Sam Hinkie could have saved himself a lot of anxiety and sleepless nights if he knew ahead of time that Jahlil Okafor was going to be available when the Sixers' turn came up for the No. 3 overall pick in Thursday’s draft.
The Sixers' president and general manager believed Okafor’s talent was so transcendent and unique that there would be no way the Sixers would get a chance to draft him.
But as Hinkie outlined during Friday’s day-after press conference to discuss the 2015 NBA draft, selecting and deciding to keep the All-American from Duke was a no-brainer.
“I had spent so much time in Durham, North Carolina, last year that if you had told me that we would be able to get him, we would have slept more,” Hinkie said. “For us to get him and draft someone like that, we are extremely fortunate.”
What makes the pick of Okafor so intriguing is his skills are overwhelmingly suited for a throwback, low-post style of play. And with big men Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid on a roster that does not have a proven NBA shooter or point guard, the Sixers are certainly top heavy.
But Okafor has a talent that Hinkie labeled “generational.” In fact, during ESPN’s coverage of Thursday night’s draft, Okafor’s offensive style drew comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Yes, those are two of the greatest centers ever to play and Okafor is only 19 years old. But then again, Okafor is a rare player, Hinkie said.
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"Jahlil is definitely a throwback player in a big way," Hinkie said. "That causes some discussions about today's NBA and where he fits in there. You may hear some people say, 'Well, you don't throw the ball into the post anymore the way we did in an earlier era.'
“You don’t see players like Jah come along very often in this era. They don’t come along very often where you’re looking to feed them over and over again and they’ve been commanding double teams since they were 12 years old and have been learning to deal with them.”
That traditional, old-school style of big man has been nearly extinct in the modern NBA in favor of the seven-footer with guard-like skills and the ability to shoot the three-pointer. But Okafor is cut more from the Shaq, Patrick Ewing, Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo type of center that was prevalent in the league through the 1990s.
Because the trend has gone away from that, Okafor is the type of player that makes a lot of trouble for modern defenses, Hinkie said.
“One of the things about Jahlil is something we don’t see a lot in our league right now and it’s the ability of someone to draw double teams,” Hinkie said. “That’s something he can do and you don’t find too many players with hands like his, who can catch so many balls thrown his way and can be a pick-and-roll player. That’s why you’ll see so many players who have played against him and so many coaches rave about him.”
Listening to those raves and doing a little crowd-sourcing, to use a term, was another part of Hinkie’s scouting process on Okafor. During pre-draft interviews with players, Hinkie asked for scouting reports on possible draft picks and was impressed with the information he gathered on Okafor.
“One of the things we do is talk to a lot of the players in the draft about each other because they grew up together,” Hinkie said. “And one of the things you’ll hear from Jahlil’s contemporaries is how strong he is and how amazing he is. He’s been the best player of that class for some time now, so they have played with him and against him and hold him in high regard as well.”
Sure, Okafor is a unique talent, but how will he be able to fit in on a roster laden with big men? Noel, at 6-foot-11, took 46 percent of his shots at the rim during his rookie season and 79 percent of his shots inside of 10 feet. Embiid did not play last season, but in his lone season at Kansas, the big man took 80 percent of his shots inside of eight feet.
Will there be enough space in the paint for the three big guys and will the Sixers ever get a shooter to keep defenses honest?
Hinkie says the defensive pairings with Okafor and Noel — and perhaps Embiid, when he’s healthy — will work well. Offensively, however, there will be a learning curve with the three big men on offense.
“We will do a lot of experimenting with the three big guys to help determine who fits best together,” Hinkie said.
"There are some things that can work, even in these pairings. Like, watching Nerlens start the year largely playing the four and then eventually playing the middle at the five and then go back and play the four at the end, you get a sense for his defensive versatility and the things he can do.
"Having remarkably quick hands, quick feet as well as being a shot-blocker, you don't have to be on the post-man all the time. Nerlens was remarkably quick at both."
Actually, Hinkie said, the Sixers have experimented with three big men on the floor last season, only under different scenarios. Henry Sims and Furkan Aldemir often paired with Noel during games, though those combos are a bit different than adding Embiid and Okafor into the mix.
Hinkie says Embiid has the ability to play with another big man in the post with him.
"In a similar way, Joel, the versatility that we saw in our practice gym, the skill set that he has, gives us some confidence that you can put another player in the post with him," Hinkie said. "That's not an outrageous possibility at all. Joel has gifts that are unusual and they are great for such a big man."
Ultimately, Hinkie says it comes down to talent and Okafor was the most talented player available for the Sixers.
“I think what's been clear over time, not just in today's NBA but really over history, is having the best players wherever you can find them,” Hinkie said. “Whether that's at shooting guard, whether that's at center, whether that's at the point guard, having the best players is what's the most critical thing.”