Well you're right that Petrie puts an emphasis on getting big men who can pass and shoot, but there's more than one way to win a game of basketball. For years we've been a jumpshot dependent team, dominant when the shots are falling but prone to slumps of bad shooting nights. We keep saying we need a post scorer to balance the scoring load, and also to draw attention to the interior and help create open shots. If you remember that one series when we looked really good against San Antonio in the playoffs it was primarily Bonzi and Ron taking the ball into the post. Okafor is a post scorer as well as a rebounder and an interior defender. In other words, he represents everything that this team, as presently constructed, currently lacks.
At 6'10" his natural position is PF not C. He's played C in Charlotte because the other big men they've had are Primoz Brezec and Nazr Mohammed. Remember they also played Gerald Wallace at PF for two seasons, the same guy we drafted as a SG. Not every PF in the league has to have an outside jump shot. Considering we already have Hawes and Thompson who both can shoot the outside jumper, doesn't it make sense to fill out the front line with a low post scorer instead of another jump shooter? On top of that, he'd instantly be the best defender on our team and he's only 25 years old so he fits with the youth movement. And it's way premature to pencil Thompson and Hawes in as the starters of the future. Neither one projects as a star in the league (based on their draft position) and Thompson hasn't even played a game yet. Even best case scenario it's not unreasonable that one of them ends up a key bench guy. Okafor is a genuine starter right now and one of the best rebounders and defenders in the game.
And regarding the passing ability, I think it's a little unfair to look at a guy's assists statistics and say he can't pass. Who thought of Brad Miller as a passer before he got to Sacramento? I think coaching certainly plays a role here as well as the other players on the team and style of play. The Bobcats have had terrible coaching. I bet Okafor is probably a better passer than he ever gets a chance to show in Charlotte. And even if he's not, all he has to do is pass out of double teams. He doesn't necessarily need to nail behind the back bounce passes like Vlade and Chris to be effective in a passing offense. The only glaring weakness I see is his free throw shooting, but there's a long line of effective big men who can't shoot free throws as well as guys who have improved over time. I wouldn't call that a deal breaker, particularly when you're not going to count on him to be a primary scorer anyway.
When all those contracts do expire, whether it's after this season or the next, the only guy with a long term deal will be Kevin Martin. With Brad and Bibby and Ron gone, we'll need to find star players somewhere to fill those roles and we're going to have to pay them. 12 million per is decent money for a starting big man in this league. Especially one who fills so many holes. And there'd still be more than enough money to make a max offer to whichever superstar player we want to target in 2010. It looks like a pretty good fit to me. I don't know if the logistics work out (might not have cap space in '09, Charlotte might want a sign and trade and we have nothing to offer them) but if we're just talking about talent here, Okafor would immediately make me a lot more optimistic about the future of this team.
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