Cleveland Cavaliers: What’s the ideal role for Isaac Okoro?

With the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Isaac Okoro from Auburn.

Okoro stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 225 pounds. Coming out of college, he had a reputation as a lockdown defender and a player with promising driving abililies, but questions about his shot.

While he showed flashes and he held his own defensively, he still has a ways to go before he lives up to the expectations that a top five pick has placed upon them.

Okoro finished his rookie season averaging 9.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He did this while shooting 42 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range.

But his stats did not tell the whole story of his impact on the game and because of this, Okoro was named to the All-Rookie Second Team. With him still being only 20 years of age and having big-time potential, anything could happen for Okoro, however, there is an ideal role for him on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That role being an elite three-and-D player.

Okoro’s ideal role for the Cavs is as a three-and-D player.

While this is not what you would really want from a player that you select with the fifth overall pick, it is exactly what the Cavaliers can realistically ask from Okoro.

He likely will never be a franchise player who will give you 25+ points per game, but he also will likely have a much longer career than almost any other player in his 2020 NBA Draft class. This is because his style of play is something that teams will never stop looking for.

A player that Okoro should model his role after would be someone like Andre Iguodala.

Both players have the build to be able to defend almost any player on the opposing team. Albeit on the offensive end, Okoro has the potential to surpass Iguodala. He is a 33.3 percent career shooter from beyond the arc, although, Okoro could end up doing much more than that.

While he did have a rather rough rookie year from three, he still has plenty of time to adjust. He’s still a very young player, and a full offseason with the Cavaliers heading into next season should help him.

And once Okoro becomes more comfortable both shooting from the NBA three and having the ball in his hands in general alongside Darius Garland, perhaps Collin Sexton and others, we will get a better understanding of what he is truly capable of in this league.

Along with this, the longer he spends in the NBA, the more knowledgeable he will get on how to guard certain players. It is very rare that someone comes right into the league and is a great defender.

While he still has a ways to go, Okoro is well on his way to being just the player that Cavaliers need him to be. That player being a knockdown shooter who can hit catch-and-shoot looks consistently along with being an elite defender on the defensive end.