Sam Hinkie disregarded Jahlil Okafor’s fit with the young core of the Philadelphia 76ers and followed his mantra by taking who he thought was the best player available at pick No. 3 in the 2015 NBA Draft. The rookie season of Okafor has demonstrated he might be the type of player that won’t mesh effectively with Philadelphia’s other bigs.

One season might be enough of a sample size to gauge Okafor’s future outlook and role on the team. To compound matters, Joel Embiid’s positive progress recovering in Qatar from foot surgery could deem Okafor expendable and give Hinkie a chance to balance out their roster. 

Keith Pompey reintroduced the idea of the Sixers possibly trading Okafor. He noted the Okafor-Nerlens Noel pairing and also how Embiid finally being healthy enough to play might supersede Okafor’s offensive ability.

The problem for Okafor has been that the team is more successful with Noel at center. Folks also know that Noel isn’t the only problem for Okafor. The Sixers hope that Joel Embiid, taken third overall in 2014, will finally make his NBA debut next season. Similar players, Okafor and Embiid are an unlikely pairing. They are both liabilities guarding athletic power forwards and chasing stretch fours on the perimeter. So the belief is that the Sixers may try to move Okafor this summer if Embiid is healthy.

This is a perplexing yet understandable take on how much the Sixers are invested in Embiid and believe in his upside. Jahlil Okafor averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and shot 50.8 percent from the field as a rookie.

He showcased a newfound jumper, which he could knock down with relative consistency, and made plenty of centers look befuddled in defense of his deep low post repertoire. Okafor certainly didn’t flop in his rookie season and completely derail his value as a player or trade asset.

Embiid just happens to exhibit the possible two-way ability Okafor lacks. Embiid also could be adept in many categories in which Okafor struggled in as a rookie.

Okafor averaged 15.5 rebounding chances per game, but only grabbed 7.0 per game. His ability to corral available rebounds also is troubling. Among the centers who logged 1000 or more minutes this season, Okafor ranks 23rd in total rebounding percentage (12.2 percent). Okafor had the propensity of getting outworked by stronger bigs, losing positioning for boards-and looked timid on the glass, at times during the season. Okafor shifted to power forward as the season progressed, but most of his time on defense was allocated to playing near the basket.

In February, Liberty Ballers’ Marc Whittington highlighted Okafor’s prospects with the team in a piece pertaining to his conspicuous but important rebounding deficiencies.

Rebounding poorly would put a cap on Okafor’s potential as an overall player. A center who struggles to defend and rebound is a liability in the NBA. Okafor may need to improve on both aspect of the game to be average at them and become the franchise centerpiece the Sixers are hoping he will.

At 6’11” and 275 pounds, you’d expect Okafor to be able to absorb contact and fight off the opposition for rebounds more easily. Embiid, who is now 7-2, could be the more effective rebounder. With elite athleticism, Embiid looks the part of a center able to haul in 10-plus rebounds per game in his prime. 

Offensively, Embiid has flashed the ability to possibly stretch the floor and complement Nerlens Noel and his tendency to operate around the paint. USA Today’s Derek Bodner captured footage of Embiid working on his shot at the Wells Fargo Center earlier this month.

If Embiid wasn’t at this stage in his recovery process, especially looking sharp on his jump shots and post moves, Okafor’s name might never have surfaced in rumors. In addition, Embiid’s defensive ability and ceiling is more promising than Okafor’s. 

Lane clogging has been a pertinent issue regarding the Noel-Okafor pairing throughout the season, but on defense, Okafor is a liability with Noel roaming around the perimeter and near him in the paint. 

Noel has a higher real/plus minus with Okafor on the bench, which ties into ability to collect more steals, blocks and defensive rebounds with his counterpart riding the pine.

With Embiid manning the center position and acting as a rim protector, there likely won’t be as much confusion regarding defensive sets and what Noel is comfortable doing defensively for Brett Brown. Noel has had to embody the defensive star label for Philadelphia for two straight seasons.

Embiid gives Noel some definite assistance containing bigs, which could possibly allow Noel to convert some of his energy on defense to the offensive end, an area he’s still progressing in. 

Okafor is a shiny insurance option if management sticks with the Okafor-Noel-Embiid triumvirate in the frontcourt.

Pompey acknowledged that Okafor and Noel have shown they can’t play effectively with each other, and an Okafor-Embiid starting pair would arguably be a defensive mess in today’s spread out league offensively. 

What gives Okafor trade rumors some legitimacy is his inability to gel with Noel on either side of the floor and his current value as a rookie with upside.

Hinkie and Jerry Colangelo won’t allow Okafor to diminish in value with Embiid possibly healthy. Okafor’s future looks to be tied to Embiid’s health.