dk7th wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Stephen A Smith said on first take that he spoke to the family, and Okafor claims one of the three hecklers struck an unnamed teammate, and thats when he started taking them out.

Don't know what happened, the only thing I can really fault him for is being underaged and coming out of a club at 2am. No amount of losing can condone that. Someone who played under coach K should know better. Im sure he will be getting a call from him, not the first time he has called a player when he believes they need some advice.

he seems intoxicated.

I cant tell either way. Smith also said that that Okafor has lost more games in one month than all the games he's played before then going back to grade school. We don't know what happened before they started filming. Pretty sure we wont see something lke this again.

GustavBahler wrote:Stephen A Smith said on first take that he spoke to the family, and Okafor claims one of the three hecklers struck an unnamed teammate, and thats when he started taking them out.

Don't know what happened, the only thing I can really fault him for is being underaged and coming out of a club at 2am. No amount of losing can condone that. Someone who played under coach K should know better. Im sure he will be getting a call from him, not the first time he has called a player when he believes they need some advice.

Yeah, you can bet that coach K tries to reach out to him.

WaltLongmire wrote:More on OK4...a different report about the recent incident and an October incident in a Philadelphia club.

It would seem that OK4 is having issues handling the responsibilities of being a pro in the NBA early in his career.

The $$ and what to do with your free time is always an issue, and he seems to have difficulty dealing with hecklers at this point.

It is only going to get tougher for him as a certain kind of fan is sure to go after him now that a a potential character weakness has been exposed.

philly.com
Okafor also involved in October nightclub incident
Keith Pompey, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Friday, November 27, 2015, 7:48 PM

HOUSTON -- Already at age 19 the face of the 76ers, Jahlil Okafor said being heckled or approached disrespectfully in public doesn't happen often - but we are finding out it does happen.

At 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds, he's usually not hard to spot. And that can lead to some uncomfortable situations for the rookie center, especially playing on a team that hasn't won a game this season.

According to five sources who spoke to The Inquirer independently on condition of anonymity, Thursday morning's incident in Boston was not the first time Okafor has been in an altercation with a heckler while out and about.

At a Philadelphia club in October, sources said that Okafor exchanged words with a heckler while with teammates. As he and his teammates left the club, a source said, the heckler pointed a gun to Okafor's head outside the establishment.

A source said the incident was witnessed by federal officers, but there is no known official report of the incident. Okafor did not want to speak about the situation.

The October incident combined with Thursday morning's fight outside a Boston nightclub shows a pattern that the Sixers and Okafor need to avoid.

Both incidents involved Okafor being in establishments where alcohol was being served. He won't legally be permitted to consume alcohol until he turns 21.

"We can’t put our head under a rug, and play holier than thou," Sixers coach Brett Brown said of the situation. "It’s all part of growing up. And it’s my job to help him. And that part of it, if it’s true, of course, it’s concerning."

Being in places that serve alcohol, lack of team security present and being heckled by fans has proven to be a bad combination. That's especially true when some might view Okafor as an easy target on a Sixers squad that is always ridiculed for its constant losing.

"It doesn't happen often," Okafor said Friday of being heckled. "People are just coming after me, heckling, making fun of me for losing. It's something that I have known I'm in the spotlight.

"I know that there are people like that that try to anger you. I'll never handle it like [he did Thursday morning] again."

In a video obtained and published by TMZ.com, Okafor is seen shouting at several individuals before shoving a man to the ground. He then punched a man who appeared to be the same person he had pushed, knocking that individual to the pavement. Okafor could be heard shouting, "We got money, you broke ass [expletive]."

The incident started because he and teammate Christian Wood, who was present, were being heckled by Boston fans over the Sixers' struggles.

"It was definitely dumb on my part," Okafor said. "It's something that I am embarrassed about."

He added that he was "still dealing with the league and the team. But I'm not happy about it at all. But we are still going through the process of what we are going to do."

The Sixers are still investigating what happened and will deal with things internally with conjunction with the NBA once all the evidence becomes available.

Okafor said he told Brown about the altercation Thursday afternoon when he was boarding the team plane to Houston.

The fight took place outside Storyville Nightclub, in Boston. It occurred hours after the Sixers lost, 84-80, to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Wednesday night. The loss dropped the Sixers to 0-16 and tied the NBA record for consecutive losses with 26, dating back to last season.

After Boston police told The Inquirer on Thursday there would be no investigation, there are reports that it will now pursue the case.

That's because an alleged male victim told police on Friday that he was assaulted outside the Storyville club on Exeter, according to reports. The reports added that the alleged victim said the men approached him and his friends and tried to get several females' phone numbers. The alleged victim believed Okafor to be one of the men. The alleged victim said the two men were unable to get the phone numbers and that's what resulted in the "verbal dispute" than turned violent, according to reports.

However, sources have confirmed that the altercation began after someone outside the nightclub yelled "the 76ers suck" at Okafor. The third overall pick out of Duke acknowledged that losing was starting to get to him a little bit.

"We are all staying together, working extremely hard," he said. "We are coming in every day at shootaround, and we keep coming up a little short. We get close.

"So it does get a little frustrating to hear it all the time that we are 0-and-whatever. So it's definitely frustrating."

Okafor was not suspended from Friday night's game against the Houston Rockets. Sixers coach Brett Brown said the team is still in the fact-gathering process. Once that is complete, they will handle things internally.

Based on their sport science research, the Sixers chose to stay overnight in Boston instead of traveling to Texas immediately after the Celtics game. That's a routine the Sixers won't change even though it gives their young players a night's worth of free time.

"I don't know any professional team that I've been a part of in the NBA that has a curfew," said Brown, a former longtime assistant with the San Antonio Spurs. "We ask them to make responsible decisions. You know, life is filled with pitfalls. You can't put a paddle lock on life.

"He's going to have to, like all of us, navigate through NBA worlds and NBA environments with a level of responsibility."

The organization also wants to take advantage of the resources that are available to him.

Lance Williams in the team's director of security. The Sixers have a car service available for players who want to go out.

"That's part of the education for Jahlil and others," Brown said. "If you choose to go out, of course you know we have Lance Williams. Of course you know we have internal security. Of course you know we will provide an automobile to transport you. We will create an environment to protect our player.

"But they are going to have call upon it from time to time. We can't monitor their every move."

Brown said that he's concerned that under-aged drinking may have played a part of Friday's situation.

He added that the Sixers will learn a lot as the true facts come out.

kpompey@phillynews.com

Philly has made a ton of terrible moves.

If Sixers have known about any of this earlier stuff they should be criticized for not sitting him down a game, even if they did not officially suspend him.

philly.com
SOURCES: Okafor stopped for driving 108 MPH
Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted: Sunday, November 29, 2015, 9:53 AM

MEMPHIS – On the court, Jahlil Okafor had arguably the best start of any of Eastern Conference rookie.

However, his experiences off the court have been far from stellar.

Four sources independently confirmed to The Inquirer the 76ers center was pulled over on the Ben Franklin Bridge around three weeks ago for 108 miles per hour. Anything over 40 m.p.h. is considered reckless driving.

This news come days after it was revealed that Okafor had been involved with two altercations while leaving nightclubs.

The 6-foot-11, 265-pounder had a gun pointed at his head on Oct. 4 near Second and Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Then there was Thursday's early morning fight outside of Storyville Nightclub in south Boston hours after Wednesday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer

crzymdups wrote:I wonder if he's acting out - trying to get traded? This seems like a by-product of The Process, rather than a character flaw with Okafor. He went from playing for one of the best basketball coaches in the country and winning a national championship to playing for a rudderless, terrible team with no leadership.

This is a photo of the bridge.

Talk about the expression "When it rains it pours..."

WaltLongmire wrote:

crzymdups wrote:I wonder if he's acting out - trying to get traded? This seems like a by-product of The Process, rather than a character flaw with Okafor. He went from playing for one of the best basketball coaches in the country and winning a national championship to playing for a rudderless, terrible team with no leadership.

Some Sixer fans on RealGM speculating on the get out of Philly idea, too.

This is a photo of the bridge.

Talk about the expression "When it rains it pours..."

I've driven on that bridge many times. Driving 108mph on that thing is either massive immaturity or the sign of someone with a death wish.

WaltLongmire wrote:All jokes aside- I would try to hook him up with Vin Baker, if Baker would do it... especially if it is learned that OK4 was drinking during the incidents being discussed.

Clearly the Sixer's brass, his teammates, and his father, are not doing a good job with him.

He's now heading into territory where he has to realize that its not about playing ball anymore, but about playing life.

Yeah, he has the signs of someone dealing with major alcoholism at the moment. Vin Baker might be a good idea. I think he owns a Starbucks in Providence, RI now?

mreinman wrote:

crzymdups wrote:I wonder if he's acting out - trying to get traded? This seems like a by-product of The Process, rather than a character flaw with Okafor. He went from playing for one of the best basketball coaches in the country and winning a national championship to playing for a rudderless, terrible team with no leadership.

dude you are a really good poster, one of the best here IMHO but please please don't make excuses for this behavior. He could just have his own issues. Blaming it on "the process" is a cop out.

That situation in Philly is dire. They need to re-think what they are doing to these kids by putting them through the embarrassment of being 0-18 or whatever it is now. Look at the difference with how Minnesota is bringing along Towns and Wiggins and Levine - under the tutelage on court of KG, Prince, Andre Miller, etc.

But you are right - this could be a personal issue. It seems he may be fighting alcoholism or depression or something.

Though you do have to wonder if the circumstances triggered the break down. It's a chicken/egg thing with these things. And I say this as someone who has had two very close friends deal with similar demons.

WaltLongmire wrote:Holy Shyte...

If Sixers have known about any of this earlier stuff they should be criticized for not sitting him down a game, even if they did not officially suspend him.

philly.com
SOURCES: Okafor stopped for driving 108 MPH
Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted: Sunday, November 29, 2015, 9:53 AM

MEMPHIS – On the court, Jahlil Okafor had arguably the best start of any of Eastern Conference rookie.

However, his experiences off the court have been far from stellar.

Four sources independently confirmed to The Inquirer the 76ers center was pulled over on the Ben Franklin Bridge around three weeks ago for 108 miles per hour. Anything over 40 m.p.h. is considered reckless driving.

This news come days after it was revealed that Okafor had been involved with two altercations while leaving nightclubs.

The 6-foot-11, 265-pounder had a gun pointed at his head on Oct. 4 near Second and Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Then there was Thursday's early morning fight outside of Storyville Nightclub in south Boston hours after Wednesday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer

I had no idea that he was this reckless. Throw in that story you posted about Okafor alledgedly hitting on girls who were with guys, this is straying into JR territory.

Okafor might not have gotten off to this bad a start as a pro if he were drafted by the Knicks, but it makes you wonder how he would have reacted the first time he was really tested as a pro, on and off the court.

WaltLongmire wrote:

mreinman wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

mreinman wrote:

crzymdups wrote:I wonder if he's acting out - trying to get traded? This seems like a by-product of The Process, rather than a character flaw with Okafor. He went from playing for one of the best basketball coaches in the country and winning a national championship to playing for a rudderless, terrible team with no leadership.

dude you are a really good poster, one of the best here IMHO but please please don't make excuses for this behavior. He could just have his own issues. Blaming it on "the process" is a cop out.

That situation in Philly is dire. They need to re-think what they are doing to these kids by putting them through the embarrassment of being 0-18 or whatever it is now. Look at the difference with how Minnesota is bringing along Towns and Wiggins and Levine - under the tutelage on court of KG, Prince, Andre Miller, etc.

But you are right - this could be a personal issue. It seems he may be fighting alcoholism or depression or something.

Though you do have to wonder if the circumstances triggered the break down. It's a chicken/egg thing with these things. And I say this as someone who has had two very close friends deal with similar demons.

is 3-15 or 4-14 better than 0-18? Not really. Minny has added vets now but what about the other years? Boston too.

I do think that this summer he will add some of the required pieces and spend some money. I think that this will be the last official tank year.

I would so much rather be 0-18 and get Towns than win a handful of stupid games and get Stein/Mudiay/Kaminsky.

Its more than just going to the Sixers... everything was set up perfectly for him to land in LA with the Lakers, his team when he was younger, from everything I've read. He was a big man...the Lakers have been identified with their big men, and here he was on the board for them.

How many times does the perfect situation unfold for a player being drafted in a process where he has not control over who takes him? James and Cavs is one, but in most cases you don't have the perfect pairing.

He clearly has some character issues which are now being exposed under the pressure and situation he seems to be feeling, and I think it has as much to do with where he did not end up as with where he is right now.