The case for the Knicks to draft Isaac Okoro
For some prospects, The Strickland is going to take a closer look at why they should be under serious consideration by the Knicks. Some of these pieces will be written by guest analysts who have shown a knack for unique perspectives on the draft. Today’s piece on Isaac Okoro comes from Benoît Lelièvre, one of the voices behind Envergure, a French NBA draft website.
Who is Isaac Okoro?
He’s a 19-year-old, 6-foot-6, 225-pound freshman combo wing with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. In his lone year at Auburn, he averaged 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals a game. He also averaged 51% shooting from the floor, 29% from three and 67% from the free throw line. He also had a free throw rate of .550.
I know what you’re thinking: “This guy can’t shoot. The Knicks don’t need another player who can’t shoot, and his numbers aren’t that great. Are you crazy?”
The concerns about his shooting and volume stats are legitimate, but to paint the whole picture of Isaac Okoro, you have to look a little beyond those stats — or at least contextualize them. Okoro is one of these esoteric basketball players whose influence on the game cannot be completely analyzed and picked apart by box-score stats. The NBA has a few of those players, but rarely do you see lottery-level NCAA prospects with that label. You know what I’m talking about: players who make your other players better by changing the geometry of the game using their athleticism, basketball IQ and relentless energy, like Marcus Smart, Frank Ntilikina, or even pre-breakout Jimmy Butler. More than the sum of their numbers, these guys contribute to wins even when the counting stats underwhelm.
Here is a tangible example of the Okoro effect: when he played Anthony Edwards in January, Okoro had 7/3/3 while Edwards scored 18 points, but Auburn whooped Georgia 82-60. The following month, the two teams played again; Okoro was out with an injury, and Georgia won, 65-55. Okoro is a winner, and a great fit for the Knicks if they want to bring back their winning ways of old.
What would Okoro bring to the Knicks?
A good deal of Okoro’s appeal comes from elite skills that don’t require projections or improvement — skills that will let him impact games positively right out of the gate. All of them fit hand-in-glove with weaknesses of the Knicks.
Defensive discipline: By now, you may have heard that Okoro is the best on-ball defender in this year’s NBA draft (perhaps in Prez’s Okoro draft profile). He has tremendous foot agility and lateral speed for a bulky wing, allowing him to potentially guard 1-4 in the NBA. A coach like Tom Thibodeau would use the versatile Okoro in many different roles on D, shoring up for whatever other weaknesses on defense any given five-man lineup he deploys has. Most importantly, Okoro profiles as the kind of strong wing defender who you can match up on the league’s most dangerous wings. The Knicks have Frank, who can provide that from the guard spot, but none of their wings possess that defensive ability.
Okoro is a physical specimen — but his defense is much more than overwhelming physical talent. He reads offenses, and he understands his responsibilities on defense as part of a team. Part of his low block/steal numbers can be explained by the fact that he doesn’t gamble a lot, and that his job within Auburn’s defense was to shut down his assignment, not roam. Although capable of flashy plays, he’s not seeking them — he is disciplined and he trusts his teammates. It’s part of his blue collar mentality on the court, and would be a welcome complement to Mitchell Robinson’s raw, prodigal defensive gifts. Take a look at this video below from Jackson Frank if you need more proof:
Great finishing at the rim: If you shoot 51% from the floor, but only 29% from three, you are likely making a very high percentage of shots inside the arc. In Okoro’s case, he is making tons of shots near the rim. Okoro is 225 pounds and relentless: he doesn’t mind bowling people over, and he seeks contact (hence the .550 FTR, an absurd number). Without the ball, he’s a smart and hard-nosed cutter who can finish above the rim (and in traffic) in a way that’ll make MSG roar. If he catches the ball with momentum while cutting, you don’t wanna be in the way, lest you end up on the wrong end of a IG clip with a lot of these emojis: 😤.
The Knicks haven’t employed anyone who can do that in some time. While Julius Randle and RJ Barrett are both power drivers and draw tons of fouls, Okoro combines those skills with the ability to sky above the rim.
Versatile passing: I believe this is one of Okoro’s biggest , most underrated selling points. His dead-even assist/turnover ratio doesn’t do his passing flashes justice. He can influence the game in various ways with his passing:
He can be used at both ends of a pick-and-roll. As a screen-setter, he can hit a short roll pass like Draymond Green after setting a screen for a ball handler, or he can hit his center for an alley-oop a la Blake Griffin-to-DeAndre Jordan in Lob City. As a ball handler, he is comfortable hitting the roll man and hitting the weak side corner for an open three. Given his merely OK handle, his comfort with some of these passes is astounding.
He’s also a touch-pass savant, which indicates quick thinking and high basketball IQ. The ball doesn’t stick to his hands, and he doesn’t care whether he gets the assist or not. Many, many times this year he hit touch passes under the basket for easy points. He also is happy to quickly touch-pass to shooters next to him when the ball is rotating around the 3-point line.
He keeps the ball moving and is happy with hockey assists and to keep the play flowing without thinking about whether he needs to dribble or not.
The Knicks have a few promising ball movers in Frank and RJ, but in today’s modern NBA, the more passing/dribbling threats you have, the better equipped you are to deal with tough, switchable defenses. If the Knicks picked Okoro and also signed a capable point guard, they could run out units with three or four very capable passers at once, Raptors- or Celtics- or Heat-style. Check out some of his dimes below.
A winning mentality: Auburn had a 25-6 record this year. Before entering college, Okoro had not lost a game since his junior year of high school. He went his entire senior year — both in high school and AAU — and about half of this college season without losing a game. We’re talking about a kid who played against top competition in the Nike EYBL Circuit and the Nike Hoop Summit, and then in the SEC.
Yes, his teams were good, but it is no accident that whether he played a starring role or a supporting one, his teams were winners. You can see in his game tape that he has internalized what it takes to win — how to support his team by playing smart defense without compromising his teammates, taking charges, staying vertical near the hoop, making the smart passes, finishing when his teammates set him up, drawing easy free throws, cutting to keep the defenses on their toes, gang rebounding… any “little” thing you could want a basketball player to do, he does! The Knicks don’t have anyone who does all of that.
If you haven’t seen Okoro’s film session with ESPN’s Mike Schmitz, I invite you to do so. Okoro combines the magnetism of a star not looking for validation and the self-awareness of a successful role player. He brushes off comparisons to Jimmy Butler, declines to give cliche answers, and displays comfort in his own skin and with his own abilities. This is an intense kid wise beyond his years, who has been a winner and expects to remain a winner.
What is there to worry about?
Clearly, I am partial to physical, do-it-all, two-way wings, but I’m not legally blind. Isaac Okoro has things to work on. Not A LOT of things, but crucial skills nonetheless.
The shot: I know, I know. The percentages are scary and it needs work. His shot prep could use cleaning up, and his supporting elbow has a weird tendency of drifting outside. But guess what? If you can defend enough to stay on the floor and not take dumb shots in the NBA, you will get all the reps you need to improve. He’s also already shown improvement over the last weeks of the college slate. In the last month or so of Auburn’s season, he shot 40% from three and 71% from the line. It’s a small sample size, but it was an uptick nonetheless.
The beautiful thing is that if you goad Isaac Okoro into shooting, he WILL shoot. He will not cower and pass out of open shots. He’ll look you in the eye and take a shot in your face if he believes it’s a good shot. Tennessee went under the screen a couple times in the last game before the COVID shutdown and Okoro made them pay — he clearly began getting comfortable behind the arc as his team racked up more and more wins. That is in contrast to earlier in the year, where his hesitation to pull from deep would often muck things up more for Auburn’s offense.
Look at this crunchtime shot versus Kentucky in February: does this look like a man scared to shoot? Does that shot look broken?
Okoro won’t have to be an elite shooter to be an impact player in the NBA. He does enough other things well: defending, passing, finishing, etc. But he’ll have to get near league average, which he is seemingly not that far off from. If he can get between 34 and 36% from three, he’ll make defenders think twice and open up the floor to his wide array of weapons. That number is well within reach for most guys, so long as their work ethic is there — and that has never been a question for him.
Adding offensive responsibility: Isaac Okoro doesn’t need the ball in order to enjoy playing basketball, which is a great trait. One of the most intriguing points of his draft file is that he can be used in so many different ways offensively: he’s big enough that you can post him up, smart enough you can play him on the perimeter, etc. But he also doesn’t demand the ball when shit hits the fan. He has a comfort zone that he is well aware of.
Taking over games offensively is not something he’s known for. If he’s going to realize the star potential he has within, he’ll have to take the wheel at some point. He has taken more than 10 shots only eight times this season and peaked at 13 in a not-so-convincing performance against St. Louis. He’ll have to take reps in order to become more confident, and for that, his coaching staff will have to empower him to take those shots. The Knicks haven’t been great at consistently empowering their developing prospects. While his “team-first” kind of mentality will shield him from criticism early, it might also curb his upside in the long run, even if his jump shot improves.
Why should the Knicks draft Isaac Okoro?
The million dollar question. Why not go for a much-needed point guard or for a more conventional 3-and-D guy whose shot is already further along, like Devin Vassell? Why draft someone whose skills and flaws overlap so much with RJ Barrett’s?
Leon Rose will have to be strategic in this year’s draft. Going for a point guard would be a mistake with LaMelo Ball and Killian Hayes presumably off the table. Tom Thibodeau has Frank Ntilikina, but Leon Rose will need to make a run at Fred VanVleet, D.J. Augustin, or another capable point guard this offseason to ensure Okoro, Vassell, or whoever they pick is in an optimal situation. And besides, not winning the lottery this year will be a fart in the wind if New York DOES win next year and gets to bring Cade Cunningham to the Garden.
With the eight pick, the Knicks should NOT swing for the fences and try to find a savior. There might not be one in this draft. They shouldn’t draft a point guard with significant risks or a one-way profile.
What they should do is find a player that makes their squad better right away and still has room for growth. Among players who fit that bill, none have more room for growth than Isaac Okoro. He will play right away and help the team right away. He will be useful, and the comparisons to Jimmy Butler are not that far off. Butler came into his own in his fourth season in the NBA after establishing himself as a ruthless, physical role player first. Butler was 22 when he was drafted. Okoro is 19 with many NBA-ready skills — which are hallmarks of star wing players — and is coachable as well. It will take time and love, but what you’ve seen in Auburn this year is the mere shadow of what’s to come.
