The Philadelphia 76ers have been shopping Jahlil Okafor in trade scenarios throughout the past few weeks. The 76ers have shifted towards preferring to pair Nerlens Noel with Joel Embiid long-term.

The 76ers were close to a deal involving Okafor with the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans.

"I think Bryan Colangelo regretted that they (held him out)," said Wojnarowski. "I think he thought he was closer to a deal than he was. Usually, you don't pull a guy until really until you have an agreement in place and you don't want him to play that night and you're going to announce it after the game. I'm not sure they were at that point. Clearly it didn't get done.

"But their focus went from Noel to Okafor in trade talks over the last few weeks as Noel started to play better. They felt Noel and Embiid complemented each other better. And now if they can't get a deal for Okafor done before the deadline, I'm told it's possible that they'll start, there's still some teams checking on Noel, reengaging on him. What complicates it for Noel is he's a restricted free agent and teams want to know what it's going to cost to re-sign him. And it's going to be a big number. He's a little harder to trade.

"(With) Okafor, there's other issues. It's more about his ability to defend. How is his knee? His maturity. There's other issues but he's a talent and there's interest in him. They haven't wanted to just give them away and that's pushed this process here. I don't think they have to move Okafor. I think they could finish the year (with him), especially with Embiid's health in question."

Chris Mannix reports the 76ers still value Okafor as a third overall pick, though rival teams don't view him that way.