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Jahlil Okafor says he’s ‘learned how to identify, manage different stressors such as anxiety’

By Kurt HelinAug 18, 2018, 8:00 AM EST
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Jahlil Okafor is trying to take advantage of his chance with the New Orleans Pelicans this season.

He talked about it in an Instagram post, and most people focused on the pictures of his improved physique. Which is improved.

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My summer of transformation: First off I want to thank @idanwan & @dzandertraining for getting after it with me the moment my season ended. Grateful to have two of the best in their respective fields work with me all summer. Although the physical changes in this photo are evident, their has been extreme growth unbenounced to the eye. I’ve learned how to identify and manage different stressors such as anxiety. Learning how to identify certain stressors has also allowed me to over come them. Often times because of my size and profession people may view me in a certain way, but in reality I deal with the same struggles as countless others. Mental health awareness is a cause I will fight for the rest of my life and if you’re struggling today don’t be afraid to speak with someone and seek help. I would like to thank @kevinlove and the @playerstribune for helping me identify my feelings and informing me what I was dealing with was in fact normal. 6 weeks left in the off season; with a lot more work to do!

A post shared by Jahlil Okafor (@jah8) on

However, the text was interesting:

I’ve learned how to identify and manage different stressors such as anxiety. Learning how to identify certain stressors has also allowed me to over come them…. Mental health awareness is a cause I will fight for the rest of my life and if you’re struggling today don’t be afraid to speak with someone and seek help. I would like to thank @kevinlove and the @playerstribune for helping me identify my feelings and informing me what I was dealing with was in fact normal.

NBA players stepping forward and admitting they need help dealing with mental challenges and illness is a good thing. Kevin Love helped Okafor, and hopefully Okafor talking about it will help others.

Okafor has a clean slate in New Orleans. He missed much of last season due to injury, and between his time with the Sixers and Nets he was on the court for just 353 minutes total. In New Orelans there are bench minutes available (behind Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotic, and Julius Randle, but Okafor needs to show he can run the floor and play the up-tempo style the Pelicans employ. Okafor’s below the rim, back-to-the-basket offensive game, plus he poor defense, have held him back. If he’s got his body and mind right, maybe some of that can change.

Probable lottery pick and injured Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland declares for NBA draft

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
By Dan FeldmanJan 22, 2019, 7:35 PM EST
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Vanderbilt freshman Darius Garland suffered a season-ending knee injury in November.

But that will actually accelerate his ascension toward the NBA.

Garland:

Garland still looks like a lottery pick. This draft is top-heavy, and a player as skilled as him likely won’t fall far.

The 6-foot-3 point guard is an excellent shooter. He also has the ball-handling, footwork and quick release to get his shot off against most defenses. He looks like he could become a prototypical lead guard in the modern NBA, a scorer who distributes enough.

Still, his torn meniscus hurts. Not only will teams want to know the status of his knee, he’s missing valuable developmental time during the college season. Garland still needs to refine his court vision, and it’d be nice if he clamped down defensively.

It was clear well before Garland enrolled at Vanderbilt he was on the one-and-done track. His injury allows him to drop the pretense of college basketball being a priority.

Report: Grizzlies will listen to trade offers for Marc Gasol, Mike Conley

Associated Press
By Kurt HelinJan 22, 2019, 7:15 PM EST
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Last summer there was a lot of buzz around the league, the Memphis Grizzlies might finally end the grit ‘n grind era, trade their stars and embark on a needed rebuild. But then owner Robert Pera bought out two minority owners and the word quickly came down — forget a rebuild, this was a team that could win 50+ games and would make the playoffs.

After a fast 15-9 start to the season,  Grizzlies have lost six in a row and 12-of-13, having dropped to 14th in the West. Last week, those stars — Marc Gasol and Mike Conley — met with Pera face-to-face.

Now, Memphis considering trading Gasol and Conley, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

There will be interest from other teams, but getting a deal done in the 18 days before the trade deadline will be difficult. Especially considering both Gasol and Conley have huge salaries, and sources have said the Grizzlies have wanted to attach Chandler Parsons — who is owed $25.1 million next season and is almost unplayable — to any trade.

It’s very possible that these talks, especially around Conley, continue into this summer.

Gasol, who has seen his skills decline this season at age 34 (he has a 17.1 PER that is above average but the lowest since his rookie season, and his defense has not been nearly as good as it once was), is expected to opt out of this contract for next season, so any team that trades for him would want a wink-and-a-nod deal that they could re-sign him next summer. Big men are in demand, but will teams give up much for a potential rental?

Conley is a borderline All-Star point guard and a solid defender. Conley is averaging 19.8 points a game, 6.1 assists, is shooting 35.4 percent from three, and has a PER of 20.

Conley is making $30.5 million this season, has a fully guaranteed $32.5 million next season and an early termination option for 2020-21 at $34.5 million, and he will almost certainly not opt out and stay in the contract for that season. Not many teams can take on that much salary, no matter how good Conley is.

Former Kings executive pleads guilty to defrauding team out of $13.4 million

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
Associated PressJan 22, 2019, 6:00 PM EST
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A former top Sacramento Kings executive has pleaded guilty to siphoning $13.4 million from the team to buy Southern California beachfront properties, according to court records.

The records show former chief revenue officer Jeffrey David pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of wire fraud and identity theft. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced April 15.

David was charged last year with forging the team president’s signature to divert sponsorship payments to a bank account he controlled.

Prosecutors say the scheme was uncovered soon after David left the Kings in June and accepted a similar post with the Miami Heat. The Heat said in September that the team and David parted ways..

Carmelo Anthony officially joins Chicago Bulls…for now

By Kurt HelinJan 22, 2019, 4:51 PM EST
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It’s official… but the saga is far from over.

Carmelo Anthony has been traded from the Houston Rockets to the Chicago Bulls in a deal that was first reported yesterday but, due to some technicalities with the draft rights traded, was not finalized until today.

About those cash considerations, it’s $1.57 million dollars to Chicago. After what they owe on the remainder of Anthony’s contract, the Bulls will make about $900,000 for facilitating this trade. The Rockets will save $2.6 million in salary and luxury tax. If/when Anthony signs with another team the Hawks would save money on their buyout of ‘Melo from the summer (his salary would count against what they owe him).

The Bulls don’t even give Anthony top billing in the press release announced they traded for him. Basketball can be a cold business.

Anthony will not suit up for the Bulls. For the next 18 days, Chicago will try to move him in a trade before the Feb. 7 deadline (‘Melo can only be traded one-on-one, his salary cannot be combined with others in a trade because he was just traded). It’s unlikely a trade is found, if there was a good deal out there the Rockets would already have made it.

After that, it is expected ‘Melo would be waived and become a free agent. Which means we’ve got weeks of ‘Melo drama left.

Anthony is reported to have options, but if they were good ones he’d already have taken them. The future Hall of Famer is reported to have felt entitled to more than a bench role in Houston due to his stature, even though his game no longer lives up to that (he has declining offensive skills and he is a defensive liability). In 10 games for the Rockets this season coming off the bench, Anthony averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, shot just 40.5 percent overall and 32.8 percent from three. The Rockets’ defense was 10.4 points per 100 possessions better when Anthony sat at the time he left the active roster. 

The Lakers have been rumored as a potential landing spot, in large part due to Anthony’s friendship with LeBron James. However, sources tell me the Lakers aren’t interested (they have a full 15 man roster and do not see the fit). Would Anthony accept a small role in Los Angeles, because the attacking 3/4 player ‘Melo wants to be is a role currently filled by Kyle Kuzma. The Lakers aren’t taking away Kuzma’s minutes for Anthony, and that would leave ‘Melo, Michael Beasley, and Lance Stevenson sharing a small role off the bench. That doesn’t sound like a situation that makes Anthony happy.

Portland has been rumored, but would Anthony go there and accept a role? Maybe a franchise going all in on the Zion Williamson chase brings him in? A team battling injuries and looking for help?

Some team will grab Anthony after the trade deadline, but where there is a fit remains a mystery.