Cleveland Cavaliers: 2020 NBA Draft prospect Isaac Okoro would fit right into hard-working culture Cavs are trying to build

At this point, Cleveland Cavaliers fans should at least be somewhat familiar with 2020 NBA Draft prospect Isaac Okoro.

At the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers should be very well positioned to add a high quality defensive piece for their rebuild.

A few names that first come to mind in that regard are Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, Florida State’s Devin Vassell, USC’s Onyeka Okongwu, Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, Deni Avdija of the I-BSL’s Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv and perhaps Florida State’s Patrick Williams.

Granted, Sports Illustrated‘s Sam Amico reported that an opposing NBA executive told SI that he “strongly” believes the Cavs will trade away that #5 pick, and Amico noted that “several” other SI sources seemingly had a similar opinion.

That being said, I still firmly expect Cleveland to keep gradually adding pieces in this rebuild via the draft, for the most part, and they should be able to land again, a high quality defensive player for their squad for the near future via the 2020 NBA Draft. The aforementioned Okoro, while he does have a ways to go offensively, particularly as a shooter, is one defensive piece as a wing that could give Cleveland a very switchable defender.

If the communication is there, Cleveland could switch through better/talk through rotations to prevent mismatches with youth having more experience as well. Anyhow, having a defender the likes of Okoro on the wing more in games against starting 3’s would be a key addition and not have Cedi Osman in those situations nearly as often.

That latter issue clearly compromised Cleveland’s defense a bunch, and Okoro’s team defensive feel could aid Collin Sexton and Darius Garland and/or Kevin Porter Jr., who should be playing more minutes than the 23.2 per game he played in year 1. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Okoro had a healthy 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in his lone collegiate season at Auburn, and for the Cavs, landing him at #5 would be a scenario I’d be more than fine with.

Okoro, who only shot 28.6 percent from three-point range and whose form frankly could improve, is again not a viable shooter at this point.

But he is a gifted driver, finisher and cutter that can deliver with both hands through contact with his strength and body control and would get plenty of free throw opportunities if the Cavs drafted him. He’s a terrific athlete overall, and could function as a productive secondary playmaker for Cleveland, too, which would aid Garland, Kevin Love and others.

Overall, though, while Okongwu is reportedly in the same realm as a worker, Okoro seemingly has a tireless work ethic, per a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. Factoring in that, and him being a defensive upgrade over Osman, in particular, at such a crucial position in today’s NBA, Okoro would fit in so well with the Cavs.

Okoro would fit right into the hard-working culture the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to build.

The aforementioned Fedor stressed how Okoro is a “gym rat,” similarly to Collin Sexton, the latter of who has worked and worked and worked his tail off to become a highly capable perimeter shooter.

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Sexton’s perimeter and off-the-catch shooting was considered a key weakness of Sexton’s coming into the league out of Alabama, but Sexton has established himself as quite the perimeter shooting threat, especially off-the-catch.

He’s hit 39.2 percent of his three-point attempts through two seasons with the Cavs and I’d expect him to be even more efficient on spot-ups next season.

Last season, he led the Cavaliers in scoring with 20.8 points per game, and made strides off-ball as a cutter, too, and did show improvement as a passer and on-ball defender in year 2, also.

Anyway, it’s clear that factoring in the growth of players such as Sexton, Cedi Osman, in terms of a shooting sense most notably, and Larry Nance Jr. with his overall offensive game, that Cleveland is trying to build a culture predicated on hard-working individuals.

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who took over in that role post-All-Star break leading into the novel coronavirus-induced hiatus and led the squad to a respectable 5-6 record before the season was ultimately over for Cleveland, fits into that, too.

He’s been preaching accountability as well, and Cleveland’s pieces such as Sexton and Nance have clearly worked so hard in recent seasons to improve, and that’s paid off and will seemingly help lay down the foundation for what’s to come in the near future for the Cavaliers.

Swinging back to Isaac Okoro, him reportedly having a similarly tireless work ethic to that of Collin Sexton leads me again to believe that he’d fit right into the culture the Cavs are trying to build.

Now Okongwu and Avdija, in particular, are said to be really hard workers, too, and I’d be on-board with their selection by the Cavaliers in the 2020 NBA Draft, especially due to the defensive end and with both having their strengths more so going to the basket on-ball and having good passing instincts.

But Okoro reportedly being close with Sexton is definitely a nice thing to hear about; Okoro is from Sexton’s hometown of Atlanta/its surrounding areas, and the two are close. So to reiterate, to me, that further drives home that Okoro, who has a nonstop motor, would fit right into the hard-working culture the Cavaliers are trying to build.

Next. Projecting whether or not the #5 pick will be Day 1 starter for Cavs. dark

Keep an eye out for him as a potential Cavs selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, which the NBA is reportedly pushing to move back from its current October 16 date, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.