This is all true. On the other hand, the Sixers also needed someone to create their own shot - they had even less playmaking than the Celtics did. And yet, Okafor was still a huge negative for them even offensively (by the plus/minus metrics). This isn't taking Okafor off a context where he wasn't asked to create a shot - he was asked to do that before, and it didn't lead to good results.Isn't the case for Okafor that he, unlike most other Celtics, can get and make his own shot inside and from mid range? A decent post game isn't as valuable as it was in the past century, but it's not useless either. Aside from Thomas and Rozier (probably), what other Celtic has the capacity to create their own shot in 2016-2017? Horford, Olynyk, Crowder, Smart and Bradley are complementary players, not creators. Brown might in a year or two, but I doubt that anyone would count on the game slowing down for a 19-year-old rookie.
This is all reasonable. I agree Okafor has a lot of room to grow still. I don't think he'll ever be a good defender, and I'd be surprised if he ever got to average, but his offensive game can still develop if he becomes a better passer for instance. I don't think he's hopeless as a prospect. I just don't think we can assume he's going to be any kind of offensive help in the short term.Granted that Okafor's numbers from his rookie year were either disappointing or awful, but that's why he's on the market at a cheap price. The tools haven't gone away, and plenty of NBA big men had awful rookie seasons before they figured it out, or got teammates who could play to their strengths. Nowitzki was a rookie bust, but ended up the most accomplished player in a deep draft.