Kline addresses the jinx:
It’s really tough to tell just how well or poorly Bryan Colangelo handled the whole Okafor ordeal. Obviously the goal should have been to trade him as soon as possible, but teams were likely throwing a bunch of low-ball offers in Philly’s direction. His stock was low enough to where a second round pick would have made me happy, but holding out and getting a legitimate contributor like Trevor Booker wasn’t the worst result.
The only issue with holding out was the negative media coverage. People in the national media and players around the league ignored just how bad Okafor was last season and started calling for his release, as if the Sixers were holding a top-flight talent hostage.
As a former No. 3 pick and someone who handled a bad situation well, Okafor deserved a chance to play somewhere else — that doesn’t mean he showed anything remotely close to a reliable, everyday skill set during his time in Philly. It would’ve been nice to get him out of a Sixers uniform sooner than B.C. did, but all is well and best of luck to Jah as he looks for success in Brooklyn.
As for a rookie jinx, I’m not one to buy into superstitions and stuff of that sort. There’s a good chance that the Sixers didn’t need to keep Ben Simmons out for the entire season last year, but did so because there was no benefit to getting him back on the court that season. Simmons’ injury was a freak accident as well. He broke his foot in practice, so it wasn’t as if there were any longstanding injury concerns prior, nor are there any concerns moving forward.
Embiid’s injury was something everyone knew about on draft night. He wasn’t supposed to miss two years, but the Sixers knew it’d be at least one season before he got on the floor. They also knew they were drafting a 7-footer with foot and back issues, which again, brings some level of inherent risk regardless of how healthy a player is at one given moment in time.
Fultz’s is the oddest one out of the three. We still don’t know when exactly he started feeling shoulder pain, and the Sixers’ attempt to play him through that pain was even weirder. Expectations are different this year than they have been in years past, but Philly always preached caution with Simmons and Embiid. Their decision to roll with Fultz when he was physically incapable of sustaining his normal shooting mechanics was downright baffling.