Cavs: Summer League can help Isaac Okoro build on late-season run

Isaac Okoro didn’t have the most notable rookie campaign in the world, as he had 9.6 points per outing and shot 29.0 percent from three-point range. That was in 32.4 minutes per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Okoro had his share of inconsistencies offensively, and he needs to show he can be a viable catch-and-shoot next season more game-to-game.

On the plus side, post-All-Star break on in his first season, offensively Okoro appeared to look more confident, and that aided him as a driving presence.

And although injuries did play some into it, it was good to see Okoro show more positive signs on-ball in the Cavs’ closing batch of games, in which he had 16.2 points per outing. He was getting to the basket a bunch, and next season, if his handle improves coming into Year 2, that we should see more frequently.

With Okoro’s finish to last season in mind, it also should be interesting to see Okoro have some Las Vegas Summer League reps. There, he could feasibly be able to get some notable playing time, at least in a few games, and it could enable him to show some of what he’s seemingly been working to improve on in the offseason.

Summer League can help Okoro build on his late-season run for the Cavs.

Okoro did look more confident from April-onward in the last stretch of the season for Cleveland, and heading into next season, at least some Summer League PT should enable him to build on his late-season run.

In I’d think a few games or so (every team is guaranteed to play five in Vegas), Okoro could look to assert him as a scoring presence in the early going of contests, and maybe get some pick-and-roll work with Evan Mobley. That could be meaningful for the Auburn product, and in those instances, it could help the chemistry with those two a bit, and Cleveland could see Okoro’s progress as a passer in those situations.

The Cavs do reportedly want to give Okoro more opportunities as a pick-and-roll ball handler/playmaker next season, of which they did in the closing batch of games last season, and Summer League could be a nice place to show that more.

In addition, with Cleveland reportedly wanting to involve Okoro some in the mid-post next season, which could lead to more quality looks for him with his 225-pound frame, perhaps we could see some of those reps in Vegas here and there, too.

Now, this is just Summer League were talking about, but it should enable Isaac to demonstrate progress hopefully on the offensive end/some of what he’s been working on in the offseason leading into Year 2. And that will be an intriguing storyline to watch.

Of course, Mobley likely to be in action for some of the exhibitions is something for fans to look forward to, sure, and I get that. I’m not glossing over these outings for Okoro either, though.

The likes of recent Exhibit 10 signing Chandler Vaudrin, from a playmaking standpoint for stretches, and from two-way guy Brodric Thomas’ standpoint in that realm will be keys to watch for as well, for what it’s worth.

Cleveland’s first game in this year’s Summer League will be on Sunday at 6:30 PM EST versus the Houston Rockets on ESPN2, and each team will be guaranteed to play five games. You can view the rest of the squad and its schedule here, via the Cavs.

Three of Cleveland’s four already set games will be on ESPN2, with one on NBA TV, and NBA.com’s Watch feature, along with WatchESPN will do otherwise. And for those without a cable subscription, FuboTV’s live stream/its free trial should do the trick.