76ers nearing deal to send Okafor, Stauskas to Nets

Philadelphia 76ers centre Jahlil Okafor (Darren Hauck/AP)

The Philadelphia 76ers are trading centre Jahlil Okafor to the Brooklyn Nets, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

Canadian guard Nik Stauskas is included in the deal along with a second-round pick, while Philadelphia will be acquiring veteran forward Trevor Booker.

This will end a tumultuous two-plus seasons for Okafor in Philadelphia. He was originally taken third overall by the 76ers in the 2015 NBA Draft after an outstanding freshman season at Duke. He enjoyed a strong rookie season numbers-wise — he averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 2015-16 — but he was limited to just 53 games that season due to a combination of off-the-court incidents and injury. His sophomore campaign saw him play just 50 games due to a season-ending knee injury, while the changing NBA game played a part in seeing his numbers take a steep drop (11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds per game).

Okafor has played just two games with Philly this season and is averaging just 5.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Earlier this season, Okafor publicly stated he’d welcome a buyout or trade to get out of Philly in an effort to revitalize an NBA career that’s quickly gone off the rails.

For Stauskas, Brooklyn will be his third NBA team in three-plus seasons in the NBA. The Mississauga, Ont., native has struggled to find floor time with Philly this season, averaging just 7.5 minutes per game dealing with an ankle injury that’s seen him get into six games.

Booker is a reliable combo forward who was averaging 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Nets.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.