Nothing is certain at this point in the NBA season.
The NBA Trade Deadline is fast approaching, which means players are being bandied about in trade discussions. One team says "is that player available for a trade?" and the other comes back with "if you include this player" and on it goes. Outside of a few franchise cornerstones, no player is truly safe when it comes to NBA trades.
It would be extremely surprising if the Cleveland Cavaliers traded one of their core four players, but it's not impossible. Is there a blockbuster offer a team could make to swap a star forward for Darius Garland? Is a team in need of center help going to offer the moon for Jarrett Allen? Extremely unlikely, and the Cavaliers will have a high bar given their success this year, but you can never say never.
More likely, as the Cavaliers consider their options ahead of the Trade Deadline, any significant trade would include one or more key role players heading out of town. Caris LeVert has been a popular name in discussions because he is on an expiring contract, but he is also crucial to what Cleveland is doing this season in terms of depth and lineup versatility. While some have suggested the Cavaliers could trade LeVert to save money and duck under the luxury tax, the team has given no such indications of considering such a move.
Another name has begun to pop up in trade rumors, however, someone who makes less money than LeVert but could still be used in a cost-cutting trade. Or, if Koby Altman and the Cleveland front office want to swing for the fences, he could be a large chunk of matching salary without costing the team one of their top 8 or so rotation players.
Unfortunately, that player is also currently on the sideline dealing with an injury, one that kept him home entirely on the Cavs' recent road trip and has no clear timeline for a return. In fact, it would not be surprising to see him stay out until the Trade Deadline itself on February 6th.
That player is Isaac Okoro.
The Cavaliers could trade Isaac Okoro
Trading any player can be painful for a team, but especially someone like Isaac Okoro who has played his entire career for one team. The Cavaliers drafted the former Auburn Tiger fifth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft and he has played all five seasons -- 324 games in total -- for Cleveland.
While it's true that Okoro never blossomed into the on-ball creator and lockdown perimeter defender that many hoped he would become heading out of the draft, he has proven himself one of the league's better point-of-attack defenders and has improved his 3-point shot considerably since entering the league.
At the same time, however, Okoro is not a key cog to the Cavaliers' future. He is a useful rotation player, especially to deploy on opposing guards at times, but his lack of offensive versatility and true size on the perimeter likely caps his ceiling as a bench guard rather than a reliable starter at the 2 or 3.
Using Okoro's salary in a trade could be the mechanism to accomplishing this team's deadline goals without sacrificing a key rotation player. Okoro would be missed, certainly, but not as much as Max Strus or Dean Wade. If the Cavaliers can make a trade that better sets them up in the short-term, the long-term or both, Okoro should not be untouchable.
One option would be to trade Okoro for a player making $7 million or less to get out of the luxury tax. Perhaps Okoro and a second-round pick would incentivize the Chicago Bulls to trade Jevon Carter. Perhaps two seconds could get into the conversation about Ayo Dosunmo. The Toronto Raptors have Davion Mitchell as a potential trade option who could fill a similar backcourt defensive role as Okoro. Or the Cavs could pursue size and trade for Ziaire Williams on the Nets or Corey Kispert on the Wizards.
The Cavaliers could also use Okoro's salary to go in the other direction, stacking him with other contracts to go after a big target. We recently analyzed a trade package for Cameron Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets that would include trading Okoro.
Ideally, Okoro will return soon from his shoulder injury and be able to either help the Cavaliers or showcase himself for potential trade suitors. But it's also very possible that he could be included in a trade before he plays another minute for Cleveland. That would be a painful reality for both Okoro and his teammates, but that's business in the NBA sometimes.