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The Centre Piece: Jahlil Okafor

On the 15th of March, GM Blackmajestic had a decision to make with Brandon Knight set to get a large contract this coming off season and Eric Bledsoe receiving a 5 year, 70 million dollar contract last offseason, the front office believed the money could be spent more wisely on other positions so they made the risky and heart wrenching decision to send their All Star Point Guard, Eric Bledsoe to the other side of the country to Detroit, in exchange for the essentially the greatest opportunity to draft the best young talent in the world.

Despite the lottery throwing the New Orleans franchise a curve ball, with the Pelicans falling two places to the third pick in the draft, GM BM was excited to be a part of his first NLL Draft.

Throughout the majority of the NCAA season and when the Pelicans traded for the highly acclaimed pick, Jahlil Okafor was a dominate force and was oughted as the unanimous number one player coming out of the 2015 draft class. As the March Madness Tournament proceeded, expert opinions started changing but GM BM's heart was set on the big fella out of Duke, so to see Okafor fall in the lap of New Orleans at the number three pick couldn't have worked out any better.

Jahlil Okafor gives New Orleans that desperately needed inside presence that they were screaming for all season long, especially during the playoffs, with Pekovic only being able to suit up to 26 regular season games.

Okafor was the most ready to take the next step physically of all the rookies with a big 6 foot 11, 270 pound frame, meaning he won't be able to be pushed around like most rookie big men against the battle hardened veterans. One of his overwhelming traits is the size of his hands. Massive hands are valuable for bigs in this league to firmly possess the ball and used for soft touch around the rim. Hands like his can be affective on the defensive end also, allowing him to interrupt passing lanes as well as blocking shots.

Offensive thrives in the NLL and this is where Jahlil Okafor shines. The most offensively talented big to come out of college in a long time, Okafor made defenders look second rate with a combination of advanced post moves, savvy footwork and soft touch around the rim, which should translate straight away in the NLL.

The most exciting part might not even be what he can put in his points column. Okafor often commands a second defender to come in to double him but with great court vision and passing skills, he should be able to create open opportunities for the likes of Knight and Korver. If Jahlil can click with the guards and create a fluent inside out game, it may be a mater of defenders picking their poison.

The knocks on Okafor defensive game were blown way out of proportion. Yes, it's an area of his game he needs to improve at the next level but Jahlil has all the characteristics to become very good defender in the future. Okafor is still really young at 19 years of age and has extremely high basketball IQ, so he will have plenty of time and opportunities to learn on the job. Combined with his big 270 pound frame that will prove a task to move and he has a 7 foot 5 wingspan, with gigantic hands that shall cause a variety of problems for opposing offensive big men.

Also in the NLL, big men that are great rim protecters aren't usually utilised to full effect. DeAndre Jordan last season lead the league in blocks in the regular season with only an average of 1.33 blocks per game! So whether Okafor's defence develops as I believe it will or not, Jahlil is set to become the centre piece of the New Orleans franchise.

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