Yeah, I don't mean this in an offensive way at all but based on those statements I can tell you're pretty unfamiliar with his game. He's a great rim protector... in that sense, to me blocked shots have become very overrated. For example, DeAndre Jordan is a fantastic shot blocker, but as a rim protector he's very average... he doesn't defend well in space. Gets the good-looking plays but doesn't always rotate properly or use his body defensively. He allows the same shooting percentage at the rim as David Lee, who I think many here would agree is a terrible interior defender.
Okafor is one of those guys, kind of like Al Horford (and a good comparison defensively would be Jason Collins of about 10-12 years ago). He doesn't block a ton of shots, but he alters tons of them and defends the post exceptionally well. It's almost an intangible thing, but every team he's been a part of gets almost magically better defensively when he is on the floor... there isn't really a stat for that, but he is smart, has good footwork, rarely gets caught out of position and stays active even if/when he isn't going to be able to make an attempt at a block. He's basically a shorter, slightly more agile version of Hibbert that takes better shots, finishes better inside, and rebounds a lot better.
If Okafor was fully healthy, he'd probably be my #1 free agent, assuming you don't get any of the superstars that are potentially on the market this summer. I'm guessing he'll sign a one-year deal with a team that can offer him the most playing time so he can show that he's fully recovered from his injury. I'd love for the Mavs to get him on that one-year deal to see what he's got left... if he isn't going to be the same player again, we can always waive or trade him near the deadline for long-term deals, and if he's fully recovered, I'd love to keep him around past next year.
I cannot
ing wait for the off-season.