Yeah, that's his name. Chukwuemeka means “God has done well” according to NBA.com.
Anyways, Hornets.com just declared it official, so it's a done deal. Farewell, Tyson Chandler, I'll put something up about you a little later. For now, let's greet Emeka Okafor with some snazzy Youtube goodness:
Okafor Highlight Reel
Okafor on the Fundamentals of Shot-Blocking
Okafor Posterizing Greg Oden
I include this because I have a friend who has a strange, unexplained aversion to Greg Oden that is probably related to him being blocked by him all the time in NBA 2k9.
Welcome, Mek.
17 thoughtful comments post your own
BeesGivingEffort
07/28/09 12:17 PM
Anyone who would like to give Charles Rosen a piece of their mind can read and contact him here...
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9852462/Who-are-the-NBA's-most-overrated-players?
#1
BeesGivingEffort
07/28/09 12:22 PM
Also. Even if this trade Okafor for Chandler is a wash and both cancel each other out, than consider that Okafor has missed 1 game in the last 2 years and Chandler has just come off offseason surgery. They weren't even positive he'd be ready for the start of camp.
Not to mention, our offense at times last year was ATROCIOUS. You shouldn't hold people to 83 points and lose a basketball game. This should most definately make us better on that end. Tyson's O was based around one thing, a CP3 alleyoop. Everything else was worthless.
#2
bigindian15
07/28/09 01:26 PM
Question: has Chandler passed his physical yet? The OKC was a done deal too, wasn't it?
#3
bigindian15
07/28/09 01:28 PM
@HornetsGoneSoft: Wow. Charles Rosen needs to be fired for that. KG's only a former MVP. I'd say Brad Miller and Stephen Jackson are underrated if anything. The only good players I can think of that he didn't mention are LeBron and Kobe. So, yeah, great article dude
#4
Mark
07/28/09 01:56 PM
Props to management for doing something in a expected quiet off-season. While I'm happy we got something probably better than Wilcox/Smith, I don't recall Okafor as too good (I wish we could have added and gotten more pieces in the trade). But we are talking about CP, so until I see how much talent he can squeeze out of Okafor, I'm reserving judgment.
Thank you Tyson Chandler. You will be missed.
www.dogpile.com/ #5
StefanC
07/28/09 02:08 PM
Optimism:
Before we got Chandler, he was a nobody. A failure to most. When he came here, he became a very good Center.
Okafor is already a good basketball player. Now when he plays with CP3, greatness
#6
Caleb462
07/28/09 02:16 PM
Its a pretty big misconception that Chandler sucked in Chicago. He was inconsistent, but he had some very good seasons... just didn't get the minutes he got in New Orleans, plus playing with CP helped Tyson's FG% rocket up... but Chandler was a good defender/rebounder from the get go.
But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to see Okafor's point totals and/or FG% go up with CP.
neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com #7
benreed1088
07/28/09 03:33 PM
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/60848/20090728/hornets_get_okafor_pick_for_chandler/
Now it is saying we are also getting a first round pick.. Could this deal be any better??
#8
benreed1088
07/28/09 03:39 PM
ahh nm realgm is a bunch of idiots. they link to the SI article where it talks about okafor being a first round pick
#9
ChrisTrew.com
07/28/09 10:11 PM
I am in line right now for my Okafor shirt.
www.christrew.com #10
chefcdb
07/29/09 01:25 AM
Of all the options for trading Tyson, this was as good as it gets. I will worry that Okafor cannot really guard the elite centers of the league, and he could have back flare-ups during the future of his long-term contract. Coach Brown urged Emeka to be more focused about developing his passion to drive his skills, something we never had to consider because Tyson always played with fire when healthy. It will be interesting to see how Okafor guards Tim Duncan, because lengthwise he and DX are about the same size -- my guess is the Hornets will have to double-team Timmy more.
Okafor seems to have more offensive skill, but he doesn't soar like Tyson. He does block more shots, which can serve to ignite more CP3 fast breaks, and he appears athletic enough to run and finish. To think Okafor gives the Hornets reliable low post scoring is probably optimistic, but he should relieve some of West's stress on the boards while putting up decent offensive numbers.
I'll miss Tyson, but this trade was an offseason inevitability. It's a big challenge for Emeka to step up his game to match the grind of a team that has its sights on making a playoff run in the deep Western Conference. I wonder if he will be able to rejuvenate his career the way that Tyson did when he came here, and can he make the leap to fire up a Hornets crowd half as much as a monstrous Crescent City Connection by TC from CP? Okafor seems a little reserved, kinda a brainiac for a baller, so I'm curious to see how his court demeanor plays out with our team.
I still remain deeply impressed by Tyson Chandler's many charitable deeds for schoolteachers here in New Orleans. It appears from all reports that Okafor is also a very good-hearted young man, a positive character personality, but I will always remember all the things TC did for our community. I wish Tyson all the best and I really hope he can play hoops at his standard, thunderous dunking elevation in Charlotte. It will certainly keep the subplots & comparisons between our Hornets and their Bobcats alive in the press... in the end, it was a fair trade that I personally wish hadn't HAD TO HAPPEN, but that's the business side of pro sports.
chefcdb.livejournal.com #11
StefanC
07/29/09 02:25 AM
The situation with Okafor not playing with much fire on the Bobcats is understandable. He has played for the BOBCATS his ENTIRE career. Fighting for a 9 or 10th spot in the East can't fire anyone up really. I hope he's rejuvenated here in NOLA.
Also, people do complain how he won't be able to get lobs like Tyson, but too bad that's all Tyson could do on a pick & roll. With Okafor, you can actually give him a nice bounce pass that he could dribble and finish hard at the rim. Tyson could not do much with the ball in his hands unless it met his hands at 14 feet.
I do sound like I think Tyson sucks right now, but I don't. I love the guy and I'll miss him. I have been a fan of Okafor's game for a while now though.
#12
saltandcarbon
07/29/09 02:31 AM
For all this "Tyson's defense is so much better than Mek" and "Mek can't guard the big bodies one on one like Tyson" talk, I remembered the Bobcats dominating the Lakers last year (and a few years before). With a forward line of Mek (6-10), Diaw (6-8) and G. Wallace (6-7) the 'Cats took both games last year against the lauded Laker front line (Bynum played one game). Maybe Mek CAN play bigger than his height, and with good rebounding support from D. West (support he hasn't really had before) be a better one on one defender than his history suggests.
[Sure I've got my rose-coloured glasses firmly on, but I'm excited damnnit!]
#13
chefcdb
07/29/09 04:09 AM
I would not say the Bobcats dominated the Lakers; after all, last year's game in L.A. was marred in the final moments of regulation by Bynum's super hard foul on Gerald Wallace, and the 'Cats rallied in OT, but duly noted that Okafor played alright in checking Gasol, who loses focus himself when it's a game that doesn't matter much. They have beaten the Lakers quite a few times, it's true, but c'mon -- the Bobcats are a Saturday matinee team to the Lakers.
The thing that Tyson did for the Hornets offense was to help create space in classic pick'n'roll, as the threat down the lane for an alley oop made defenses worry about sending somebody else to rotate into the lane, perhaps to leave DX open, or a wing to spot up, or for CP to hit his floater when the center tried to float back to cover Tyson. When Tyson played healthy, our offensive numbers rose dramatically. I haven't seen many Bobcats games, so I have zero feel about Okafor's damage potential in high post pick'n'roll. I do know Mek is a willing shooter, with a rep as a low post pivot player, an under-sized center who is a good garbageman rebounder, and good at blocking shots at the rim in help defense. I hear his hands are ok, but he can be frazzled by double teams *why you would 2xteam Mek on this Hornets squad, I dunno, unless you believe he will get twitchy and turn it over*
This is acceptable as a maneuver to get a little short term financial help, but it is an awfully long contract. I just hope Okafor doesn't turn out to be a Peja/Posey deal where the contract is too long and it bogs down future options. We still need a versatile frontline player (Hakim Warrick or Big Baby would be great!), and maybe we sign Marks too at his vet minimum deal; then I will feel better about our offseason...and who knows, it sounds like Bower is working on another more elaborate trade, so there may yet be a shakeup that clears cap space yet to come that doesn't sacrifice the playoff viability of the team.
Finally, Rosen of FOX is pretty silly in his criticism of CP as overrated -- it's too dumb to fully discuss. If that's what FOX thinks is legit NBA coverage, they should stick with the NFL... although you got to love the snapped circuit of a mind that says Chris Paul's only defensive attribute is steals, which only happen because the other team makes a mistake... the hamster wheel was really spinning when Rosen arrived at that brilliant conclusion! The rest of the article was dumb, too... but life is too short to argue with nimrods, IMHO
chefcdb.livejournal.com #14
benreed1088
07/29/09 12:36 PM
check out the link i linked in the journal about espn saying that we are close to signing diogu
#15
Mark
07/29/09 12:43 PM
Only problem is the long, somewhat high contract. We've got enough of them with Predrag and Pose. I hope we can move AD's expiring contract and Mo Pete, since coach Scott seems idiotic not to use him anyway. JuJu also, since I'm not sure his upside is as high as I used to think.
Stef: Sure that was his primary tool, but I think the pick and roll with CFRM was deeper than (rap). CFRM's ability to get a high lob at the rim created a offensive diversion that forced the defense to commit a mismatch almost every time, potentially opening up defensive mistakes if help side enters (and CP is a God when it comes to capitalizing on your mistakes).
Okafor will not replace CFRM's pick and roll offense, but should provide us with a more legitimate low post threat along with DX . I don't envision huge statistical differences with him and Chandler, unless coach Scott draws a few new schemes. So a less exciting offense, but it should be more effective.
www.dogpile.com/ #16
Mark
07/29/09 12:45 PM
benreed: two Nigerians on your squad can't be bad.
I loves me some Ike since we went to the same high school. <3 <3
www.dogpile.com/ #17