When Jahlil Okafor transferred to the Nets last December, not a few quarters believed he would soon be regaining the standing that had him making the All-Rookie First Team in 2016. After all, he still possessed the talent that catapulted Duke to the championship prior to his entry in the National Basketball Association as the third overall pick. And, no doubt, he would still have been a vital cog for the Sixers were All-Star Joel Embiid not playing the same position.
As things turned out, Okafor wasn’t a good fit. Even as the Nets wanted to make full use of his unique skill set, its propensity to push the ball up at every instance clashed with his plodding, close-to-the-basket predilections. And so he found himself testing free agency and looking for a third employer in nine months. At the same time, he understood the importance of increasing his range; with traditional centers becoming less and less relevant in the pace-and-space era, he knew he had to develop, at the very least, a reliable outside shot that would open driving lanes for him.
Yesterday, Okafor inked a two-year deal with the Pelicans, the type of low-risk signing the latter was looking for in moving past the failed DeMarcus Cousins experiment. With the first season only partially guaranteed and the second a team option, he must prove that he can find — and has — a place in a transition-heavy system. Offhand, it looks to be a Sisyphean endeavor; the blue and gold already have All-World Anthony Davis at the post and just acquired bundle-of-energy Julius Randle to shore up the frontline. Then again, perhaps the contrast he presents is precisely what head coach Alvin Gentry wants.
In any case, Okafor is clearly putting in the work. He’s motivated to prove that the 17 and seven he put up through his first year in the league were no fluke, and that his future holds similar numbers. Moving forward, he needs the opportunity to prove himself, and he’s slated to get it. The rest is up to him.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.