It wasn’t what a lot of people expected, but the Cavaliers went with a small forward with their No. 5 overall pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft.
That would be none other than Isaac Okoro, who stands 6-foot-6, hails from Auburn and made a name for himself with his defense.
It should be noted that the Cavs were fielding trade calls for the pick until the final moments.
“Character counts,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said on ESPN. “He’s a winner.”
Okoro was a disruptive and versatile defender with the Tigers. He could guard power forwards or point guards. He has great length, endless energy and plays with passion. He also rebounds well.
Offensively, occur is more of a slasher — but he’s good at it. He proved that he can put the ball on the floor and finish in traffic. He’s pretty explosive, and a lot of teams really liked that about him prior to the draft.
“He can get downhill, he can score on contact,” Pearl added. “He’s gonna do what the coach asks him to do.”
The one thing Okoro does not do well is shoot from the perimeter. Now, he can knock them down occasionally, but for a guy who plays his spot, he’ll need to become more consistent and develop some range.
“If he can add a jump shot to his game, he is a stud,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said.
Mostly, Okoro could look real good running the floor next to the likes of Cavs youngters such as Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr. and Darius Garland.
To the surprise of some, in drafting Okoro, the Cavs passed on the likes of power forward Obi Toppin (Dayton) and Deni Avdija (Israel).
