Isaac 3 & D Okoro - A Two Way Playing Basketball Savant

[WorldWideWoe]

I think if his shooting plateaued at his current levels I don't think that's a problem. He's a willing shooter and eventually teams will start staying home if he keeps it up. For me his next step has always been about his dribble drive game. Can he find ways to punish smaller defenders? Can he get to the line a little more? He's starting being more assertive as the season has gone on and I think that's his next layer of growth.

He's awfully mechanical with the ball in his hands, with his Eurostep as his only move. Everything he does on offense jumps out to me as something a coach has drilled into him hundreds of times. That's not necessarily bad. Summer League where they had him handling the ball was a disaster.

In other words, he's never shown any creativity or fluidity. That's not a death sentence. Kawhi Leonard was very similar so it's possible. I just think it less likely to develop. He's a great worker so I hope he gets there.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

I thought they should have locked him up for 12-13per last offseason. Slightly more than a Cedi deal.

It was reported he was offered 12 and he didn't take it. I was ok with them not giving hi 15, but it might be more than that now

I think they watched a guy in the Knicks series that had to be taken off the floor because of how NY was defending him and were hesitant to pay him because of it, which is pretty understandable. You can’t really pay a guy $15M+/year if you aren’t convinced he’s able to stay on the floor.

The extension Hart just got starts at $18M/year. That would seem like the absolute ceiling for any deal for Okoro. $15M seems about right to me. Will be interesting to see. I can’t really see any of the cap space teams wanting to tie up money by making an offer to Okoro. I think Philly would maybe be the main threat depending on how their offseason goes as Okoro would be a good player to pair with Maxey.

 

[AustinCarr]

I think they watched a guy in the Knicks series that had to be taken off the floor because of how NY was defending him and were hesitant to pay him because of it, which is pretty understandable. You can’t really pay a guy $15M+/year if you aren’t convinced he’s able to stay on the floor.

The extension Hart just got starts at $18M/year. That would seem like the absolute ceiling for any deal for Okoro. $15M seems about right to me. Will be interesting to see. I can’t really see any of the cap space teams wanting to tie up money by making an offer to Okoro. I think Philly would maybe be the main threat depending on how their offseason goes as Okoro would be a good player to pair with Maxey.

I'm expecting a Strus-style deal at this point. Something in the 4-year 62-68 million range.

 

[shoes22]

I'm expecting a Strus-style deal at this point. Something in the 4-year 62-68 million range.

That seems fair. The Cavs will be a tax team next year if they sign Okoro to this kind of contract though, unless they trade LeVert.

 

[Muffinalt]

I think they watched a guy in the Knicks series that had to be taken off the floor because of how NY was defending him and were hesitant to pay him because of it, which is pretty understandable. You can’t really pay a guy $15M+/year if you aren’t convinced he’s able to stay on the floor.

The extension Hart just got starts at $18M/year. That would seem like the absolute ceiling for any deal for Okoro. $15M seems about right to me. Will be interesting to see. I can’t really see any of the cap space teams wanting to tie up money by making an offer to Okoro. I think Philly would maybe be the main threat depending on how their offseason goes as Okoro would be a good player to pair with Maxey.

I'm thinking Sacramento could make a play. He's the player they really need in their starting lineup next to Fox.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

I'm thinking Sacramento could make a play. He's the player they really need in their starting lineup next to Fox.

They won’t have the money to sign him to that kind of an offer sheet.

If they want to S&T him for Keegan Murray, I will oblige. Lol

 

[AustinCarr]

That seems fair. The Cavs will be a tax team next year if they sign Okoro to this kind of contract though, unless they trade LeVert.

I can t see a world where they don't enter into the tax starting next season unless they choose to blow this thing up. Or they choose to consolidate, which is something I think they should explore (Depending on Mitchell contract). If they could make Garland and Mobley into a single/better Max contract player, it could ease a lot of the concerns of the financials.

 

[Muffinalt]

They won’t have the money to sign him to that kind of an offer sheet.

If they want to S&T him for Keegan Murray, I will oblige. Lol

Yeah, it would need to be a trade. Keegan unironically is someone I would love but he's DG/ Mobley territory.

Sac has some pieces im sure they would move for Ice. Huerter, Barnes etc. We shouldnt trade Okoro for those levels, but im interested if a potential 3 way (or however it would work to be CBA compliant) would manifest?

Say we think Okoro's ask is too high, but have identified a taller wing, that could be a 3 way somehow.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

Yeah, it would need to be a trade. Keegan unironically is someone I would love but he's DG/ Mobley territory.

Sac has some pieces im sure they would move for Ice. Huerter, Barnes etc. We shouldnt trade Okoro for those levels, but im interested if a potential 3 way (or however it would work to be CBA compliant) would manifest?

Say we think Okoro's ask is too high, but have identified a taller wing, that could be a 3 way somehow.

Not to derail the ICE thread, but in an S&T scenario with the Kings I could see something like Okoro + Niang for Huerter + Lyles making sense for both sides.

 

[AustinCarr]

If I am being honest right now (Recency bias and all), Okoro is getting to the point where he is nearing being a part of the "core" in the same way McDaniels is part of the TWolves core. I'm not sure i'd be comfortable with a McDaniels deal, but something in the 18 Mill range seems about right for the player that he has been since the DG/Mobley injuries. Teams would really pony up for the Cavs to not match.

 

[2 For The Brew]

I think they watched a guy in the Knicks series that had to be taken off the floor because of how NY was defending him and were hesitant to pay him because of it, which is pretty understandable. You can’t really pay a guy $15M+/year if you aren’t convinced he’s able to stay on the floor.

The extension Hart just got starts at $18M/year. That would seem like the absolute ceiling for any deal for Okoro. $15M seems about right to me. Will be interesting to see. I can’t really see any of the cap space teams wanting to tie up money by making an offer to Okoro. I think Philly would maybe be the main threat depending on how their offseason goes as Okoro would be a good player to pair with Maxey.

I hadn’t thought of Ice to Philly (because I desperately want him to stay in Cleveland) but Okoro in Philly makes a ton of sense. He would fit perfectly with Maxey and Embiid.

The problem is Philly doesn’t have assets. The only guy they have under contract next year is Embiid although Maxey will definitely get a max contract. I think they’ll also bring back Buddy Hield. The Sixers have nothing to trade for Ice except draft picks and those would be high risk of lower FRPs.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

I hadn’t thought of Ice to Philly (because I desperately want him to stay in Cleveland) but Okoro in Philly makes a ton of sense. He would fit perfectly with Maxey and Embiid.

The problem is Philly doesn’t have assets. The only guy they have under contract next year is Embiid although Maxey will definitely get a max contract. I think they’ll also bring back Buddy Hield. The Sixers have nothing to trade for Ice except draft picks and those would be high risk of lower FRPs.

They would have cap space

 

[2 For The Brew]

They would have cap space

Okoro is an RFA so Cavaliers could match. I also think Morey would prefer to use cap space on a max or close to max player.

 

[wuck]

Consistently entertaining tonight to watch Okoro shut down Edwards and virtually everyone he was switched onto when Edwards was able to got free from him. Made Conley and others look feeble at times.

Okoro looks very frustrated when he gets caught on a screen and can't quite get back to his main assignment yet then shifts smoothly to team defensive mode.

 

[Kouki]

I am overall disappointed by Okoro's progress and I had high hopes for him pre-draft, and wanted the Cavs to draft him. He has some big flaws in his game and even the areas where people say he is good (transition scoring) are really not THAT good.

THAT BEING SAID...I still have hope for him, and sure he doesn't have the ceiling that Mobley does just because of his measurables for his position (or lack thereof). But it sure seems like a lot of people cut Mobley a break..."it takes him time to adjust every season"..."give him 30 games"...and forget that Okoro is the exact same way, and Okoro is only ~5 months older than Mobley. (granted the extra year of NBA experience partially negates the age similarity...or maybe not because is our coaching staff capable of developing players? Not so sure)

Pre- and post- All Star break numbers:


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And if you plot these sequentially, it's pretty evident that Okoro is a "two steps forward, one step back" guy like you would probably expect out of most young players. Think of the red lines as "in-season improvement" and the yellow lines as "off-season forgetting how to play basketball."

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The 3PT% is particularly interesting, of course he is a low-volume shooter so hard to take too much away from this. But in terms of "has it finally clicked for Okoro or is this just another flash in the pan"...this is a pretty optimistic piece of data. If he has his same mid-season bump he's had the last couple of years...

Hmmmm