NBA Trade Rumors 2017: Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers Interested On Jahlil Okafor

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Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers remains an intriguing prospect for a lot of teams. Especially for teams in the hunt for playoff spots, such as the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers. Okafor is young, athletic, and versatile and can readily step into the limelight.

According to SB Nation, Boston Celtics is interested in Jahlil Okafor. While this might be a knee-jerk reaction to DeMarcus Cousins being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, ESPN's Marc Stein said on Mike & Mike that the Celtics have maintained some level of interest on Okafor.

The Boston Celtics could offer Kelly Olynyk and Amir Johnson, both having expiring contracts this summer, to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jahlil Okafor. Okafor could help the Celtics in rebounding and defense.

According to reports, the Philadelphia 76ers almost traded Jahlil Okafor to the Portland Trail Blazers last week. David Aldridge tweeted that the Sixers pulled Okafor from their lineup since a "deal with Portland was close to happening."

However, for some reason, the trade didn't push through and the Trail Blazers acquired Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first round draft pick in exchange for Mason Plumlee. Jahlil Okafor would have helped the Trail Blazers the same way he could help the Celtics.

The New Orleans Pelicans was one of the teams rumored to be the possible landing spot for Jahlil Okafor. The Pelicans reportedly offered Tyreke Evans, a 2017 first round draft pick and a future pick. Basically, it's the same offer they gave the Sacramento Kings for DeMarcus Cousins with the omission of Buddy Hield.

Latino's Health recently reported that the Pelicans acquired Cousins from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, and first and second round picks in the NBA 2017 draft. Now that the Pelicans got Boogie, they are expected to stay put for now.

The Sixers currently have a logjam at the center spot since they have 3 centers on their roster, Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, and Joel Embidd. With the trade deadline fast approaching, NBA pundits believe that one of them would be the odd man out.