Jahlil Okafor has not exactly been the best young player since arriving in the NBA. He had a good start to his rookie season with the 76ers before a knee injury sidelined him. Ever since, he's been the subject of multiple trade rumors and has been yanked into and out of the rotation with no clear message of what his future holds in Philly.

With Tuesday being the final day to make a decision on Okafor's fourth-year option, he was once again involved in trade rumors as the team reportedly explored moving him. Eventually, Philadelphia decided to decline his option and make him a free agent at the end of the season. Turns out, this is something Okafor wanted.

"I was fine with that. I honestly didn't want them to pick up my option. I've been going through a lot since I've been here, so the fact that I know at the end of the season that I'll have at least an opportunity to play elsewhere, that's great. Now I'm just in a position to where, how can I get on the court? That's not happening here and I want to play." 

So far this season, Okafor has played in just one game. Philadelphia has placed the former No. 3 overall pick on the bench where he can't play, raise his trade value or really accomplish anything. The only thing Okafor has is his potential as a former high draft pick. There is nothing to gain from keeping him on a team that clearly doesn't plan on using him. Yet, they refuse to buy him out in exploration of a trade.

It makes sense for the Sixers to explore a return on their disgruntled big man, but what is Philadelphia really trying to gain from this? Does it want a first-round pick? A young asset? A starting-caliber veteran? This is not the current value of Okafor and that is something the 76ers have done to themselves. At every step of the way throughout Okafor's process, they have constantly sunk their own asset's trade value.

The season of three bigs

Everybody knew the fit was going to be awkward when Okafor, Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel all had a season where they were healthy. That came to a head last season, Okafor's second, after he'd averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds a game as a rookie. Embiid came in and immediately looked like he was worth every bit of hype that came when he was drafted. He quickly became the established star, leaving Noel and Okafor as the odd two out. There was potential to try playing one of them with Embiid, but the team definitely couldn't keep all three together.

The problem doubled because none of them were consistently available. Their knee injuries led to plenty of rest time. By the time Noel was traded at the deadline, he and Okafor were essentially only seeing minutes when Embiid wasn't. But Okafor and Embiid both finished the season injured, making any attempt at building chemistry null.

To trade, or not to trade

The peak of drama with Okafor came at a point last season when the Sixers told Okafor to stay home during a road trip because they expected to trade him at some point soon. They never traded him. Okafor then had to re-join the team while the Sixers moved Noel at the deadline instead.

If it wasn't already, that series of events made clear that Philadelphia wanted to move Okafor. The 76ers didn't have a place for him and they had their star of the future in Embiid. Okafor was always involved in rumors, but by committing to a trade that then fell apart, they all but confirmed their desire to trade him. What should have happened is Philly finding a way to move him at the deadline at all costs, but since it didn't his value in trades fell even further. The Sixers were quickly losing leverage.

Brett Brown says the team wants to move Okafor

While it was no secret the Sixers wanted to move Okafor, teams typically don't tell the entire world of their desire to move a player. In September before the 2017-18 season even started, 76ers coach Brett Brown told media that Philadelphia was seeing what was out there for Okafor. In a public setting hetold the world they were trying to trade him.

Why do this? They're entering a season with Okafor on the roster and already he's been thrown to the trade block. If it's such a burden having Okafor around then just get it over with and trade him. Stop holding out for more.

Okafor benched

Perhaps the Sixers' plan was to let Okafor get minutes, play well and work up the value he had lost over the last few months. If that was the case, then they abandoned it quickly and put him at the end of the bench. Again, Okafor has played in one game all season. Brown admitted to him being out of the rotation.

"I'm playing Amir (Johnson) ahead of him and that's just the situation," Brown said. "[Okafor] doesn't let people know. He comes in and his head's good and his spirit's good. And he and I talk all the time, but that is the bottom line. He is not in the rotation."

via Yahoo! Sports 

So the Sixers are holding out for more value on a player they refuse to play in the rotation. They've declined to pick up Okafor's option, he approaches the team with a buyout solution and yet Philadelphia tells him it doesn't want to lose him for nothing. What's odd is Philly is already getting nothing out of him. 

There is no gain for the Sixers right now. Okafor provides nothing off the floor. Every minute he doesn't play further hurts his trade value and Philadelphia isn't even sure if it wants to give him the luxury of a buyout. Since the Sixers didn't pick up his option, any team that does trade for Okafor could lose him at the end of the season. What is the gain in all of this? Is the end goal a trade deadline deal for minimal return? Okafor has handled this professionally, but he still can't get out of what is an awful situation for his own career.

"I tried to do everything the right way," Okafor said. "I tried to be professional; I will continue to be professional. But at some point, I have to defend myself, and this is my career. I'm not sure if [Colangelo] cares about that. I think that's evident at this point."  

via Philly.com

The Sixers need to eat the money and buy Okafor out. If they don't want to do that then just trade him for the best available deal at the moment. Put an end to this ridiculous saga and separate the two sides. It's the best available solution for everybody involved.