Lowe: The five most intriguing players in the NBA this season (Okeke)

[Knightro]

Chuma Okeke, Orlando Magic

Okeke sat out what would have been his rookie season recovering from knee surgery. He spent time with the Magic's G League team, leaving him a somewhat shy mystery.

"He barely talked to anyone that year," says Evan Fournier, now with the New York Knicks.

Fournier's trade to the Boston Celtics was one of three deadline moves that signaled a new teardown -- the rebuild of the rebuild in Orlando's endless post-Dwight Howard nightmare -- transforming Okeke in a blink from unknown kiddo to one of Orlando's longest-tenured players. "It's weird everyone is gone," Okeke says. "But next man up."

Orlando is well-stocked with guards and bigs -- especially once Jonathan Isaac reclaims his starting power forward spot. Okeke and Franz Wagner loom as the essential bridge between those groups -- the extra-large, 3-and-D wing who can do a little of everything on offense and switch across all five positions on defense.

Okeke spent most of last season at power forward, which made things easier for him on offense. Toggling to the wing shouldn't impact him on defense, but he'll have to navigate tighter confines on the other end.

Okeke spends a lot of time spotting up -- in the corners and along the wing. He hit 35% from deep on decent volume -- encouraging, even if defenders ignored him to clog the paint. Down the stretch, he dared to hoist against strong contests and dabbled in off-the-bounce 3s -- though he hit just 4-of-26 on those.

The Magic are confident Okeke's shot will come. That could empower his catch-and-go driving game, since defenders would close out harder -- easy prey for dustings. Okeke is not a blow-away athlete. He does not have a killer first step. Optimists see Okeke as Orlando's Mikal Bridges on defense, but he has not yet shown the same nimble feet and preternatural instincts.

But Okeke is a smart, well-rounded player with feel. If he knifes into the lane, he makes the right play. Okeke lets some driving opportunities slip away by pausing on the catch -- allowing the defense to reset. "I need to make quicker decisions," he says.

The Magic started using him as a ball handler in pick-and-rolls, and Okeke flashed advanced playmaking:

Jamahl Mosley, Orlando's new coach, says we will see more of Okeke handling -- and more of him screening for Orlando's guards. Mosley will mix up Orlando's two-man combinations -- to maximize the element of surprise, and so that each player is familiar with different roles. Mosley hopes that engenders teamwide empathy. "You've experienced things from teammates' perspectives," Mosley says.

Pairing Okeke with guards in the two-man game will coax switches, and Okeke has some bully ball in him:

Okeke needs to embrace that cruelty instead of fading for turnarounds. (He does have a nascent face-up game, and a smooth pull-up midranger.)

If Okeke starts drawing help, watch out. He is a canny inside-out playmaker; the Magic have used him as trigger man on the block:

The Magic scored 1.211 points per possession when Okeke shot out of the post, or dished to a teammate who fired -- sixth among 102 players who recorded at least 40 post touches, per Second Spectrum.

Okeke wants to be the sort of versatile, switchy defender who gives Orlando access to any scheme. "That would take pressure off our coaches -- to know, 'Chuma can do whatever,'" he says.

The right ingredients are there -- balance, strength, size, and an appetite for defense. It's not easy stonewalling Anthony Davis like this:

"Chuma is about the right things," Fournier says.

(For Magic staffers, Fournier's fondness for Okeke is the ultimate proof Okeke has a galvanizing personality; Fournier is a prickly sort who does not easily dole out affection. Okeke has come out of his shell, and is popular with teammates. He bikes to the arena, and everyone knows they can borrow his bike for errands. "It's the team bike now," Okeke says.)

Okeke has a long list of improvements he wants to make on defense: getting around screens, nailing help-and-recover rotations, staying attuned to more complex schemes. He is hard on himself, and craves honest feedback. Okeke raps in his spare time, and when J. Cole visited a recent practice, the team played an Okeke track for him. Okeke was mortified -- not because he thought his music unworthy; Okeke feared J. Cole in that setting would withhold his harshest constructive criticism.

"I want his genuine opinion," Okeke says.

If Okeke brings that mentality to basketball, the Magic might have an ace role player -- and maybe much more.

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/32420384/lowe-five-most-intriguing-players-nba-season ($)

[j-ragg]

Excited to see an entire season of bigger minutes for Okeke.

[JTG_92940618]

There were times last season where I was thinking Okeke is our best prospect - probably over February and March when he was hitting over 40% of his 3s. I also believe in his jumper.

I'm not sure how well his shy/awkward personality fits the NBA though but naturally, I hope he makes it.

[PrimeThyme]

I appreciate how Lowe is one of the few national media guys who actually acknowledges our existence in a positive manner every now and then.

I'd personally have to rank Okeke pretty highly on my list as well. He was a nice surprise for me last season, && I think he's actually a swing piece for us going forward. With Isaac's health a constant question mark && Wagner still being a complete unknown, Okeke continuing to separate himself as a legitimate 3&D forward for us would go a long way for this rebuild.

All the fit questions we have going into the season are meaningless in my eyes. We need to get these young guys on the court for big minutes && have a trial by fire.

[JBSouthpaw]

Suggs getting into the lane could be great for Okeke.

[nicolcm]

As an auburn fan, I’ll always wonder if he doesn’t tear his ACL in the sweet sixteen, if auburn would’ve won it all. He put it all together the second half of the season.

He has a high basketball iq, I worried about his athleticism holding him back in the nba. But he seems to be making due

[fendilim]

Okeke is a nice piece, simple yet effective. I’m not surprised he is mentioned by Lowe, who I think is one of the national media who is very objective with his reports.

Still, nice to see his game recognized nationally.

[Optimus_Steel]

The key with how high Okeke can get is his aggressiveness. He tends to be shy on the court, he needs to be more aggressive and given our team's limited talent he needs to be more assertive. Its like he doesn't know how good he can be.

[Last Guardian]

Okeke is my favorite prospect. When you show that level of IQ as a rookie, there is something there. He's big, has a smooth offensive game and is a terrific defender. There is a lot of players to keep track of on this team this season but I won't be surprised if Chuma is the one that seperates himself.

[YosemiteSam]

The real key is can this guy avoid getting significant bone bruises? He had had two in the past year to different body parts. I hadn’t even heard did one until he missed so much time with his knee one last year, and now here he is missing all of preseason with one to his hip. He might just one of those more fragile people who gets hurt when he falls or has contact

[DiplomaticMagic]

I feel like if Chuma had Cole Anthonys aggressiveness, he'd be a star.

[BadMofoPimp]

Would like to see Okeke develop into the next Tayshaun Prince!

[YosemiteSam]

The real key is can this guy avoid getting significant bone bruises? He had had two in the past year to different body parts. I hadn’t even heard of one until he missed so much time with his knee one last year, and now here he is missing all of preseason with one to his hip. He might just one of those more fragile people who gets hurt when he falls or has contact

[jezzerinho]

This kid has bounced up and down between looking like a bum and looking like a glue-guy starter. Lately it's been more of the latter, where defensively at least he's shown some exceptional stretches in games.

He seems quite a reserved character and i wonder if that holds him back from flexing his offensive abilities more.

But there are tools there and finally he's starting to return to the promising player the Magic had late last season.

Where is this kid headed? More up and down performances/stretches or is he going to be more than a bench guy on a playoff team?

[drsd]

Okeke is my favorite prospect..

[jezzerinho]

This kid has bounced up and down between looking like a bum and looking like a glue-guy starter. Lately it's been more of the latter, where defensively at least he's shown some exceptional stretches in games.

He seems quite a reserved character and i wonder if that holds him back from flexing his offensive abilities more.

But there are tools there and finally he's starting to return to the promising player the Magic had late last season.

Where is this kid headed? More up and down performances/stretches or is he going to be more than a bench guy on a playoff team?

41 pages on Isaac's knee, but nobody has an opinion on a player that actually sometimes takes the court for Orlando...

[j-ragg]

I don’t think it’d be effective (not that our lineups are now) to have a 3-4-5 of Wagner-Okeke-WCJ but it’d be fun to see it at least like… once? this season.

[Skin]

Okeke was too passive for too long and he ultimately loss his "intrigue" to Franz. He could've had the trajectory of Franz if he was simply more aggressive. Career bench player now. But I like that role for him. Seems to suit his personality best.

[anothermagicfan]

This kid has bounced up and down between looking like a bum and looking like a glue-guy starter. Lately it's been more of the latter, where defensively at least he's shown some exceptional stretches in games.

He seems quite a reserved character and i wonder if that holds him back from flexing his offensive abilities more.

But there are tools there and finally he's starting to return to the promising player the Magic had late last season.

Where is this kid headed? More up and down performances/stretches or is he going to be more than a bench guy on a playoff team?

41 pages on Isaac's knee, but nobody has an opinion on a player that actually sometimes takes the court for Orlando...

I like chuma a lot. I was hoping this thread would pick up some steam. He's got that young player coming off an injury bug that keeps rearing its heels. I don't digest stats all day. I like to watch the game and watch players. He had a run when we had nik, evan and ag where he was looking like a guy that was capable of making good decision and put himself in the right spot. I guess some would call that a glue guy.

This team is different from that group. What I really like about chuma is he's not demanding the ball. He's not forcing anything. He waits for the right time to make his move or cut or shot. He doesn't force turnovers looking for his number. He's a teammate. And a good one. Not the superstar we're building the franchise around but the kind of player one would want to play alongside

[nicnac215]

Okeke gives off Robert Horry vibes to me. Hopefully his career mirrors that or surpasses Horry’s