The Philadelphia 76ers shocked the basketball world when they decided to pass on bigger needs at the 2015 NBA Draft in order to select center Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick. At the time, it didn’t seem to make sense that they would use another top pick on a position where they already had a pair of high first-round picks in place in Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid.
But it was revealed this past weekend that Embiid will require a second surgery to repair the Navicular bone fracture he suffered last June and will miss the entire 2015-16 NBA season. It’s now the second straight season that he’s out, so let’s take a look at what this means for the 76ers in fantasy and reality.
Noel’s Fantasy Value Improves
One of the biggest question marks that Okafor’s selection created for fantasy GM’s was what it would mean to Noel’s fantasy value after his emergence last season. While it might not have had a major impact, regardless it is now clear the pick won’t hurt Noel’s fantasy value one bit. The 2013 first round pick averaged 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for Philadelphia last season and really came on in March when he averaged a season-high 33.1 minutes per game. That month, he averaged 14.3 points pe game with 11.2 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 2.1 blocks while shooting 50% from the field.
With a full year of experience under his belt, he is set to take another step forward. There was some concern about what kind of logjam might have been created upfront with Okafor and Embiid also in the mix but with Embiid out of the way, Noel will get as many minutes as he can handle in his third NBA season.
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Okafor’s Fantasy Value Improves
Embiid’s second season-ending surgery also opens the door for Okafor to step right in. As a 19-year-old with potential, the 76ers will pair him with Noel on the floor at the same time this season. Okafor is obviously further along the curve than Noel was at the same point in his career but his offensive skill set makes him an interesting sleeper pick to contribute from a fantasy perspective this season.
In general, it was assumed that Embiid would be ahead of Okafor on the food chain just based on the fact that he was drafted a year earlier. But now that’s not even a concern for those who will be drafting Okafor. Ultimately, he himself – and his performance – will dictate how much responsibility he is given as a rookie. That makes him worth monitoring closely during this year’s Summer League action as a potential future star.
76ers Will Be Worse This Season
While it might seem like good news for the fantasy guys, this loss clearly hurts the 76ers. Their hope was that with Noel, Okafor and Embiid, that they’d find a solution in the frontcourt. Noel came on strong last season and the idea was that either Okafor or Embiid – or ideally both – would join him and give them a very dynamic frontcourt. Of course, there are still issues all across the roster but at least the 76ers – who have been rebuilding for years – would have one area of strength. Instead, the 76ers now go into the season with Noel as being the closest they have to a sure thing. Then they’ve got to hope that Okafor is NBA ready – as he was advertised – and that he can quickly develop. If not, then this team is going to look very similar to what they were last season, which is basically the worst team in the league.
Fans of the team have to be quite disappointed seeing Embiid out for a second straight season. For fantasy purposes, you’ll want to keep an eye on JaVale McGee, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson as veterans who might benefit.
