Cavs: 2 key takeaways from Isaac Okoro selection in 2020 NBA Draft

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Auburn wing Isaac Okoro at #5 in Wednesday’s draft.

The 2020 NBA Draft is in the books and quite a few things were learned about the Cleveland Cavaliers and their plans for the future. The Cavs selected Isaac Okoro with their fifth overall pick in the draft.

Okoro was projected to be selected seventh overall, eighth overall and 10th overall by CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, and NBA.com’s Drew Packham, respectively.

Although this could be seen as a reach for the Cavs, it eventually played out that they were not going to risk losing the shot at Okoro by trading down in the draft.

Cleveland reportedly was in discussions with the New York Knicks regarding their #8 and #23 selections in exchange for #5, per The Athletic‘s Kelsey Russo, but Cleveland wanted more and ended up standing pat, and going with Okoro.

In any case, it’s evident that two key takeaways jumped out from Cleveland’s draft selection of Okoro.

We’ll hit on those involving the Cavs’ #5 overall selection here.

The first thing that can be taken away from this draft is that the era of selecting point guards in the lottery may be done for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

#1: The Cavs taking point guards in the lottery may be done for a while

Although this was only a two-year run of point guards, it was projected by some throughout the season that the Cavs could potentially go with a guard in this draft as well.

This gives off the idea that the Cavaliers are confident in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland being maybe their backcourt of the future. If Sexton, who led the Cavaliers in scoring with 20.8 points per game in 2019-20, continues his path to reaching his full potential and Garland shows great improvement in this upcoming season, they could be a scary duo.

Although slightly undersized for the position, Okoro is listed as a small forward. He stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 225 pounds. Despite this, there should be 100 percent confidence that Okoro will be more than capable of holding his own against even the most elite small forwards in the league. He is a player that thrives off of and lives for contact and physicality.

There is a chance that he could be a liability on the offensive end in terms of spacing the floor. In his only season with the Auburn Tigers, Okoro shot only 28.6 percent from three-point land and had his struggles.

Despite this, Cavs fans should still have some hope and even be excited to see Okoro on the offensive end. Although he did struggle from deep during the season, him at least placing in the 56th percentile on spot-ups, per Synergy Sports and as h/t NBA.com, was at least encouraging to an extent.

Along with this, he is an exceptional cutter and finisher at the basket. As previously mentioned, Okoro thrives off of contact. Pairing this with his elite athleticism, he is a force to be reckoned with around the rim and placed in the 89th percentile on halfcourt shots around the rim, again, per Synergy.

The second takeaway from the draft is that the Cavaliers are taking defense seriously this season.

#2: Okoro’s selection shows the Cavs are serious about improving defensively

Last year, the Cavs were one of the worst teams in the league on the defensive side of the ball.

Through drafting Isaac Okoro, they took this need head-on. It is impossible for Okoro to play defense for the entire team or singlehandedly carry the defense. However, Okoro will bring infectious energy that should rub off and aid from a team standpoint.

Pairing Okoro, Sexton and Andre Drummond, who recently picked up his $28.7 million player option for next season, in the starting lineup could turn the Cavs from being one of the worst defensive teams in the league to them being potentially much more competent. Okoro would seem to have some work to do to eventually take over at the starting 3 for Cedi Osman, though, at least some early on.

Anyhow, Okoro is again a high energy player that will bring a breath of fresh air to a Cleveland Cavaliers team that struggled with being on the same page and really working towards team goals. He has been compared to players like Jimmy Butler and Andre Iguodala.

Both are defensive-oriented players who have a certain charisma to them that drives their teammates to give them their best.

If Okoro can live up to these comparisons and the potential that he possesses, he could be the exact player that the Cavaliers need to take the next step in their rebuild and help them make a push for a postseason berth fairly soon.