Ineligible Man Downfield: A back-and-forth on Isaac Okoro
Plus a slew of Browns and Indians news.
Okoro was the right pick for the Cavs.
Jordan Zirm: Chris, after what felt like every mock draft that was ever written had Obi Toppin going to the Cavs, Koby Altman and co. ended up taking Isaac Okoro, the wing out of Auburn. Were you surprised?
Chris Manning: I wasn’t because in poking around the day of, I thought there was a really good chance it would be him. But if I came into this blind, and had read and heard all the Obi Toppin smoke, I might have been.
And you know what? If you’re that fan, this should be a really good surprise to you. Okoro is the kind of defensive wing the Cavs have always needed. The Cavs are confident his shot will improve. He’s going to have a hard learning curve because of this weird pandemic-shaped season lead-up, but I think he’s going to succeed from day one, at least on defense.
I also love the talk you here about his work ethic and dedication to his craft. It’s a cliche that the stuff matters, but it really does. Okoro gives me some Collin Sexton vibes in terms of how he approaches the game. And that’s a good thing, no?
JZ: Yeah, I was just about to say, the Okoro pick reminds me a lot of what the Cavs saw with Sexton. He’s not a perfect prospect, but the simple fact that he works his ass off gives the Cavs confidence he can work on and greatly improve the things he’s weakest at. Remember, Sexton barely even shot three-pointer’s at Alabama during his only season there. Now he’s firing without much hesitation.
Look, you can’t last very long in the NBA without a decent shot in 2020. Andre Iguodala is someone Okoro gets compared to, and Iggy isn’t some lights out three-point shooter. But he’s hit enough from the corner that it forces defenses to be honest, which lets Iggy do all the other stuff he’s good at (defense, transition offense, passing) when it matters. That seems like the path for Okoro here, especially early on. Work on your shot, take high-percentage threes when you’re open, and bust your ass at the stuff you’re good at.
CM: Exactly. And look: the Cavs have assembled something resembling an interesting roster here. I’m out on Andre Drummond being a winning player (maybe we can discuss this in a future newsletter) but he’s gonna do stuff and be a presence at least while he’s around. Sexton is better than he gets credit for. Garland is heading into a pivotal year two. The organization loves Dylan Windler. Kevin Porter Jr. has potential bursting at the seams, even if his actions of late cast a shadow on him. Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. are both really good. And Okoro ties it all together.
I don’t necessarily think this Cavs team is good, but it’s interesting. That’s more than they could say even this time last year.
JZ: Big agree. I think the Cavs have been (rightly) criticized for drafting guys without much of a plan for the structure of the roster. Picking Sexton and Garland back to back is still a bit of a mystery, and had the Cavs taken Toppin, it would’ve felt like a continuation of that pattern with the redundancy of forwards on this roster. With Okoro, at the very least the Cavs addressed two major weaknesses of their roster: defense and wing depth. Now you have a wing rotation of guys like Windler, KPJ, Cedi Osman and Okoro, and that starts to resemble something you can work with. I think the Cavs success will still largely hinge on Sexton taking another leap and Garland taking an even larger one, but Okoro improves this roster from day one, and that’s as good as you could hope for with the quality of players that were available in this draft.
CM: So, let’s rank the most important young players to the Cavs’ season this year. I’ll keep Cedi off this list since he’s a little more established. But this is my list:
Darius Garland
Isaac Okoro
Kevin Porter Jr.
Collin Sexton
Dylan Windler
Sexton, for the record, is low because I think we sort of know what he is. Okoro and Porter Jr. could easily be flipped too. But I think Garland taking a big leap is paramount to this year’s working out the way the Cavs hope. But for the first time in years, a whole group of Cavs young players is interesting.
JZ: Yeah, I think I flip Okoro and KPJ, but there’s a bit unknown when it comes to the latter status for the upcoming season. But very much agree with you on Garland. If he doesn’t look much better than last season, that’s a big problem. I think he’s a better ball handler than Sexton and let’s Sexton play the two when they’re on the court together, and you need Garland to be able to handle some of the scoring load when they stagger his and Sexton’s minutes.
At the very least, this Cavs team should be infinitely more watchable than they were the last two seasons. The roster has a shape to it that’s starting to make sense. There’s still the free agency period. But they’ve got a collection of young players now that have legitimate talent, and it will hopefully be fun to watch it shake out.
CM: Let’s end on this: Are the Cavs realistic contenders to contend for the play-in tournament? I say no. even if they are closer than they were.
JZ: I’ll say no, too. Not yet. Even with Okoro, the defense needs a total overhaul, and I’m not convinced that’s going to happen this season. I think they’ll be in the conversation for a while, though. And that feels like enough to me right now.
ICYMI
Isaac Okoro, the newest Cavalier
Okoro copped his parents a Range Rover
Okoro says he wants to help the Cavs get back to the playoffs
Penn State’s Lamar Stevens has been signed to a two-way deal
Myles Garrett is expected to practice Friday
Mike Chernoff is the favorite for the Mets job, per a new report
All NFL teams will enter COVID protocol Saturday
Pending Jack Conklin’s availability, Kendall Lamm may start at right tackle
Mack Wilson is on the injury report with a hip issue
One thing to read today
At the Montgomery Advertiser, Josh Vitale profiles Isaac Okoro
Who we are
Chris Manning: Site Manager at Fear the Sword, co-host of the Locked on Cavs podcast, words at places like Cleveland Magazine and Forbes. On Twitter @cwmwrites
Jordan Zirm: Social editor at @TheCheckdown. Formerly of ESPN Cleveland. Words at B/R, SB Nation and UPROXX. Host of The Rebuild podcast. On Twitter @clevezirm
Photo: USA Today