Fort Wayne Mad Ants Add Frontcourt Depth Following Jahlil Okafor’s Pacers Deal

The Mad Ants have added some depth now that their starting center is with the Pacers.

Mar 9, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Xavier Musketeers forward Jack Nunge (24) is fouled as he drives to the basket by DePaul Blue Demons forward Yor Anei (10) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants lost one of their best frontcourt players recently. The Indiana Pacers decided to promote Jahlil Okafor to the roster to give them some more depth at center with Myles Turner out until after the All-Star break.

In fact, Okafor got his first NBA action since 2021 on Tuesday when he got in at the end of the Pacers' loss against the Knicks. He will be with the Pacers most likely till the end of the year.

Now, the Mad Ants have to figure out how to proceed with their own season. Okafor was averaging 18.6 points, nine rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game with the Mad Ants.

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In order to replace Okafor, the Mad Ants needed to pick up another center to make up for the points and rebonds that they are losing with his production.

Fort Wayne decided to sign Yor Anei from the player pool available to them. Anei had previously played with the Wisconsin Herd this year.

Anei is someone that the Mad Ants will need to have him produce if they want to keep winning games. Right now, they are fifth in the East in the G League standings.

The Pacers are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference standings right now, so both franchises are in a pretty similar spot. The difference with the Mad Ants is that they have to give up players to the Pacers, not vice versa.

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For the Mad Ants to succeed in the playoffs, they are going to need Anei to help them. Defensively, he should be an upgrade over Okafor because of his size.

Okafor is not a rim protector. At least Anei can use his length to protect the rim better than Okafor was able to in the G League.

It's unlikely that Okafor will last in the NBA after this season. There's a chance he could be back in Fort Wayne once this year is done.

Anei has averaged 4.4 points, 2.1 assists, and 0.3 assists this season in the G League.

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