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Report: Pacers interested in Jahlil Okafor

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The Indiana Pacers are determined to recruit reinforcements for Paul George ahead of the trade deadline, and that's led them to pursue Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor, sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

The Pacers are offering a first-round pick in search of a veteran, sources told ESPN's Chris Haynes, who adds that Indiana wants a wing or a frontline player.

Okafor, meanwhile, is a gifted low-post scorer with slow feet who struggles to defend.

It's no great secret that the Sixers are desperate to dump Okafor. They have already been left holding the bag twice - first by Portland before the Mason Plumlee trade, then by New Orleans, which snagged DeMarcus Cousins at an outrageous discount.

The 21-year-old Okafor was the No. 3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He averaged 17.5 points and seven rebounds as a rookie, but playing time has been hard to come by with Nerlens Noel returning to full strength and Joel Embiid emerging as the Sixers' star center of the future.

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