Onyeka Okongwu could help the Cleveland Cavaliers from the jump if they were to select him in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will enter this October’s NBA Draft very likely with all but a lock to indeed hold a top five selection, albeit they are guaranteed to have a top six selection.
The team and general manager Koby Altman will then proceed to have the unique task of adding to a budding young team that has some solid veterans and overall players on the roster as well in the form of players such as Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr., Kevin Love and Andre Drummond. Drummond fully intends to pick up his $28.8 million player option for next season, so he projects as a key piece for next season.
In terms of the upcoming crop of prospects, though, one of my favorite overall players in the 2020 NBA Draft is easily USC’s Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu is a relatively undersized player for his likely future NBA position as an NBA big/likely mostly a 5 at 6-foot-9, but certainly makes up for it with his length, leaping ability,and all-around playmaking ability.
He is one of the most dynamic players in this draft and consistently flashed excellent all-around play in pretty much every facet of the game during his time at the University of Southern California. He came away averaging an impressive 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 1.2 steals and 1.1 assists per outing, and while it’s uncertain if Okongwu can develop into a three-point shooting threat, he should still be able to affect games in a variety of ways early on.
Experts and analysts alike all agree he appears to be (in a sense) an even younger version of the already young All-Star Miami Heat big man, Bam Adebayo.
Their comparisons are well-warranted in my eyes, given that Adebayo is also relatively undersized often at the 5 (also 6-foot-9) but is exceptionally unique in that he is an excellent playmaker for both himself and others, as evidenced by him currently averaging 5.1 assists per game in 2019-20 as a 4/5. He has proven to be one of the better all-around defenders in the world as well.
From the Okongwu perspective, here, we’ll highlight three potential lineups the Cleveland Cavaliers could utilize involving the USC product.
Let’s kick it off with a good one.
Cleveland Cavaliers potential lineup #1 involving Okongwu: Darius Garland-Porter-Alfonzo McKinnie-Larry Nance Jr.-Okongwu
This lineup, which is predicated on athleticism and would feature plenty of pieces that are above-the-rim-level type players, could easily work quite well for a number of reasons this upcoming season. That’s again if the Cavaliers do indeed select Onyeka Okongwu with their first-round selection in the 2020 NBA Draft. Darius Garland, despite by advanced statistics being already largely deemed a bad player, is a gifted young facilitator and creator in both the pick-and-roll and in transition.
Garland has great touch and showcased that at times, even with his struggles to open up the season, and for context, his prior meniscus injury in college at Vanderbilt did reportedly play into his struggles and/or seemingly a lack of scoring aggression.
He hypothetically will continue to have potential to fit great as both an on-ball and off-ball player in this potential lineup as well next to fellow second-year player, Kevin Porter Jr.
He is just as capable next to Garland in this particular backcourt and lineup because of how much of a high flyer and dynamic playmaker, to go with shot creator/driver he is.
Alfonzo McKinnie probably comes off as a unique decision to incorporate into this lineup but he is really just a solid role player at this moment that fits decently well enough, and is a good finisher/cutter.
McKinnie is capable of living above the rim at times and defending the perimeter at a competent enough level to where he can fit well here, even with the fact that he almost certainly must improve his three-point shooting percentage to do so.
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He is coming off a career-low 21.5 percent from there, although he averaged a 35.6 percent hit rate from deep as a member of the Golden State Warriors. Granted, that was a different situation, but it could pay off for him to be more efficient from the corner, at least.
Larry Nance Jr.’s inclusion in this particular lineup suggestion likely need not be explained, given there is a legitimate argument that he was robbed in the 2018 NBA Dunk Contest by Donovan Mitchell, and that he is truly one of the best dunkers in the entire world.
Plus, Nance is fresh off a career-high in points per game with 10.1 in 2019-20, and he is becoming a well-rounded offensive player, and hit a career-best 35.2 percent from three-point range this now-past season for the Cavs.
Meanwhile, Onkeya Okongwu will fit in many lineups going forward depending on the team that selects him, and in the scenario that that team is indeed the Cleveland Cavaliers, he absolutely fits great next to fellow dynamic athletes.
Okongwu projects to be a solid passer in the NBA, similar to Bam Adebayo on the Heat this past season as well mentioned, and thus his playmaking and all-around ability allows him to mesh really well in this particular potential lineup.
Okongwu in the NBA should have a different level of passing metrics, and with feasibly more opportunity to do so, his 1.1-2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in college won’t be indicative of his passing feel. Garland, KPJ and Nance as spot-up threats would help in that regard, too.
Cleveland Cavaliers potential lineup #2 involving Okongwu: Garland-Sexton-Porter-Nance-Okongwu
This lineup is one that the Cavaliers may absolutely opt for if they do indeed go all-in on their young players. There have been some random, assorted rumors of the Cavaliers interest in packaging some of their players for a solid, yet acquirable, premier young player, so this lineup could feasibly very well look quite different by next season depending on their final roster.
In the scenario that the Cavaliers decide to go all-in on their younger talent and do indeed select USC’s Onyeka Okongwu, the lineup that may be most prevalent for the Cavaliers will likely be as listed above. The team still is appearing to be quite determined to make the Darius Garland-Collin Sexton backcourt work moving forward.
In this lineup, both Sexton and Garland must certainly work to improve on their individual and team defense as the Cavaliers are clearly playing small in a sense as well here with Nance Jr. at the 4 and Okongwu at the 5.
The extended offseason should do wonders for both of the young players and should allow the two to come into the season with all the confidence in the world that they can continue to take their games to the next level. The success of this lineup would largely come from the fluidity by which they can potentially work together, and Sexton, who led Cleveland with 20.8 points per game in 2019-20, of course, could still fill it up in this case.
Nance Jr. and Okongwu are both very capable passers for their positions and Okongwu only appears to have the potential to get better and better in that department as he is surrounded by NBA talent and athleticism. Porter Jr. is already an underrated playmaker, and had a 17.1 percent assist rate in his last 12 games active of 2019-20, and has flashed plenty of shot-creating and making off-the-bounce, and would thrive in a lineup like this one.
Sexton’s scoring ability was lifted to an arguably elite level in the shortened 2019-20 campaign for the Cavaliers in the 2020 portion of the schedule, and he will almost certainly be expected at this point to be one of the main scoring options again for the team in any lineup the Cavaliers put out this upcoming season.
This lineup could potentially find its way to be at least the majority of the Cavaliers future, in a sense, too, and as such, is one of the more unique lineups that could feature potential 2020 NBA Draft selection, Onyeka Okongwu.
Potential Cleveland Cavaliers lineup #3 involving Okongwu: Sexton-Porter-Cedi Osman-Okongwu-Drummond
The Cleveland Cavaliers are unfortunately presently lacking in the two-way, defensive-minded player area. The draft selection of Okungwu at the very least brings a unique defensive-minded player that fits in a bevy of lineups because of how all-around his game actually is, when factoring in his switchability, team defensive feel and post/finishing polish offensively.
Collin Sexton is an improving defender, albeit mostly grades out to be poor in that area. He presently is likely the Cavaliers’ best option for success in this lineup given how strong his scoring ability is and continues to be. Collin is deceivingly long and incredibly bouncy for his height (listed at 6-foot-1) and thus theoretically would fit great in a bigger, athletic and defensive-first lineup such as this one.
Porter Jr. is more of the same in a sense and continues to project to be a solid two-way player in the NBA.
He has every tool to be an impressive and solid defender, and it truly is a matter of him simply putting it together on that end of the floor as well on a consistent basis. His 1.4 steals per-36 minutes as a rookie were promising, though, but similarly to Collin, he too should thrive in a bigger, athletic lineup like this one.
Cedi Osman is not necessarily ever going to be an elite defender in the NBA, that’s obvious, but he is still growing in that area nonetheless in his young career.
The presence of big men like Okongwu and Drummond down low should also thoroughly help Cedi and could allow him to blossom into a capable two-way player in the NBA. Osman could help in this lineup as a capable secondary playmaker and floor spacer, too, as he hit 38.3 percent of his deep attempts in his third season.
Okongwu and Drummond as a frontcourt would be the preferred defensive lineup decision simply because of how versatile Okongwu presents to be as an overall player on both ends of the floor and how capable Drummond has been as an interior defensive presence in the past and in his overall career, with 1.6 blocks per game.
Additonally, Drummond has great instincts in playing passing lanes, and pre-novel coronavirus-induced hiatus, was actually second in the NBA in total steals.
In the situation that the Cleveland Cavaliers opt to select Onyeka Okongwu with their selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, he almost certainly will make an immediate impact in any lineup he is utilized in and would likely create a massive defensive impact on a lineup such as this one.