After Gorgui Dieng suffered a hand injury on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, the expectations were the Atlanta Hawks will be keeping Jahlil Okafor to back up John Collins at center. However, it seems Nate McMillan and Co. have other plans after the team waived the former lottery pick on Monday.
Okafor, the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Hawks last September. While he has not really impressed during the preseason, Okafor has undoubtedly played better than his competition for the final roster spot in Timothe Luwawau-Cabarrot.
With that said, it came as a bit of a shock when the Hawks decided to cut Okafor.
Roster Update: We have requested waivers on center Jahlil Okafor.
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 11, 2021
It remains to be seen what the Hawks will do with their roster, but the removal of Jahlil Okafor seems to hint that Gorgui Dieng's injury is not serious and that he'll likely serve as the backup of John Collins in 2021-22.
As for Okafor, it marks another setback in what has been a disappointing career so far. There were high expectations on him when he started hot with the Philadelphia 76ers, even finishing his first year as a Top 5 finalist for Rookie of the Year. However, injuries hindered his improvement until he fell out of the Sixers' rotation and traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
He never had the same opportunity he had in his rookie year, and now, he'll be searching for a new team willing to gamble on him and give him a chance.
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