After a Game 4 implosion that put their backs against the wall, a rough truth has to be faced: Isaac Okoro may have played his last game for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It was something of a surprise that Okoro played this last season with the Cavaliers, as last summer the franchise appeared ready to move on from him. If another team had come with even the full Non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, Okoro was likely wearing a different uniform this season.
Instead, no suitors came calling, and the Cavs brought him back on a three-year, $33 million contract that was fair value for what Okoro brings to the table. He is not a dynamic offensive player, but he improved as a shooter, is a heady cutter and plays excellent on-ball defense on opposing guards.
Okoro had a good season, as every member of the rotation did, but his place in the Cavaliers' rotation was tenuous heading into the postseason. In the past, teams have essentially ignored Okoro defensively, daring him to shoot. If that happened again this year, it was likely that head coach Kenny Atkinson would pull him out of the rotation entirely.
That is essentially what has now happened, as Okoro has played just spot minutes in the last two games, before coming in with the garbage-time brigade in Game 4 (and, to be fair, playing well after the game was already decided). He is not making enough of a defensive impact on Tyrese Haliburton to justify his offensive liabilities.
Game 5 is a must-win for the Cavaliers, inexplicably down 3-1 to the Indiana Pacers as injuries and ineffectiveness have joined forces for a truly putrid performance. If Cleveland loses Game 5 they are heading home -- which means head coach Kenny Atkinson is almost certainly tightening his rotation even further. Isaac Okoro likely will not enter the game.
And if the Cavs lose anyway, be it in Game 5 or later in the series, he may never again play another game in the Cavaliers uniform.
The Cavaliers could trade Okoro this summer
Losing to the Pacers is a bitter pill for the Cavaliers to swallow on multiple levels. This was an all-time season for Cleveland, winning 64 games with a historic offense. Their players all clicked and elevated this group to an elite level, and for it all to come crashing down in the second round would be a colossal disappointment.
It's also painful because the Cavs are going to struggle to maintain this roster. With Evan Mobley's salary even higher from winning Defensive Player of the Year, the Cavaliers are going to be at or past the second apron tax line before even considering bringing back Sam Merrill and Ty Jerome. Unless they want to move on from a core player, their best path to reducing their payroll is to find a team to take on Isaac Okoro.
That is easier said than done, of course. Okoro may be fairly paid, but what team wants to make a commitment to a wing who is known to be a playoff liability? That's not the type of upside swing teams usually want to make. The Cavaliers will likely need to incentivize another team to take him on, and their draft assets are thin from trades for Donovan Mitchell and De'Andre Hunter.
Whether Okoro is swapped for another rotation player or dumped for salary relief, he is the Cavaliers' one mid-sized salary that is expendable. An early loss might force a massive change in Cleveland, but anything less than blowing up the four stars will almost certainly include trading Isaac Okoro.
Outside the rotation and on the trade block? That means Isaac Okoro may very well have played his final game for the only franchise he has ever known. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Okoro may be parting ways very soon.