Portland Trail Blazers: 2020 Draft prospect of the week: Isaac Okoro

With the Portland Trail Blazers close to being eliminated from the playoff race, we will break down a draft prospect each week. Today it’s Isaac Okoro

The Portland Trail Blazers aren’t far away from being eliminated from playoff contention. With this in mind we will look to break down one prospect every week until the NBA Draft. First-up, is Isaac Okoro.

The Blazers need defense and a rim attacking presence with size in this years draft. As Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum age it will become more important that we have wing defense and a rim attacking threat. This brings us to the first prospect.

Issac Okoro

Isaac Okoro is a six-foot-six combo forward out of Auburn. He is a muscular 225 pounds and has a six-foot-eight wingspan. He has nice long strides and is an explosive athlete, especially in the open court. He attacks closeouts with real energy and has a high defensive ceiling.

Watching game tape of Okoro, he jumps out of the gym. He has a nice euro-step and uses his speed and length to finish over and through contact. He has shifty moves and doesn’t seem to get flustered around the rim, he knows his spots and gets to them with ease. Because of his size and strength he can bully smaller opponents and get to the rim with ease, he doesn’t settle for floaters or jumpers and tries to get all the way to the cup.

He attacks hard off the dribble and can take the ball all the way to the cup even if he has initiated the offense himself. Okoro also doesn’t shy away from contact, often going into the opponents body to draw a foul or finish through contact.

His three-point jump shot, though the form looks ok, is a work in progress. He only attempts 2.5 a game and hits 28 percent of these. This sample is small, but when broken down it shows that he shoots 41% percent, this means that when coming off screens or shooting off the move on hand offs his percentage is much lower.

Fans shouldnt be overly concerned about a one and done wing not being able to perform these type of plays straight away. Especially as Okoro wouldn’t be the focal point of the offense.

He will need to continue working on his shot as his free throw shooting is a weakness. He gets to the line often but only shoots 65 percent there. He is young and has time to work on this though.

His transition play could give this Blazers team a dimension they don’t have in house. Okoro can catch lobs as well as running the floor, and he makes great decisions in the open court.

As a passer he makes quick decisions and can make basic reads. He doesn’t stop the ball and his vision would tell you that he may have room to grow here. He likes making the right play though and is unselfish.

Defensively he has help instincts and anticipation. He can defend well in transition too, snuffing out opposition attacks by zeroing in the ball. He can turn defense to offense by intercepting passes and he is strong on the ball. He has great vision and seems to be in the right place at the right time.

On the ball he has quick feet and can get around screens easily. It looks like he can defend quicker guards as well as wings, and if he continues to work on his body, he could guard power forwards also He is a high energy guy who flies all over the floor for rebounds and deflections.

As a rebounder he also great instincts. On offense he has a strong second jump and has good anticipation for locating out of area balls.

Okoro has workons in terms of his shot and passing. He is raw and exciting with great physical potential. He will need to continue working on his offense to be a plus in the halfcourt, but he would already be a good defender in the NBA.

As a two-way player he would fit nicely on the Blazers, he has the athletic ability and defense that this team requires, while also fitting the timeline of the other young Blazers. Currently mocked between 10 and 14, he may be available come draft night for this team.