After trading for Donovan Mitchell just days ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers are, in the opinion of a growing number of people, starting to look like a contender.
Their backcourt of Mitchell and fellow All-Star Darius Garland is already one of the best in the NBA, and in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, they have a very strong frontcourt duo that can only get better.
The only real position that is a question mark for the Cavs is the wing or small forward spot, and it is uncertain who will start there.
Caris LeVert, whom they acquired midway through last season, is a possibility, but the man who may be penciled in to start at the 3 is Isaac Okoro, who started 61 of his 67 games last year.
He seems to be hard at work getting ready for this coming season so he can prove he is worthy of being in Cleveland’s starting five.
“Sources share with Right Down Euclid that Okoro has been working tirelessly at Auburn during the offseason on his offensive game, trying to find consistency beyond the arc prior to the start of training camp,” Evan Dammarell wrote.
Okoro has an amazing opportunity to prove he is the 3-and-D player Cleveland needs to compete for an NBA championship.
Okoro Has Potential And Is Young
The 21-year-old Okoro is about to enter his third season in the league, and while he hasn’t put it all together yet, he seems to be on the right trajectory.
As a rookie, he averaged 9.6 points a game but shot only 42.0 percent from the field and 29.0 percent from 3-point range.
Last year, he showed significant improvement, making 48.0 percent of his shots and a decent 35.0 percent of his treys.
As a starter, his efficiency from the perimeter was better, and it could be a portend of things to come this fall, winter, and spring.
In 61 starts during the 2021-22 season, Isaac Okoro averaged:
9.0 Points
3.1 Rebounds
1.8 Assists
48.6% FG
36.7% 3PT (54/147)
78.1% FT
30.0 MPG
The Cavs went 30-31 in those games. pic.twitter.com/Rd6gLyT0Zs— Mack Perry (@DevaronPerry) September 7, 2022
From December 1 onward, Okoro hit 40.4 percent of his 3-pointers, and that figure increased to 43.9 percent after February 1.
Defensively, he may not be a stopper, and his 6-foot-5 height and 6-foot-8 wingspan are a bit short of ideal for someone playing the 3 spot, but he does weigh 225 pounds, which gives him the type of strength and girth that helps on that end of the floor.
He certainly has the tools and the potential to be that “bridge” player that fills in certain gaps around the Cavs’ triumvirate of stars in Garland, Mobley, and now Mitchell.
Bleacher Report labels Isaac Okoro as the best kept secret on the Cavs
“His point-of-attack defense is ferocious, and he has enough length, strength and quickness to handle perimeter assignments of all sizes and styles.” pic.twitter.com/357GJb0nzd
— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) August 18, 2022
The Cavs Don’t Have Any Other Good Options At Small Forward
Some feel LeVert is the favorite to start at the 3 this season, but he hasn’t consistently provided the outside shooting the Cavs need.
In 19 games with them, he shot an anemic 31.3 percent from downtown, and his career mark from that distance is just 33.3 percent.
In his six NBA seasons, LeVert shot over 35 percent from beyond the arc for an entire campaign only once.
On the other hand, he is more of a playmaker than Okoro, as he has a career average of 4.0 assists per game, but he doesn’t seem to have as much defensive value or potential.
The Cavs’ post-LeBron James rebuilding process may be basically complete, but there are still some minor things to figure out before they can confidently plan a championship parade down the streets of downtown Cleveland.
NEXT: How Many All-Stars Will The Cavaliers Have This Season?