3 ways Cavs trade for Mitchell goes from great to epic

How Cavs trade for Mitchell goes epic: Isaac Okoro learns to shoot

Currently, the Cavs have a glaring weakness in the center of their roster. The backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell is right up there as the most potent offensive pairing in the league, and Ricky Rubio is as good as it gets for a backup point guard. Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Kevin Love are the best set of bigs this side of Minnesota.

But at small forward? That’s the tricky part. The Cavs will need to play someone out of position at the 3, which was the plan anyway but even more so now that Lauri Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji are gone. Caris LeVert is a terrible fit with the starters and needs to be traded away or at least moved to the bench. Dean Wade is a great option to start, but his ceiling is limited to being a role player.

Isaac Okoro still has a lot of upside to become a two-way force, but it all hinges on his outside shot. He is a stout defender who can take on any backcourt player and most wings, and while he is best deployed as a shooting guard he can survive at the 3 on defense. It’s his offense that becomes the problem, as Okoro shot just 31.5 percent from deep in his first two seasons.

Okoro has a little bit of on-ball juice, and if that comes along he can attack advantage situations. What will truly boost his ceiling and this team’s is his shooter, though. If he can become a 39 or 40 percent shooter on good volume it would not only unlock the starting lineup, it would unlock his game as well. Even if the Cavs acquire a 3-and-D wing to play the 3, Okoro would be a dangerous option off the bench in a rotation with Ricky Rubio, Garland and Mitchell.