Is Isaac Okoro worth $80M? The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to have a tough decision this summer

Is Isaac Okoro worth $80M? The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to have a tough decision this summer

Another guy who has stepped up big has exceeded all of our expectations is Isaac auro he has been tremendous this season you can make the case he’s been the Cav’s most consistent player from the start of the Year till today outside of Donovan Mitchell and if you want to

Say Donovan’s ineligible for postseason Awards so he’s ineligible for this discussion I’ll hear it so maybe it is Isaac auro Jason we’re gonna talk about his future contract in a sec but defensively JB called him the best perimeter defender in the world yesterday I’m not sure I’d go that far

But I don’t think he’s too far off what say you yeah he’s nobody’s added more value to themselves this year than than Isaac has and that’s obviously from the offensive side but defensively he if if he’s not the best on ball defender in the league then he’s

In the top 10 certainly top five top 10 and you know it took a little bit longer I think the Cavs drafted him with this idea that you know he was uh a beast defensively and and the offense would come and it took a little bit longer than

People would have liked but it’s it’s there now and again he’s got to do it in the playoffs he has to shoot this way in the playoffs but if he does that he’s gonna be a very rich man come this summer you want to hear some numbers

According to NBA’s tracking data so you could actually look and I’m not sure it’s 100% accurate I’ll be honest you know who who knows if it was technically his responsibility his assignment or not but according to nba.com tracking data Isaac aurl held Anthony Edwards to two

Of 10 shooting on Friday wow zero points in the fourth quarter in overtime in four games against the Bucks this season he’s held Damen Lillard to N9 for 34 and three of 17 from three against the magic he up Palo banero two for 10 from the floor in three games against Scotty

Barnes this season Jason auros held Barnes to two for eight he held C.J McCollin one for six Jaylen Brown three games one for 11 when Isaac was his primary Defender de’arra Fox and Jaylen Williams the front runner for most improved play of the year on Oklahoma City one for five against Isaac kakuro

You find the best offensive players in the league you look at their overall stats you look at their stats when they play the Cavs especially when they’re guarded by Isaac night and day it’s incredible and once again I’m not 100% sure that’s 100% accurate I think you

Could kind of do a little variance but even if it’s a little bit off and some of those guys have made a couple more shots and that’s giving him credit for to hold Dame to hold Anthony Edwards to hold Jaylen Brown to well below their scoring and shooting percentages and to

Be able to guard forwards point guards and centers it I I I literally lose the the capability to describe how impressive that is as a 64 65 guy he’s not that big which is the crazy part and I’ve never been a big ISAC a guy like I

Just haven’t been impressed with him at all even the progress that he made last year uh as a three-point shooter and he did improve last year I still never really bought in as being a core guy and and clearly the Cavs agreed because they went out and signed Max streu and you

Know we talked about a couple weeks ago you’re not asking them to do the same things but what you are asking Isaac to do he is doing at an elite level he’s shooting 40% from three and if you’d have told me before the year ISAC o Coro

Is gonna be shooting 40% from three in mid-march uh I never would have believed that so I mean he’s having for what they’re asking him to do he’s having a phenomenal year and he’s attacking Closeouts now in transition he’s a monster like his defense has always been

Good this year it’s been taken to another level but offensively he’s not just a standstill shooter right like that’s what he should be doing for the most part they don’t usually use him in pick and roll uh as a ball handler but he’s become a decent slasher he’s become

An above average finisher and maybe most impressively when teams leave him open they make him pay when they close out he’s able to attack the close out make other guys rotate and he’s a pretty good passer off the drive too Jason which has allowed guys like George Nang and Max

Stru and Dean Wade in these secondary lineups to kind of make the the sheer volume of Threes that they’ve been taking to making I it’s impressive and like you said he’s going to get paid I know you you wrote an article looking at contracts for similar position players

In the past in L of NFL free agency what do you think there what do you think the open market value for a guy like Isaac auro is I mean what did Dylan Brooks get you and I were talking about this before what did Dylan get last year four for

80 I mean I I’d rather have Isaac aoro on my team than Dylan Brooks he’s younger I don’t disagree better shooter so I think that’s the Bas line is it not let me just confirm it was four for 80 not 5 for 80 uh four for 80 20 million a year now

Houston did have a ton of cap space they had to spend last summer which is why they gave a big contract to Van vet they definitely overpaid for Brooks no one else on the open market was giving him four for 80 but I think that I get a little hesitant to pay for

One year of production and I know the NBA and Isaac’s as young as it can be just turned 20 he’s 22 turning 23 like you’re buying the potential based off the one year but I I I don’t know how he gets less than that I I really don’t he’s a

Better shooter than Brooks ever was he’s not a pain in the ass headache Head Case frankly like Dylan Brooks is and he’s 22 and you know he came in the league at 19 was one of the youngest guys in the draft it was the weird Co draft

Where nobody really knew how to scout like the timberwol hit it out the park with Anthony Edwards but halberton Falls to 11 so you know who knows how to truly evaluate it but I think some team’s gonna have the cap space some team’s gonna need a three and D Wing aurl might

Be the best one available on the open market he is it’s not a good free agency class to begin with Jason right and it’s not gonna shock me like the Cavs are gonna be in an absolute pickle if a team offers a you know fouryear 80 million

Fiveyear 96 million cap sheet for him because I don’t know what Kobe Alman would do in that situation and and so you know I’ve talked about it before the Cavs ideally did not want to go into the tax until Moy got his extension that was sort of the big picture if everything

Goes right they don’t have to be a tax team until Moy but I haven’t run all the numbers but because nobody expected this out of so this may change that calculation to where they’re going to have to go into the tax earlier than expected they can match obviously any

Offer he’ll be restricted this summer they can match any offer that he gets but I tend to agree with you I think you know 4 for 80 might be the Baseline on this just going off what Dylan got and and what and so I haven’t updated this

But this is what I wrote when they didn’t come to terms with Colin on an extension uh um I went back and counted from the 2013 to the 2017 drafts and by by my count 31 players drafted in the top 10 in those years failed to reach extensions with with the

Team that they were on when they were eligible some of them had already changed teams by that point but 31 players taken in the top 10 in those years failed to reach an extension of those 31 only six stayed with that same team on a new deal and and Colin falls

Into that category of one of the 25 because obviously he didn’t stay with the Cavs he was shipped to Utah so it’s not to say Isaac can’t stay here but history and and those numbers aren’t updated over the last couple years I haven’t gone back and updated them I

Probably will I’ll write about it here coming up uh because this supplies now but overwhelming evidence says when you get in the spot a lot of times the guy doesn’t stay with his current team now Jimmy Butler stayed in Chicago that was one easy example to pick of guys who

Wanted up staying with their team was Jimmy he didn’t come to an extension with Chicago but he wed up staying I forget I think he signed an offer sheet maybe and the Bulls matched I don’t remember I don’t remember how it went but he got to this point as a

Restrictive free agent and he stayed so there are cases of it happening but by and large when you get to this point the player ends up leaving or is traded and a signning trade or anything like that so it’ll be interesting to see what what Isaac’s future is here uh because you

Know they signed Max struce I kind of read that as they signed Max because they were gonna let Isaac walk and Max was going to be the the three here going forward but you might have to re-evaluate that now based on what Isaac’s giving you this year

It’s a good problem to have and Max has helped Max hasn’t shot it well but he’s really helped them in other areas uh but you know I don’t know I don’t know what you do from here I don’t know you you trade Max this summer and and lean in on

Isaac and commit back to Isaac it’s it’s kind of a strange spot to be in yeah so max got 64 for four so he got 16 million a year and I can’t imagine any world any scenario where Kobe Alman thought to himself Isaac going to be worth more

Than that in a year right right like it it improbable thought process to have because what Isaac had shown up to that point you know frankly was he had no he had no trade value like the Cav had him on the Block last uh trade deadline yes

And we we said and talked to a couple guys like the most they could get back for him at best was a second round pick yeah he might be a two first round pick guy right now if he was available on the open market now all of this is couched

By we got a long way to go and if Isaac shooting craters in the postseason none of this applies if he has a bad playoff series and he doesn’t shoot it well and teams continue to Sag off him and he can’t take advantage of it then then he probably goes back to what

We thought he was but if he if he has a good postseason and by good I mean shoots at 38% clip 37 38% from three yeah like he’s then he’s gonna make a lot of money this summer he’s setting himself up well for a big payday

And he’s deserved it he is one of the nicer guys uh when you talked in the locker room super friendly you talk to any coach first one in last one out fits all the characteristics you want a in a building block not as a star guy but a

Guy you have to surround your stars with so hopefully the Cavs can figure that out and and hopefully he gets paid as much as he humanly could because I want all these guys to get paid the owners have to pay the luxury tax not me right

Screw it like let them all get paid

Isaac Okoro is playing better than anyone could have expected this season.

The young swingman from Auburn is turning into an elite 3-and-D player, and is set to make a ton of money in free agency this summer.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have a chance to match any contract offered to Ice, but if the sheet is similar to Dillon Brooks’ 4-year, $80M deal last summer, will the Cavs be able to match it?

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