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Summary

Okafor had somewhat of a revival of his career in the '18-'19 season with New Orleans, putting up decent numbers at times for a Pelicans team that had fallen apart after the Anthony Davis trade demand. However, after signing Derrick Favors and drafting Jaxson Hayes, Okafor's minutes went down this past season. Okafor's well-known weaknesses are still present - he is slow-footed on defense, and his primary skill (scoring in the post) does not fit in with the modern NBA game. However, there is a role for players that can dominate inside for stretches despite being a target on defense (see Boban Marjanovic, Enes Kanter).

 

If Okafor can do the little things like set good screens, box out consistently, and give effort on defense, he has enough other tools to stick around in the league.

 

Cap Considerations

Okafor will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.6 million cap hold and Early Bird rights. Since Okafor's cap hold is only $1.6 million, the Pelicans could keep his cap hold on the books, use their remaining cap space to sign free agents (if they operate under the cap), and then bring Okafor back using his Early Bird rights. If Okafor is brought back using Early Bird rights rather than cap space, the Pelicans will be limited to paying him a starting salary of up to 105% of the average salary this past season (roughly $10 million), which will be more than enough.

 

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Okafor as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him. He could also potentially be had at the minimum salary.

Potential Teams: Pistons, Pelicans, Hornets, Heat, Timberwolves

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $1.9 million ($1.6 million cap hit) with the Pistons

Actual Contract: 2-year, $4 million with the Pistons

A minimum contract with the Pistons seems right for Okafor, but I'm surprised he was able to get two fully-guaranteed years.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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