King Center. “When I first heard about it, I pushed it to the side because I had never heard about it and my family never talks about it. When they first brought it to me, I thought it was b.s. I finally read about it, and I heard [Cavs star] Kevin Love talk about it in an article [and] I thought, ‘Wow, that’s something I deal with.’ I’m happy that I did it. I wish I would have done it sooner. But I’m 22 and still learning.”
Despite that, Okafor showed enough in training camp and that first game to earn a spot on New Orleans’ final roster heading into the regular season. “While it is very important that he has transformed his body, the biggest measure of this turnaround will be if he can regain the confidence he once had when he first entered the league,” one NBA executive said. “That will define his role and dictate whether or not this is his final stop. And regaining that confident form is easier said than done. There is still a place for a guy who can score in the low post if he is capable of consistently running both ends of the floor.”
Okafor, who admitted that he was in a “dark place” and dealt with depression and anxiety in a recent interview with colleague Shams Charania, has prior relationships with Davis and Pelicans director of player personnel David Booth to help him adjust. Davis and Okafor both spent parts of their childhood in Chicago. Booth, who was an assistant coach for DePaul University in Chicago, offered Okafor his first scholarship in the eighth grade. “That’s the number one step for him – improving his body – and he took care of his body,” Davis said. “He still is, and you can see it affecting the way he played on the floor, so if he just continues to do what he’s been doing over the summer to get better, he’s going to be fine. He’s been doing great things for us in training camp and practices.”
“While it is very important that he has transformed his body, the biggest measure of this turnaround will be if he can regain the confidence he once had when he first entered the league,” one NBA executive said. “That will define his role and dictate whether or not this is his final stop. And regaining that confident form is easier said than done. There is still a place for a guy who can score in the low post if he is capable of consistently running both ends of the floor.”
Scott Kushner: Everyone I’ve spoken with this week has said Jahlil Okafor is a veritable lock. Gentry said he wasn’t concerned about the injury in deciding whether Okafor would make the roster. He saw enough. Deal isn’t done, b/c something around the league could happen, but it’s close.
