NBA Rumors: Pre-2017 Deadline Trade Buzz on Jahlil Okafor and More

Names get thrown around early and often during the NBA trading season. Some rumors are legitimate, while others prove to be false as the player sticks with his current team.

The rumors surrounding Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor are so loud and numerous, however, that it seems like a matter of "if" and not "when" he gets traded before Thursday's deadline at 3 p.m. ET.

Below you'll find the latest trade rumors surrounding Okafor as well as Utah Jazz power forward Derrick Favors and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Shabazz Muhammad.

Jahlil Okafor

David Aldridge of TNT reported that an Okafor trade is inevitable. Here are his comments, via CSN Philly:

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Appearing on NBA TV Tuesday night, NBA.com's David Aldridge said Okafor "will get moved by Thursday."

Aldridge, who said the Sixers have "a lot of offers to sift through," mentioned the Pacers and Kings as potential landing spots.

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Sacramento would make a lot of sense, as the team is clearly in rebuilding mode following the trade of franchise cornerstone DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans, and it may look to grab as many younger assets as possible to see what works.

Indiana already has a center in 20-year-old Myles Turner, who has done well this year (15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game), so a move there seems less likely.

However, the Pacers have lost six straight games and are in danger of missing the postseason, so they may be desperate to get something done before the deadline.

Derrick Favors

Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reported that Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors could be on the move. If not this week, then it's a possibility in the offseason.

Lowe wrote:

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They've tested the market for Derrick Favors over the last few weeks, according to several league sources; Favors hasn't been quite the same since coming back from injury, and Utah plays Favors and Rudy Gobert together for only 10 or 12 minutes per game.

Utah's seriousness on Favors is unclear; they are mum as usual, and they don't want to weaken their team ahead of the playoffs with [Gordon] Hayward heading to free agency. Favors is still an important player. They could be testing the market ahead of a trade around the draft.

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Favors is not having a good season due to injury. He has missed 17 of 57 games, and he's averaging 9.2 points and 6.1 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game.

However, the Utah Jazz are only 9-8 without Favors (and 26-14 when he plays). If he manages to stay on the court more often than not in these last few months, then the Jazz could vie for homecourt advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs (currently they are only a half game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth spot in the West).

As Lowe said, Favors is still important to this team. If he moves this year, it will likely be in the offseason.

Shabazz Muhammad

The best bench player in the NBA, Lou Williams, has been traded to the Houston Rockets, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

That means teams looking for bench help need to go elsewhere. The Washington Wizards, who don't have a reserve averaging more than seven points a game, need to find some help to add scoring to the second unit.

Marc Stein of ESPN reported that Washington has looked at Muhammad as a possible answer:

Muhammad averages 9.4 points per game in just 19.6 minutes per night. He is also shooting 41 percent from three-point range. The 24-year-old is basically instant offense off the bench.

The move makes too much sense. The Wizards need energy and scoring from anyone outside their starting five, and Muhammad shouldn't come at a steep asking price.