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We get the report from Woj:
Free agent center Jahlil Okafor has agreed to a two-year deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 21, 2020
There had been an inkling of this previously, with James Edwards III of The Athletic telling fans to be on the lookout for an Okafor acquistion:
Keep an eye on the Pistons and Jahlil Okafor come free agency. Low-cost signing with obvious offensive upside.
— James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) November 12, 2020
Without a contract figure, it’s tough to say what level of commitment the Pistons are making to Okafor. With that said... this makes even LESS sense than the Mason Plumlee signing!
If you wanted a young post-up big man who currently underperforms in drop coverage, that’s what you drafted Isaiah Stewart for! Tony Bradley, who IS currently on the roster, right? I’m not hallucinating that? Bradley is better than Okafor right now as a low-cost ground-bound option at center! And they’ve still got to trade Dewayne Dedmon somewhere, or else he’s going to soak up minutes.
I resolved to give Troy Weaver the benefit of the doubt this offseason. His draft, which happened less than 48 hours ago, I was overall pretty pleased with. He’s lauded across the NBA as one of the best talent evaluators the league has to offer. With that said, these two signings of centers being the opening salvo of free agency in Detroit is ... concerning. Deeply concerning.
Again, we’re going to see what the rest of the free agency holds for your Detroit Pistons. But, uh, yeah. Concerning.