I have been thinking about Okoro, and I am obsessed. I just think he is the guy. He's the Kawhi or Giannis of this draft. May not reach their level, but I think he is going to be an allstar and could easily be the best guy in this draft.
This is why I think this.
Guy''s foot work is excellent, but as opposed to a tricky guy like Porter Jr, he just knows how to attack space efficiently. Reminds me a bit of Corey Magette taking the most direct route and just forcing the defense to do anything to stop him. Has hesitation before attacking the basket looking like a pro. He let's his defender backpedal for that half a second and attacks him at the basket before his defender can adjust. Saw something similar, but in my opinion not as polished in Porter last year. Euro step is there, change of pace, and just dunking hard. Great feet and it makes sense he is known for staying in front of guys.
His assists are all reads and have nothing to do with set plays. Assist rate is interesting and what is his ceiling if he shoots 70% around the rim, but can make the pass to the roll man or drop off to the big? Decision making leading to assists after breaking the defense seems basic, but a guy who makes the right decisions on those plays just has a higher ceiling. That's what I think really separates him from a guy like Vassell or Okongwu. I like Haliburton and Ball for similar reasons.
High IQ guy known for defense, but can obviously make reads and plays a read and react game. Knock on Okoro is that he doesn't push the envelope. It's not that he isn't aggressive because he is, just that he should be looking for his offense more? I think he needs offensive confidence, but the NBA game is going to be wide open for him. He is going to get to the rim.
Finishing is so so good. Creative finisher who protects the ball with his body and has excellent touch. Low center of gravity means guys can't budge him unless they shove him. Has that quality that Porter Jr has also shown of absorbing contact then finishing. Very high appeal IMO. It's where I see the Jalen Brown comparison.
Shooting is obviously the big red flag. I get the MKG comparisons, but I think Okoro is a better ball handler and is a better finisher. MKG was not a big enough threat there and what parts of his game did he develop? Okoro has a +14 net rating 116 on off and 102 def. He impacts the game in more ways than MKG, and look, lots of guys have learned to shoot. MKG has something wrong with him. He looks like he just discovered the 3 pt shot out there. MKG is almost a an outlier in that his shot has not improved at all. Also, MKG never made an assist game to go with his ability to attack the basket. Shoot, assist, Attack the basket. You can be a star with 2, but only 1 is high end role player at best. Just one of those is easy to defend. Right now Okoro has a developing assist game. I think he is a good fit for the Cavs as a guy who will make plays for others. I think his worst case scenario is Corey Magette off the bench. MKG only broke 50% in 2pt% 2x in his career. Not good enough Okoro shoots 60% from 2. He's that good finishing at the rim. Did you think MKG would never improve as a shooter and always be worse as an assist man than in college? He dominated in college and "just needed a shot" but really he was never the playmaker he looked like he could be, and his shooting didn't improve and he is putting up garbage still. Also is MKG a stopper? Not saying he sucks defensively, but how come nobody wants him on their team to slow down star players? He needed more than shooting, but yes I would have drafted him at the time if I had been able. I feel for guys like MKG because he is not without talent, but is an early bloomer Evan Turner or Tyreke Evans who were unable to add to their games or prove super efficient in one area.
I see him as fitting with everyone. You can run him with Sexton and force a team to keep them out of the paint, you can pair him with KPJ and go more wing defense out there with creation ability. Big should like him, he could totally play a 2 man game with Love or Drummond. He is a good cutter and both bigs can hit those guys. I really would like to see him play with Nance. 2 tough defenders, but Okoro is the better finisher. Nance can dunk when guys overcommit to Okoro's drives. Defensively, they would be a bear for the other team, very switchy, but also strong. I think he will be able to handle modern PFs fine. Strong like Harden in the post.
This is my guy at 5. Cavs have reported interest and was one place i heard the Jalen comparison. I actually think he is the only high floor high upside player in the the lottery.