Emeka Okafor Is and Is Not the Problem

– Tom Ziller, NBA Fanhouse

Here’s the thing: Okafor’s contract isn’t that bad. The forward-center is overpaid, sure, but who isn’t? There are numerous high-dollar contracts worse than that of Okafor. We all know teams pay premiums for big men, especially ones who can defend the rim. Okafor, despite his flaws as an offensive player, is among the league’s best paint defenders. He’s a rebounding savant (despite his sub-peak height) and a smart rotator and help defender. He makes teams better, and again, big men who make teams better get paid. The center Okafor replaced in New Orleans, Tyson Chandler — he gets paid as much as Okafor.

Ah, and there’s the real issue. Okafor is better than Chandler, and was much better than Chandler last season. But Chandler’s contract expires in 2011 while Okafor’s seems interminable. (For the record, Okafor’s deal expires in 2014.) When New Orleans rages against Okafor, it rages against the Okafor deal, which, all told, was among Bower’s most short-sighted decisions. Okafor was an immediate upgrade, given his good health relative to that of Chandler, plus the aforementioned defensive prowess (though it’s worth noting Chandler has also been a plus defender). But Okafor’s contract in comparison to that of Chandler was simply a flexibility killer. Bower cast his die thinking the modest Chandler-becomes-Okafor upgrade would launch the Hornets from Western also-ran to contender of highest repute.

Clearly, that was pure lunacy, given the team’s deep, troubling lack of depth at the wing positions and behind Okafor and David West in the frontcourt. And let’s not even get into the special Paul-Chandler chemistry the trade destroyed.

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