Isaac Okoro - Auburn

[gswhoops]

Warriors are admittedly in a different situation than most lotto teams, but I'd take him as high as #4 if Wiseman/Edwards/Avdija are off the board.

[Catchall]

ESPN has Okoro at #3 in their latest mock draft.

[babyjax13]

ESPN has Okoro at #3 in their latest mock draft.

TBH that seems like about where he should go. I know we talked about this on the Jazz board, but if there is anyone that has all the tools to show something he didn't in college, it is Okoro. Veeeery reminiscent of Mitchell (in terms of you watch the tapes and think "what if a time traveler told you this guy blew up immediately in the NBA, would you believe it?").

[510TWSS]

I like the Jaylen comps mentioned earlier. Just watching the video provided here it looks like he has a legit NBA frame and once he puts on more muscle in a professional environment he'd be a mismatch nightmare and can match up defensively 1-4 in a pinch.

I saw good vision on his passing, but he doesn't seem like a primary ball handler type. Maybe on secondary actions or late clock pnr's but seems mostly a straight line driver. Doesn't mean he can't develop that part, it just doesn't look like a tool just yet.

Seems like he could come in day one and play off the bench contributing minutes at the wing and running the break. While I like his defensive tools, I don't see Iggy in him yet. It's hard to make that comp as Iggy was a clutch defensive playmaker. Hard to project that to anyone in college.

He kinda looks like the Jaylon/Right Handed Justice people were mentioning earlier. Right now, I could see him going Top 5-7 in this draft but anywhere before 10 seems about right.

[Catchall]

I actually have more confidence in Okoro making an impact than Edwards. I think Okoro is a slightly safer pick.

[getrichordie]

I actually have more confidence in Okoro making an impact than Edwards. I think Okoro is a slightly safer pick.

Yeah, I've got Okoro in tier 1 and Edwards in tier 2.

[King Ken]

He's a lot better than Jaylen was as a prospect. Brown kinda sucked out of Cal

[Pharaoh]

As a Piston fan I want Okoro out of this Draft.

Not only do we need a wing but he seems ready to go on the defensive end.

IF he can improve his handle and jumper and get to that Jaylen Brown level that'd be gold but as a rookie he could/should take Snell's spot in the rotation.

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[big-shot-ROB]

Don't know where people are coming from with the Jaylen Brown's comparisons.

It feels like Brown has better functional athleticism, agility and is longer.

The shot wasn't as bad a Okoro's coming out of college, and even then, his improvement curve shooting the ball has skyrocketed.

[big-shot-ROB]

Are we forgetting that Brown has a legit 7' wingspan?

[No-Man]

The Okoro-Brown comp makes 0 sense

The most obvious one is Justise Winslow, there are some differences, but still

I think Okoro anywhere in the 10s is fine, I'd not touch him top8-10

[Catchall]

I like Okoro more than Jaylen Brown, tbh. He's a bit faster and more explosive off the dribble.

[clyde21]

kinda weird how pre-college hype plays a factor in how/where these players end up, it almost helped Okoro that he was under the radar

compare that to a guy like Little last yr who was seen as a top 3 or 4 guy throughout the process before the season started then plummeted

but if you look at both of their per36 numbers, Little is right there with Okoro, except Little was actually a much better FT shooter, scored more points per minute and double the rebounds, and almost all advanced stats are similar to each other, Little also had a 7-1+ wingspan on him

not saying Little is a better prospect but it's interesting to see how Little dropped all the way to bottom of the first and Okoro is now being talked about as a top5 guy despite them really having very similar years, only difference was Little's was seen as a disappointment because of his hype out of HS

[The-Power]

I like Okoro more than Jaylen Brown, tbh. He's a bit faster and more explosive off the dribble.

Okoro's problem is that he has really struggled shooting, including having shown basically nothing in terms of a midrange shot, and that he doesn't have elite length. I really like Okoro a lot but he has his issues. I also believe that Okoro is ‘merely’ a good defender, not an elite one and I doubt he has the tools to become an elite defender at the next level. I see him as a lottery pick but in the second half of the lottery.

edit: To me the biggest difference between Little and Okoro is that Little has shown a pretty poor feel for the game whereas I consider that to be one of Okoro's strengths. That's a factor I don't want to underrate when it comes to translatable skills to the next level, especially for Guards and Wings. Little had a higher usage and rebounded better, so Little's numbers don't look worse but those aspects are something I don't really value much (USG% matters especially for prospects that project to be creators, which Little was not) and the way Okoro got his numbers just seems more sustainable and projectable to me, and more conducive to winning.

When I look at Little and Okoro in comparison, I'd point to Okoro's FTr, AST%+Ast/TO-ratio and TS% to make my argument why Okoro has been a lot more encouraging as a prospect in my eyes. I think that really shows their differences and relative strengths quite well – Little wouldn't be allowed to be an inefficient player with 25% USG who struggles to play within the flow of the game, whereas I absolutely see Okoro's approach and numbers as sustainable and something to build one. He's decently efficient even with a poor FT%, he's aggressive, he moves the ball nicely and he doesn't need a high usage to play his game and make an impact.

[clyde21]

not comparing them as prospects and not saying they're same level prospects but it's interesting to see how one's stock skyrocketed while the other's plummeted

[clyde21]

When I look at Little and Okoro in comparison, I'd point to Okoro's FTr, AST%+Ast/TO-ratio and TS% to make my argument why Okoro has been a lot more encouraging as a prospect in my eyes. I think that really shows their differences and relative strengths quite well – Little wouldn't be allowed to be an inefficient player with 25% USG who struggles to play within the flow of the game, whereas I absolutely see Okoro's approach and numbers as sustainable and something to build one. He's decently efficient even with a poor FT%, he's aggressive, he moves the ball nicely and he doesn't need a high usage to play his game and make an impact.

i agree Okoro is a better prospect, better BBIQ, quicker reaction times, less usage (although I think that was more role than type of player, Little is not necessarily a high usage guy)

but I'm not sure I see enough of a difference there to say one is a top5 pick while the other is bottom of the first now that I look and think about it, Little has some pluses on his side too, like length, FT rate and FT% and rebounding by a pretty substantial margin.

i would say Little is closer to Jaylen Brown than Okoro tho, I think Fisch's Winslow comp for Okoro is more apt

[EvanZ]

I guess I'm one of the few that thinks Okoro's athleticism is a bit overrated, possibly because people have a strong bias for football-type bodies.

Would it surprise anyone to learn that Jalen Harris or Josh Green have more dunks than Okoro? Okoro is explosive when he has room to run, but I think in traffic he's vertical is a bit underwhelming especially combined with his lack of elite length/reach.

[The-Power]

but I'm not sure I see enough of a difference there to say one is a top5 pick while the other is bottom of the first now that I look and think about it, Little has some pluses on his side too, like length, FT rate and FT% and rebounding by a pretty substantial margin.

FTr is actually a big advantage for Okoro. But I get your point and I also believe that Okoro isn't a top 5 pick for most teams (there might be exceptions, haven't thought about it much).

[getrichordie]

I guess I'm one of the few that thinks Okoro's athleticism is a bit overrated, possibly because people have a strong bias for football-type bodies.

Would it surprise anyone to learn that Jalen Harris or Josh Green have more dunks than Okoro? Okoro is explosive when he has room to run, but I think in traffic he's vertical is a bit underwhelming especially combined with his lack of elite length/reach.

I wouldn't read too much into that. There's a lot of instances where he chooses to lay the ball in over dunking when it's clear that he could have dunked. Sometimes it's just a random thing. You can't really measure dunk opportunities for each player, so it's hard to put much stock into that.

[The-Power]

Okoro's most intriguing athletic trait isn't his leaping ability anyway – it's his strength, and the fact that he moves so well with his type of body.