Emeka Okafor Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Emeka Okafor To Delay Return Until 2015/16?

January 3rd, 2015 at 8:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

With numerous teams around the league seeking frontcourt help, the pool of available players may just get a tad thinner. Veteran center Emeka Okafor is giving strong consideration to delaying his comeback from a neck injury until next season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Stein’s sources say that Okafor, who missed the entire 2013/14 campaign after he suffered a herniated disk in his neck, could wait until this summer before inking a deal with a new team in order to give himself more time to continue strength and conditioning work.

According to Stein, numerous teams with a need for a rim protecting big man, including the Cavs, Mavs, and the Heat, have interest in signing Okafor if he decided to play this year. Prior to the season, nearly half of the teams in the league reportedly had interest in the services of the 32-year-old veteran out of Connecticut. Okafor had reportedly auditioned for the Clippers back in August, but the two sides did not reach a contract arrangement.

Okafor’s last action came during the 2012/13 season when he averaged 9.7 points and 8.8 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per contest for the Wizards. Prior to the beginning of the 2013/14 season, the Wizards dealt Okafor to the Suns for Marcin Gortat. Both sides were aware that Okafor was likely to miss the entire season with his injury, but Phoenix was interested in Okafor’s expiring $14.5MM contract to use as a potential trade chip, though no deal involving Okafor ever came to fruition for the Suns.

In nine seasons, Okafor’s career numbers are 12.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. His career slash line is .512/.000/.584.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Emeka Okafor

September 13th, 2014 at 8:45pm CST by Cray Allred

Of the league’s remaining unsigned free agents, Emeka Okafor is at the very top of the list in earnings from last year. Despite not playing a single game with the Suns, Okafor raked in $14.5MM in the last year of the six-year, $72MM deal he originally signed with Charlotte. If and when Okafor does receive a new NBA contract, it will almost certainly be for a massive pay reduction.

A herniated disc in Okafor’s neck was the reason the center missed all of 2013/14 and will likely remain unsigned for the near future. After playing 79 games for the Wizards in 2012/13, the ailment was discovered last preseason and wrecked his entire 2013/14 campaign. Okafor was subsequently traded to the Suns, who planned on flipping his contract for another asset. The center was viewed by many as a hot commodity, but his value was exclusively tied to his substantial expiring salary, which would have been useful in clearing cap space for a potential recipient. Phoenix had extensive discussions with the Lakers about moving Okafor as part of a trade to acquire Pau Gasol, but a deal never materialized.

If the status of his health weren’t up in the air, Okafor would most likely be signed by now. An intimidating interior defensive presence, the former No. 2 pick has averaged 1.7 blocks for his career, a number bolstering a virtual double-double career average in points (12.3) and rebounds (9.9) per game. The veteran did show signs of offensive decline the last season he saw the floor, turning in a career-worst .278 rate of free throw attempts per field goal attempts and a .496 true shooting percentage, well below his career average of .535. However, he still produced an above average PER of 15.8 for Washington, and maintained an elite defensive impact. While his blocks per game dropped to a career-worst 1.0, he generated a 99 defensive rating, according to his Basketball-Reference page, and 3.7 defensive win shares, top-10 and top-25 marks for the season, respectively.

Ongoing concerns about Okafor’s neck have prevented the big man from securing a deal, but they haven’t kept roughly half of the league from registering interest in his services. Contenders including the Heat, Cavs, and Clippers are among the teams interested. Those teams make a lot of on-the-court sense, as a steady rim-protector is always high on a playoff hopeful’s wishlist. The Clippers are the only team that has reportedly worked out Okafor, and they have since signed Ekpe Udoh in a move that would presumably reduce their need for Okafor on the roster. The Heat were considering both Okafor and Udoh as potential interior additions, so while Udoh’s deal with Los Angeles may hurt Okafor’s prospects there, it could very well help his outlook in Miami.

While no word has surfaced on the impression Okafor’s workout left, the league is wary of his lingering medical issues. He isn’t expected to sign anywhere until mid-season, and it’s unclear if doctors have cleared him for full basketball activities at this point. As much as a big, defensively disruptive body excites general managers, the thought of a big, ailing body under contract distresses them.

All of the teams known to be interested in Okafor are limited to paying the veteran’s minimum, as are most contenders in general at this stage in the offseason. If Okafor were to alleviate concerns about his health, a minimum salary would seem to be a discount for a player of his caliber. Elton Brand doesn’t have the same ceiling as Okafor at this stage in his career, but he just received a $2MM contract for 2014/15 on the merits of being a sturdy big off the bench. Chris Andersen, another big man expected to fill a role that’s smaller or similar to the one Okafor might play, re-signed with the Heat for two years and $10MM. Of course, Okafor may be willing to play on a one-year deal for the minimum for the chance to contend and demonstrate his viability looking toward next summer and a more lucrative deal.

Okafor could end up with more options if he waits until midseason to look for a deal. In-season pickups earn prorated salaries, meaning a team without room to squeeze the big man under the tax line now could conceivably do so later in the season, when a minimum contract’s payout would shrink. As always, opportunities could open up for Okafor if any teams lose a frontcourt piece to injury. Teams currently unable to offer Okafor more than the minimum could gain that flexibility if granted a disabled player exception after a season-ending injury to one of their players.

At this point, we’re more likely to hear updates on Okafor’s health than any announcement of a signing. The center has bounced back from injury before throughout a solid career, and I expect him to do so again. Don’t be surprised if Okafor is unemployed as the regular season opens, but making a difference once the postseason arrives.

Emeka Okafor Drawing Widespread Interest

August 25th, 2014 at 1:45pm CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 1:45pm: Teams had been taking a cautious approach in evaluating Okafor as of a few weeks ago, as J. Michael of CSNWashington says today, adding that the center has much to prove before doctors would declare him healthy (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether teams have become more optimistic since Michael last heard news on the center.

SUNDAY, 10:46pm: Emeka Okafor is in high demand even after missing all of 2013/14, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. In fact, roughly half of the league has registered interest this summer in the big man. Okafor is nonetheless unlikely to sign anywhere until midseason given the lingering effects of his neck injury, Stein also hears.

A number of teams, including contending clubs, would like to add the 31-year-old Okafor to their benches. The Cavs and Heat are among the teams to have checked in, according to Stein, echoing an earlier report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that identified the Heat’s interest in the 10-year veteran.

Okafor suffered his injury in the preseason while with Washington last October and was dealt to the Suns shortly before opening night in the trade that brought Marcin Gortat to the Wizards. Okafor’s nearly $14.5MM expiring contract was linked in trade rumors to Pau Gasol and others, but the Suns never found a deal to their liking that would have allowed them to flip Okafor before his lucrative pact ran out.

Okafor was one of a handful of big men to reportedly audition for the Clippers earlier this month.

Heat Rumors: Douglas-Roberts, Crawford, Okafor

August 20th, 2014 at 8:57am CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat have far outpaced all other teams in free agent spending this summer, as I chronicled earlier this week. Miami is limited to the minimum salary at this point, which wouldn’t add to the total of more than $220MM that appears on my list, since it didn’t take into account anyone on a minimum-salary deal. Still, Pat Riley and company continue to scour the market, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel detail. We’ll highlight the latest here:

The Heat worked out Chris Douglas-Roberts, as Jackson writes in his latest dispatch after reporting late last month that the team was interested in the five-year veteran. Miami, which is looking to add a shooting guard, also worked out Jordan Hamilton, according to Jackson, though Hamilton instead wound up signing with the Raptors.
Miami has reached out to Jordan Crawford, too, and while the Heat like the former first-round pick, as Jackson writes, it doesn’t appear he’s reached the audition stage. Jackson confirms Miami’s interest in Leandro Barbosa.
There are other teams in the mix for Barbosa, but they, like the Heat, want to see if he can stay healthy as well as how he performs for Brazil in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, Winderman writes. The Sun Sentinel scribe believes the Heat would choose Crawford over Barbosa if it came to that.
Riley and his staff have been eyeing Emeka Okafor and Ekpe Udoh, as finding a big man has been team’s other focus, Jackson reports. There have been question marks about Okafor’s health, and while he and Udoh have also drawn interest from the Clippers, there hasn’t been much chatter this summer surrounding either former top-10 pick.
The Heat made preliminary inquiries about Andray Blatche and Jason Maxiell, according to Jackson. Miami has been reluctant to sign Blatche in the past out of concern about his maturity level and behavior, as Jackson wrote a couple of weeks ago, but apparently the team won’t definitively rule him out. The market for Maxiell has been quiet since the Magic let him go on the Fourth of July.
Agent David Falk spoke with the Heat about Elton Brand, but it’s unlikely that the 35-year-old will join Miami for this season, Jackson says. The Hawks and Knicks reportedly had their sights set on Brand as free agency began, but Brand rumors have otherwise proven scarce.

Clippers To Audition Bynum, Oden, Okafor

August 5th, 2014 at 12:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:11pm: Andy Miller, the agent for Blatche, disputes the report, telling Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that his client has no workout scheduled with the Clippers (Twitter link).

8:45am: The Clippers are set to work out free agent centers this week, with Andray Blatche, Andrew Bynum, Greg Oden and Emeka Okafor among those on the docket as the team seeks depth, reports Jorge Sedano of ESPN Radio (Twitter link). The inclusion of Bynum’s name is surprising, since last month he was giving serious thought to sitting out the season. There have been widespread questions about Okafor’s health, too, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote at the bottom of one of his pieces from last month.

Blatche was the most productive of the quartet last season, averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game for the Nets. Bynum appeared in only 26 games because of his persistent knee trouble, while Oden, mostly healthy over the course of a full season for the first time in his career, appeared in only 23 contests as a deep reserve for a Finals-bound Heat team. Okafor missed the entire season because of a herniated disk in his neck.

The hard-capped Clippers can only offer the minimum to anyone they sign. Oden, who has six years of official experience, is the only one among the four named in Sedano’s report who could receive a multiyear contract from the team. One-year deals for the minimum salary only count against a team’s cap for the two-year veteran’s minimum, so that would allow the team to ink deals with Blatche, Bynum and Okafor, each of whom has a minimum salary that exceeds the roughly $1.149MM that the Clippers have left under their hard cap. The team has only 12 players on its roster, so it will have to add another player eventually to reach the 13-man regular season minimum.

Western Notes: Pelicans, Parsons, Grunwald

July 12th, 2014 at 6:03pm CST by Cray Allred

The Thunder lost a valuable weapon Friday with the expiration of a $6.5MM trade exception left over from last year’s sign-and-trade of Kevin Martin to the Wolves. The Thunder had hoped to use the exception to acquire Pau Gasol, and today lost out on the big man, report Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Here’s more from out West:

The Warriors had considered using their own expired trade exception to acquire Brandon Bass, among other players, reports Zach Lowe of Grantland.
The Pelicans renounced their rights to Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith and James Southerland, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. That means they no longer hold any form of Bird rights on the trio.
The Suns also renounced Emeka Okafor‘s rights in a move that will erase his $19.2MM cap hold from Phoenix’s books, Deeks reports in a separate tweet.
Sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com) that although the Rockets just snagged small forward Trevor Ariza, Houston is still deciding whether to match Chandler Parsons‘ max offer sheet with the Mavs.
The Grizzlies have been talking up Glen Grunwald as a candidate for their GM-in-waiting search, Mitch Lawrence of New York Daily News reports. Lawrence expects Memphis to hire Grunwald for the job.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers, Suns To Resume Gasol Trade Talks

February 18th, 2014 at 7:36pm CST by Charlie Adams

Rival executives from around the league believe the Lakers and Suns will likely resume trade discussions that will culminate in a deal that sends Pau Gasol to Phoenix in exchange for Emeka Okafor, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via these tweets). Executives believe Gasol is the best player the Suns could receive for Okafor’s expiring, insured contract. Kennedy says it’s expected that Gasol will leave in free agency this summer if he remains with the Lakers, and executives believe LA would like to receive assets for Gasol at the trade deadline rather than letting him walk away this summer for nothing.

Talks between the two teams came to a halt earlier this month because the Suns believed the Lakers’ asking price for Gasol to be too high. Still, discussions were expected to continue through the deadline, and it appears Phoenix may now be under the belief that trading for Gasol might be worth sacrificing one of their potentially four 2014 draft selections.

Like Okafor, Gasol’s contract expires at the end of the season, and there’s no indication either way if he’d remain in Phoenix beyond this year if the Suns were to acquire him. However, Phoenix is fighting for a playoff spot, and acquiring Gasol might help supplement the club as a group that could potentially make some noise this postseason.

Latest On Suns, Lakers, Pau Gasol

February 4th, 2014 at 8:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:10pm: The Lakers don’t believe that the talks with the Suns about Gasol are over, and discussions with Phoenix and other teams are expected to continue through February 20, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.

7:49pm: The Suns have halted talks with the Lakers regarding Gasol because L.A. reportedly wants too much in return, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Of the four first-round picks that Phoenix could possibly own this year, the Lakers were said to have been pushing for either the pick owed from Minnesota (top 13-protected) or Washington (top 12-protected. The other two draft choices the Suns have at their disposal include their own (currently projected at 22nd overall) and Indiana’s (now 30th).

Talks could resume before the February 20 deadline, but there needs to be a compromise on which first round pick the Lakers would receive in a Gasol deal, tweets Bresnahan.

8:13am: The Lakers and Suns spoke again Monday about the idea of a swap of Pau Gasol for Emeka Okafor, but the Suns want to see how Gasol’s recovery from a strained groin progresses before furthering the talks, report Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Spanish center is set to miss the next three games. If such a trade were to happen, it wouldn’t take the Lakers completely out of tax territory, so they’d insist on receiving draft picks or young players along with Okafor.

Still, the Lakers don’t feel they absolutely must avoid the tax this season, and even if they decide to do so, they believe trading Gasol isn’t their only path out of tax territory, as Shelburne and Stein write. That’s been their belief since last month, when they were involved in negotiations with the Cavs about trading for Andrew Bynum. The Lakers and Cavs have stayed in touch about Gasol in the time since, but there’s nothing imminent on that front, according to the ESPN report. The Lakers expect the market for Gasol to improve closer to the deadline, but they’re all right with holding on to him and retaining the flexibility that his nearly $19.3MM expiring contract will give them in the summer.

The Suns are willing to trade multiple 2014 first-round picks for a star player, but they realize such a talent is unlikely to become available before the deadline, Shelburne and Stein note. Thus, Gasol intrigues Phoenix, since he’s a veteran who could help the team’s playoff drive without cutting into this summer’s cap space.

Suns Considering Deal For Pau Gasol

February 3rd, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Zachary Links

4:00pm: The main reason the teams haven’t agreed on a deal involving Gasol is that the Lakers want a pick for this year’s draft that would be higher than what the Suns currently have to offer, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Phoenix could have as many as four picks, but the best of them would come in at only No. 17 right now. The Lakers are also in the exploratory stage with other teams about deals, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

MONDAY, 10:36am: In confirming Stein’s report, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic says the Suns and Lakers have indeed spoken about a Gasol-Okafor swap, a detail that wasn’t initially clear. The discussion is just one of many exploratory talks in which the Suns have engaged, Coro writes.

SUNDAY, 4:41pm: The Suns are exploring the feasibility of a trade for Lakers big man Pau Gasol, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Of course, the big man is on an expiring contract and earning ~$19.3MM for the year.

The Lakers have reportedly been adamant about not compromising their future cap flexibility in any deal for Gasol. As Stein notes, the Suns could use the $14.5MM expiring contract of injured big man Emeka Okafor to get a deal done. Even though there’s a significant gap between their salaries, there’s a disparity of less than $5MM and the deal wouldn’t put the Suns over the tax apron so it would be kosher under the CBA.

The 33-year-old is no stranger to criticism but he has performed reasonably well in the face of another year that’s been chock full of trade rumors. Gasol is averaging 17.0 PPG and 10.2 RPG with a PER of 19.1 that puts him No. 12 among centers. It’s not his best work, but the Spaniard still has plenty to contribute to a contender.

The Okafor idea sounds like it could be of interest to the Lakers, but they had a similar opportunity earlier this year when the Cavs were dangling the contract of Andrew Bynum. The Lakers reportedly backed away from those talks and insisted on getting an impact player in exchange for Gasol.

Trade Candidate: Emeka Okafor

January 31st, 2014 at 11:52am CST by Chuck Myron

Emeka Okafor probably won’t have any sort of on-court impact this year, since he seems destined to miss the season after suffering a neck injury this past autumn. The 31-year-old center could nonetheless have a significant effect on the Western Conference playoff race and this summer’s free agency, thanks to his outsized expiring contract.

The Suns have been planning to trade Okafor ever since acquiring him from the Wizards just before the regular season began, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote this week. He’s making nearly $14.5MM in the final season of a six-year, $72MM deal on which he’s already been traded three times. Whichever team finally winds up holding Okafor’s hot potato of a contract can renounce his rights this summer and clear significant cap room for a free agent push.

The cost of taking on Okafor’s deal will probably involve at least one veteran who could help the Suns make the playoffs. Phoenix has won five of its last six, including two victories over the Pacers, but while the Suns are in sixth place in the Western Conference, only three games separate them from the ninth-place Grizzlies, who’ve been even hotter since Marc Gasol returned from injury. It’s uncertain when Eric Bledsoe will come back from his torn right meniscus to try to give Phoenix a similar boost, so the Suns, who are determined to make their fairy tale push for the playoffs come true, appear to be seeking outside help.

The current collective bargaining agreement makes it easier for teams to create cap space, so expiring contracts like Okafor’s aren’t as valuable as they used to be. The Suns may have to attach a first-rounder or two with Okafor to find the kind of deal they want. GM Ryan McDonough suggested last month that the team is willing to trade one or more of their four potential 2014 first-round picks for a star player. The Suns are also prioritizing the acquisition of players on short-term deals so they can preserve their cap space, but those might be competing aims.

It seems logical that if the Suns were to acquire a star, they’d want to find someone who wouldn’t simply be a three-month rental. If Phoenix instead receives offers that include second-tier players, it would be difficult for the Suns to trade Okafor and receive only players on expiring contracts, and virtually impossible unless Phoenix includes at least one first-rounder. Perhaps a rival team would be willing to package one or two expiring contracts that would allow the Suns to retain their flexibility going forward along with another deal that ends after next season, but that would also be hard to for Phoenix to pull off.

A workable scenario might exist between McDonough and the Celtics. Boston GM Danny Ainge, McDonough’s former boss, is reportedly anxious to trade Jeff Green and Avery Bradley in an effort to clear cap room. Green, a non-star whose four-year, $36.24MM deal runs through 2016, probably wouldn’t interest the Suns, but Bradley might. The fourth-year guard’s aggressive on-ball defense could help solidify a Phoenix team allows the 12th most points per possession in the league, according to NBA.com, and he could provide backcourt depth while Bledsoe is out. He’s up for restricted free agency this summer, so the Suns can retain him if they want to or renounce him and clear his cap hold from their books. If McDonough could convince Ainge to give up Brandon Bass, and he accepts Keith Bogans from Ainge, the Suns could come away with a pair of useful players and no commitments beyond next season. The cost would probably be Okafor plus draft considerations, and Ainge has spoken about his belief in building through the draft.

The Sixers are looking for first-rounders in exchange for Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young, so perhaps the Suns could get involved with Philadelphia. Turner would be an upgrade over Bradley, but Phoenix would be in a similar position, since he’s also a restricted free agent this summer. Hawes is on an expiring deal, but Young’s contract, which pays him an average of more than $9MM a year through 2016, could be tough for McDonough to stomach. Still, the salaries would match if the Suns traded Okafor for just Turner and Young, and the Suns could facilitate such a deal with a first-rounder.

Okafor might not bring the sort of return he could have under the old CBA, but he’s nonetheless an intriguing asset who could bring in a return that helps the Suns now and for the future, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if Western Conference GMs, fearing Phoenix’s warm-weather, large-market advantages in free agency, are skittish to help the fast-rebuilding Suns along, leaving McDonough to deal chiefly with Eastern Conference clubs. GMs around the league expect the Suns to trade Okafor somewhere, so I’d be surprised if Phoenix doesn’t cash in its Okafor ticket by the deadline.