Los Angeles Lakers: Young free agents worth considering in the offseason

By Jason Reed | Jul 10, 2020

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 29: Jahlil Okafor #8 of the New Orleans Pelicans shoots the ball over Gary Clark #6 of the Houston Rockets at Smoothie King Center on December 29, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

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Los Angeles Lakers’ young free agents worth considering: Jahlil Okafor

The Los Angeles Lakers were one selection away from taking Jahlil Okafor, who went one selection behind Brandon Ingram to the Philadelphia 76ers. Okafor has not lived up to his potential as the third overall pick and he has bounced from team to team to team as a result.

Okafor only lasted two and a half seasons with the 76ers before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets, where he spent the remainder of the 2017-18 season. He then signed with the New Orleans Pelicans, where he has spent the last two seasons and is a teammate of Ingram’s.

In today’s NBA that is getting smaller, Okafor is not worth as much as he would have been 20 years ago, especially considering his production has not been all that great in his career. He only played 28 games this season and averaged 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

While that might not seem all that great, Okafor is still only going to be 25 years old in December. He is young and has a lot of basketball in front of him, and as we have seen with other young centers in the past, such as Ivica Zubac, LeBron James really can maximize talent at the center position.

With Dwight Howard being a free agent and JaVale McGee not getting any younger, it might be the right move to bring in a young center.

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