The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for an upgrade at small forward. It’s the only part of their starting lineup that isn’t locked down by a star, and when you look back in recent basketball history you see a host of NBA champions who all had 3-and-D wings.
Trading for talented players is never free, and with their first-round picks spoken for the Cavaliers’ best avenue to an upgrade is to trade Caris LeVert. His name is thrown around in a lot of deals for everyone from Bojan Bogdanovic and Malik Beasley to Tim Hardaway Jr and Dorian Finney-Smith. It wouldn’t be surprising to see LeVert’s name in a trade by the NBA Trade Deadline.
There are pathways to making an upgrade that don’t include LeVert, however, and one of those is to trade Isaac Okoro. The former first-overall pick is on a midsize salary and could entice teams looking for perimeter defense or the offensive upside he may still possess.
Okoro had an extremely rough start to the season but has turned it up recently. In the month of January, Okoro is averaging 8.3 points per game and hitting 57.1 percent of his 3-pointers, with more than a steal per game and plenty of tenacious on-ball defense. He’s been the Cavs’ fifth starter of choice over the past few weeks.
That improved play could be a reason for the Cavs to keep Okoro, hoping he can develop into the player they thought he would be when they drafted him in 2020. The other option is to sell high while he is hitting an unsustainable number on 3-pointers, getting the best possible return for him on the trade market.
One such trade idea capitalizes on Okoro’s hot shooting to make him the centerpiece of a trade for Orlando Magic swingman Gary Harris. The deal doesn’t include any of Cleveland’s meager remaining draft assets, but instead moves Okoro in exchange for the veteran Harris.
The Orlando Magic would get back an athletic wing with great defensive chops; they can use wing depth on their big-heavy team, and having perimeter defense allows them to experiment with backline options that don’t include an elite rim protector. Okoro is also young and fits neatly into their timeline.
For the Cavaliers, this trade would bring in a proven 3-point shooter and solid defender who can fill both sides of the ledger. He is under contract for a non-guaranteed $13 million next season as well, giving the Cavs flexibility if the fit doesn’t work out.
Perhaps Okoro continues to develop and becomes a top-notch starter, but it’s also possible that his shooting falls back to earth and he is virtually unplayable because of how he harms the offense. Trading for Gary Harris splits the difference and takes a crack at finding that fifth-starter.
Grade: B-