Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers have nine games remaining and there's a strong chance that center Jahlil Okafor sits for the majority, if not all of them. He's missed the last two games due to right knee soreness and nine games overall this season with the ailment, all resulting from meniscus surgery had had in March 2016. Despite the lingering issues with soreness, Okafor says the team medical staff is just being extra cautious.
“If we were like on the verge of trying to get a playoff spot or something like that, I could go out there and play,” Okafor said Friday. “But Coach Brown and all of our people behind the scenes don’t believe it’s necessary for me to play if my knee is feeling sore and stuff like that.
“It’s pretty much how they’ve been since I’ve been a Sixer. They’ve been super cautious.” [Philly.com]
Okafor has appeared in 50 games this season for Philadelphia, averaging 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. The second-year big man out of Duke was on the trade block in February, but the Sixers ended up dealing Nerlens Noel to the Mavericks. There's still a strong chance that the Sixers put Okafor back on the trading block leading up to the draft, but it's hard to imagine that there'd be a great market value for him. At this point, the Sixers may have to settle for an expiring contract and a second round pick or a highly-protected first rounder. If he remains injured for the rest of the year though, teams may be even more hesitant to trade for him.
“I’m a complete prisoner to his body and medical news,” coach Brett Brown said of Okafor. “We will react when the medical people tell me.” [Philly.com]
Heading into next season, the Sixers still have an predicament at center. If Joel Embiid recovers fully, he'll be the guy, while both Richaun Holmes and Shawn Long have played well lately. Holmes could very well enter the 2017-18 campaign as the no. 2 center. As for Okafor, if he remains with the team next year, it'll be interesting how Brett Brown chooses to allot minutes.
