NBA notebook: Pelicans plan to retain Okafor
The New Orleans Pelicans will sign center Emeka Okafor for the remainder of the season, according to multiple media reports.
Okafor, the 35-year-old former No. 2 overall draft pick in 2004, signed two 10-day contracts with New Orleans since joining the Pelicans on Feb. 3.
The 6-foot-10, 255-pound center has averaged 3.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 16.2 minutes in six games with the Pelicans. He had not played in the NBA since 2013 prior to signing his first 10-day contract with the Pelicans.
--Veteran power forward Ersan Ilyasova was waived by the Atlanta Hawks, the team announced. Ilyasova reportedly agreed to a contract buyout prior to the transaction.
The 30-year-old reportedly plans to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, the franchise that traded him to Atlanta in February 2017.
Ilyasova averaged 10.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 46 games (40 starts) for the Hawks this season. Overall, Ilyasova has career averages of 10.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 655 NBA games over 10 seasons.
--Asher Raphael, a wealthy Philadelphia 76ers fan, is starting a campaign to convince LeBron James to sign with his favorite team by paying for three billboards on Interstate 480, within 10 miles of Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The first sign features a red 23 with a crown on a diagram of a court, along with the four numbers of current 76ers starters Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Robert Covington. The second reads "Complete The Process," a reference to patience-promoting slogan popularized during former general manager Sam Hinkie's tenure, touting the value of intentional short-term failure in exchange for a long-term success. And the final billboard reads "#PhillyWantsLeBron."
--Toronto Raptors star DeMar DeRozan publicly discussed his long battle with depression and anxiety in an interview with the Toronto Star.
"It's not nothing I'm against or ashamed of," DeRozan told the Star. "Now, at my age (28), I understand how many people go through it. Even if it's just somebody can look at it like, 'He goes through it and he's still out there being successful and doing this,' I'm OK with that."
--Field Level Media
