Cleveland Cavaliers

Acquired: F Isaac Okoro (Pick No. 5)

Traded: None

With a lottery pick in the NBA Draft for the third straight year, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to draft Auburn freshman Isaac Okoro. Over the last two drafts, the Cavs have built their backcourt of the future with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, so it was expected they would look to find their big man of the future in the 2020 NBA Draft. This was not the case as they did take a player with a lot of potential, but at a position, they do not necessarily immediately. 

With trade rumors circulating around Kevin Love and Andre Drummond, plus with Tristan Thompson being a free agent and drawing a lot of interest from numerous teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers need a big man of the future and could have drafted a really good one with the 5th overall pick. Both Obi Toppin and Onyeka Okongwu would have been great in the Cavaliers system, but Cleveland opted to go with the more versatile player in Okoro. 

Isaac Okoro was fantastic in his freshman year at Auburn as he averaged 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 51.4% from the floor. The best thing about Okoro’s game is his versatility and ability to defend virtually any position on the court. The Cleveland Cavaliers gave up the 9th most points to opponents last season, so the addition of Okoro should help them on that end of the court, but with holes to fill at both big man positions, the Cavs could end up thin down low. 

The Cavs drafted wing Dylan Windler in the first-round of the 2019 NBA Draft and have Cedi Osman at small forward as well, which means Okoro will be inserted into a competition for the starting small forward position. Isaac Okoro will be a decent defensive player in the NBA, but the opportunity to grab a big man of the future in Onyeka Okongwu that the Cavs passed up on will hurt them this year and in future years.