Isaac Okoro Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers, Isaac Okoro Agree To Three-Year Contract

September 14th, 2024 at 1:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Cavaliers are re-signing restricted free agent Isaac Okoro to a three-year, $38MM contract, agents Michael Tellem, Jeff Schwartz and Marcus Monk tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Okoro, 23, came in at No. 20 on our list of 2024’s top 50 free agents, making him the top remaining player who had yet to sign a new deal. It took more than two months, but the NBA’s lone restricted free agent has reached an agreement to return to Cleveland.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Okoro’s $11.8MM qualifying offer would have expired on Oct. 1, though he still would’ve been a restricted free agent had a deal not been reached by that point. The Cavs were approximately $10.4MM below the luxury tax line before accounting for Okoro’s new contract, Marks adds.

According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), Okoro’s three-year deal features $33MM in guaranteed money. Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Okoro’s contract features some unlikely bonuses tied to his team’s success (Twitter link).

The No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Okoro averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting a career-best 39.1% from three-point range in 69 regular season games in 2023/24, including 42 starts (27.3 minutes per contest). The 6’5″ wing is primarily known for his defense, particularly on the ball, where he’s frequently tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

When we polled our readers about Okoro’s situation last week, 59% of those who voted thought he would end up accepting his qualifying offer — essentially just a one-year contract — to hit unrestricted free agency in 2025. About 17% thought he would re-sign with the Cavs on a multiyear contract.

Scotto reports (via Twitter) that the Nets and Hornets were among the teams that showed sign-and-trade interest in Okoro before he agreed to a new contract with Cleveland.

Once Okoro’s signing is official, the Cavs will have 14 players on standard contracts, though only 11 of those deals are fully guaranteed. Tristan Thompson and Sam Merrill are on non-guaranteed contracts, while Craig Porter Jr. has a $1MM partial guarantee on his $1.89MM salary. All three of the team’s two-way slots are filled.

Poll: How Will Isaac Okoro’s Situation Be Resolved?

September 8th, 2024 at 2:38pm CST by Rory Maher

With training camps set to begin in about three weeks, there haven’t been many updates on the NBA’s lone remaining restricted free agent, former No. 5 overall pick Isaac Okoro.

Okoro provides real value to the Cavaliers — he’s their best on-ball defender and is frequently tasked with guarding the opposing teams’ best perimeter player. Even with a major size disadvantage, Okoro did an admirable job defending Paolo Banchero in Cleveland’s first-round playoff series vs. Orlando.

The issue is on the other end of the court, where Okoro is an inconsistent shooter and scorer whom opposing defenses frequently ignore. After shooting a career-best 39.1% from three-point range in the 2023/24 regular season, he converted just 25.7% of his outside looks in the postseason.

The Cavaliers extended a qualifying offer — essentially just a one-year contract offer — to Okoro in June, granting them the right of first refusal in negotiations. That QO is worth $11,828,974. If the 23-year-old accepts the QO, he would become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

In late July, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported that the Cavs also made Okoro a multiyear offer, roughly in the range of $8-10MM annually. Cleveland certainly seems to be in the driver’s seat in negotiations and hasn’t budged on that stance, according to reports last month from Fedor and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

One of the primary issues for Okoro is the Pistons are the only team in the league that has cap room available, and there has been no indication they’re interested in testing the Cavaliers with a long-term offer that Cleveland could match. There also haven’t been any rumors about teams potentially using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to make Okoro an offer.

For what it’s worth, the Cavs used the stretch provision to spread Ricky Rubio‘s $1,274,015 dead-money cap hit for 2024/25 across three seasons. Rubio will now count against Cleveland’s books for $424,672 annually through ’26/27. That might not sound significant, but it could help the Cavs re-sign Okoro while avoiding the luxury tax — a key consideration for a team whose payroll is set to balloon in ’25/26, when Evan Mobley‘s rookie scale extension kicks in.

Aside from accepting the QO, re-signing with the Cavs on a multiyear deal, or signing with another team (again, the Cavs could choose to match), there’s one other viable outcome. The Cavs reportedly discussed a sign-and-trade with the Nets involving Okoro and Dorian Finney-Smith, but it sounds like those talks didn’t get serious.

We want to know what you think. How will Okoro’s situation be resolved? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts.

Cavaliers Stretched Rubio’s 2024/25 Cap Hit

September 3rd, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers used the stretch provision to spread Ricky Rubio‘s $1,274,015 dead-money cap hit for 2024/25 across three seasons, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Rubio will now count against Cleveland’s books for $424,672 annually through ’26/27.

Rubio was bought out by the Cavaliers last January with two years left on his contract, announcing at that time that his NBA career was over. He gave up $5.4MM in that agreement, leaving Cleveland with cap charges of $3,722,327 for 2023/24 and $1,274,015 for ’24/25.

The Cavaliers didn’t use the stretch provision on Rubio’s post-termination salary at the time of his release, but as Marks explains, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement allowed them to stretch the second-year salary across three seasons as long as they did so prior to the Saturday (August 31) deadline. Under the previous CBA, using the stretch provision was only permitted at the time of the waiver request.

The move generates an extra $849,343 in cap flexibility for Cleveland this season. That may not seem like much, but it gives the club a little extra breathing room below the luxury tax line as the front office negotiates a deal with Isaac Okoro. If the goal is to re-sign Okoro to a multiyear contract, sign a 14th man to a minimum-salary deal, and remain out of tax territory, that extra $849K could come in handy.

The Cavaliers are now approximately $10.6MM below the luxury tax line, meaning they could offer Okoro a first-year salary of roughly $8.5MM and avoid becoming a taxpayer. That would allow them to go up to about $27.5MM for three years or $38.1MM over four years for the last unsigned restricted free agent on the market.

Even if they end up going slightly into tax territory to fill out the opening night roster, reducing Rubio’s 2024/25 cap hit will make it easier for the Cavs to duck the tax with a trade later in the season.

Eastern Notes: Okoro, Council, Bey, Ball

August 25th, 2024 at 7:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s been very little movement in negotiations between the Cavaliers and the only restricted free agent left on the market, Isaac Okoro, Brian Windhorst reported during NBA on ESPN’s The Hoop Collective (video link). The Cavaliers hold the upper hand, since no team except the Pistons is in a position cap-wise to make a competitive offer to Okoro.

“I think there’s only been a little bit of talking back and forth,” Windhorst said. “I’m sure it will increase as we get closer to camp. But the Cavs are realizing that all the money is spent out there. Okoro has the option of taking his qualifying offer. I am told the Cavs made a multiyear offer, whatever that’s worth.”

Okoro’s qualifying offer is worth a little over $11.8MM.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Ricky Council IV brings diverse skills to the table and Paul Hudrick of Liberty Ballers argues that he should be part of the Sixers’ rotation once again during the upcoming season. Council just needs to become a respectable three-point shooter to earn playing time on one of the Eastern Conference’s premier teams, Hudrick adds.
Forward Saddiq Bey signed a three-year contract with the Wizards this summer as a free agent despite suffering a torn ACL in March. Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network breaks down Bey’s skill set using analytics.
Lonzo Ball continues to defy the odds in his latest attempt to come back from knee surgery, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Ball was recently cleared to start full-contact scrimmages and has started that process on schedule with no setbacks, Cowley reports. The veteran point guard has been participating in scrimmages in Los Angeles. The next step for Ball will be to run with his Bulls teammates at the team’s practice facility, which will allow Chicago’s medical staff to evaluate him and devise a plan for him heading into the preseason.

Two NBA Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned

August 18th, 2024 at 9:39am CST by Rory Maher

Seven weeks into the NBA’s 2024/25 league year, there are only two restricted free agents who have yet to reach agreements on new contracts, and both players ended last season as Cavaliers.

Here are the unsigned RFAs:

Isaac Okoro ($11,828,974 qualifying offer)
Emoni Bates (two-way qualifying offer)

As our Luke Adams outlined last week, the Pistons are the only team in the NBA with cap room remaining, seemingly leaving little in the form of leverage for Okoro, who was the fifth overall pick of the 2020 draft. Detroit has about $10.2MM in space below the cap right now, and that figure could increase to almost $18MM if the team released big man Paul Reed, who is on a non-guaranteed deal.

Okoro makes some sense as a target for the Pistons, given his age (he’s 23), defensive pedigree, and familiarity with new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who coached him in Cleveland. But there haven’t been any hints that the Pistons are considering an offer sheet for Okoro, and they’d probably have to waive Reed to put together an offer strong enough to dissuade the Cavs from matching.

You could also make the argument that Okoro would be somewhat redundant on a roster featuring recent lottery picks Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, a couple of forwards known for their defense and not their jump shots. Okoro converted a career-high 39.1% of his three-point tries in ’23/24, but he’s a reluctant shooter for a wing, only attempting 3.1 per contest in 27.3 MPG. Having two of those three players on the court at the same time would really cramp offensive spacing, which has been an issue for Detroit for several seasons.

The Pistons currently have Jaden Ivey, Simone Fontecchio, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Malik Beasley on the roster as well, players who figure to be vying for minutes at the two and three. Veteran Tobias Harris is another option at small forward, though he typically spends more time at power forward. Even if they really like Okoro, playing time certainly wouldn’t be handed to him.

The Cavs have reportedly discussed a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets involving Okoro and Dorian Finney-Smith, but it sounds like those talks didn’t get serious. A reunion with Cleveland still feels like the mostly likely outcome for Okoro, the question is more about what type of contract he might sign.

Given how much money Cleveland has committed in extensions this offseason for Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, plus Darius Garland‘s max contract, the team’s salary outlook for ’25/26 and beyond is looking quite expensive.

While the Cavs reportedly value Okoro both on and off the court, it makes sense that they would be reluctant to offer him a contract in the range of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception for multiple seasons. Still, even in a “worst case” scenario, Okoro could simply accept his $11.8MM qualifying offer and hit unrestricted free agency — perhaps opening more options — in 2025.

Bates’ situation is more straightforward. The Cavaliers have one two-way spot earmarked for JT Thor, but still have a pair of two-way openings. There’s an expectation that Bates, who spent his rookie season on a two-way deal with Cleveland, will return on another two-way contract.

And-Ones: Toscano-Anderson, 2024 Draft Class, Durant, FAs

August 13th, 2024 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran swingman Juan Toscano-Anderson, who appeared in 11 games with Sacramento last season and spent much of the year playing for the Mexico City Capitanes, will be part of the G League United roster that plays a pair of exhibition games against Mega Basket in September (Twitter link).

In past years, the G League Ignite participated in those exhibition contests against international clubs — the most notable games occurred in 2022 when Scoot Henderson and the Ignite matched up against Victor Wembanyama and Metropolitans 92. However, with the Ignite no longer active, the NBAGL will put together an All-Star team of sorts for this year’s event.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Asked during an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George about No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and the rest of the prospects selected near the top of his year’s draft, Hawks guard Trae Young suggested that there may not be any franchise players in the 2024 class. “Some guys might surprise us, but a lot of us look at them as role players,” Young said (hat tip to Clutch Points). “… Whether it’s Reed (Sheppard), who is going to be a hell of an NBA player or Alex (Sarr), who didn’t play well in Summer League, but is going to be a hell of an NBA player, a lot of these guys could be just role players, so I feel like the GMs this year were all probably just trying to figure out who is going to be the best role player for their team.”
Suns star Kevin Durant has become a minority stakeholder in the French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain, according to an announcement from his investment firm Boardroom (Twitter link). Sources with knowledge of the deal tell Peter Rutzler and Shams Charania of The Athletic that Durant and Boardroom bought a “single digit millions” shareholding in the club. Durant visited with the team while he was in France for the Olympics.
Who are the top free agents still available? Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report considers that question, ranking Cavaliers restricted free agent Isaac Okoro atop his list, followed by Markelle Fultz, Lonnie Walker, Cedi Osman, and Justin Holiday. Okoro, Fultz, and Osman are the only players from our June list of this summer’s top 50 free agents who are still seeking new deals.

Cavs Notes: Roster, Okoro, Bates, Nance, Travers

August 10th, 2024 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers are still carrying just 10 players on standard guaranteed contracts for the 2024/25 season. However, the team doesn’t appear likely to make a series of roster additions before the regular season begins.

Craig Porter, who has a partially guaranteed salary, and Sam Merrill, who has a non-guaranteed deal, are penciled in as the 11th and 12th players on the 15-man regular season roster. And, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com explains, one of the other roster openings remains earmarked for restricted free agent Isaac Okoro. There hasn’t been any movement recently in negotiations with Okoro, per Fedor, with Cleveland having made its position clear to the forward’s camp.

If Okoro returns as the 13th man, the 14th spot on the roster would likely be reserved for a “cost-effective, playable, end-of-bench veteran,” according to Fedor, who suggests that the ideal target would be a player who could provide depth and locker room leadership, like Tristan Thompson did last season.

New Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson, who is serving as an assistant for the French national team, is expected to meet with members of Cleveland’s front office after the Olympics to discuss what he’s looking for with that 14th roster spot, as well as possible targets, Fedor writes.

As for the 15th spot, the plan is to leave it open to begin the regular season in order to save some money and maximize the team’s roster flexibility, Fedor concludes.

Here’s more on the Cavs:

Cleveland doesn’t yet have any players signed to two-way contracts for the coming season, but Fedor expects Emoni Bates to return in one of those slots. A two-way qualifying offer remains on the table for Bates, making him a restricted free agent. Pete Nance, who finished last season on a two-way contract and played a significant role on the Cavs’ Summer League team, is another strong candidate for a two-way deal, Fedor adds.
When draft-and-stash prospect Luke Travers left Melbourne United to pursue other professional opportunities, he made that decision in conjunction with the Cavs, sources tell Cleveland.com. However, the plan for Travers remains up in the air — having him sign a two-way contract is the most logical outcome, but it isn’t a certainty yet, says Fedor.
As Fedor observes, as long as the Cavs are carrying just 14 players on their standard roster instead of 15, their two-way players are limited to 90 total games (instead of 50 apiece), meaning Travers could spend plenty of time in the G League with the Cleveland Charge if he comes stateside on a two-way deal. That might be fine with him, but Fedor suggests that a deal in Europe – where he’d presumably have a bigger role than he would in the NBA – is another option that may still be in play for the 22-year-old Australian wing. The Cavs could also trade Travers’ NBA rights, though there’s no indication they’re pursuing that path.

Nets Notes: Fernandez, Bridges, Okoro, Training Staff

August 3rd, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jordi Fernandez spent 15 years working on NBA staffs and in the G League before the Nets gave him his first head coaching opportunity in April. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Fernandez speculates that his experience as head coach of the Canadian national team gave him an edge in Brooklyn’s hiring process.

“Everybody says that they value the G League experience, which I think was amazing,” he said. “And for me it was a big part of why I kept developing. But coaching Canada and qualifying for the Olympics, it was the last push to be a head coach in the NBA and I’ll always be thankful for the opportunity. But also thankful for these guys, how hard they play. They are the ones that qualified. They are the ones that got a medal, so I obviously benefited from it.”

The Olympic obligations have prevented Fernandez from concentrating full-time on his new job, but he tells Spears they haven’t been a major distraction. He says Nets officials have been “super supportive” about his Olympic duties, and he was able to monitor Summer League games and practices by watching film. He’ll be able to devote his full attention to the team once the medal round in Paris wraps up next weekend.

“I’ve been calling and texting the (Nets) players,” Fernandez said. “I talked to Dennis (Schröder). Talked to the young guys. I talked to (Trendon) Watford. We just we got him back on the team, which we were very happy about. It takes time to build relationships, but they’ve been responsive and they’ve been awesome.”

There’s more on the Nets:

Also in the interview, Fernandez addresses the fact that the team he expected to coach changed significantly when Brooklyn traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks in June. Fernandez said he supports the deal, which brought back Bojan Bogdanovic, Mamadi Diakite, Shake Milton and a large collection of draft assets, signifying that the Nets are fully moving into a rebuilding stage. “It was one of the avenues that we’ve had in mind and how we wanted to do things,” Fernandez said. “Obviously, he’s an amazing player and have a lot of respect for him. Every good trade has to be a win-win. And this is one avenue that we were contemplating. I’m very excited because I know that we can build something more special.”
Despite speculation earlier this week, it doesn’t look like the Nets are in position to acquire Isaac Okoro from the Cavaliers, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said on the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast (hat tip to Sports Illustrated). Cleveland was rumored to be considering a sign-and-trade deal involving Dorian Finney-Smith. “I don’t think those talks got really, really substantial to my understanding,” Fischer said. “I just don’t think it can even happen right now after the salary stuff has all shifted out.”
Jonathan Felipe, the Nets’ head trainer, and Les Gelis, director of sports medicine (injury management) and co-head of the performance team, won’t be returning for the upcoming season, according to NetsDaily (Twitter links).

Nets, Cavs Have Discussed Okoro, Finney-Smith

July 29th, 2024 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

As the Cavaliers consider various scenarios involving restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro, one option they’ve explored is a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Sources tell Scotto that, while no agreement is imminent, Brooklyn is considered a possible sign-and-trade destination for Okoro. Veteran Brooklyn wing Dorian Finney-Smith – who is known to be a potential Cavaliers target – has come up in discussions between the two teams involving Okoro, Scotto confirms.

With the Nets hitting the reset button to some extent, adding the 23-year-old Okoro on a longer-term deal may be a better fit for the organization than retaining the 31-year-old Finney-Smith, who can reach unrestricted free agency next summer if he declines his 2025/26 player option.

The Nets are one of several teams to have expressed some sign-and-trade interest in Okoro, Scotto writes, adding that the former Auburn standout could potentially earn an annual salary north of the mid-level exception ($12.8MM) if a sign-and-trade comes to fruition.

Recent reporting indicated that the Cavs have made Okoro a multiyear offer that would pay him less than his $11.8MM qualifying offer on an annual basis — that offer is estimated to be in the range of $8-10MM per year. However, Scotto hears that rival teams believe Cleveland would be prepared to match an offer sheet up to about the full non-taxpayer mid-level.

The Cavaliers are approximately $9.7MM below the luxury tax line, with at least two roster spots to fill, so re-signing Okoro and remaining out of the tax would require him to accept a starting salary slightly below $8MM. A higher starting salary – including his $11.8MM qualifying offer – would push team salary into tax territory.

It’s unclear if staying out of the tax is a priority for Cleveland this season, given that the team projects to above that line next season (and beyond) once Evan Mobley‘s new maximum-salary extension takes effect, Scotto writes. If the club brings back Okoro and wants to avoid the tax for one more year, trading a player like Caris LeVert or Georges Niang could be an option, Scotto speculates, though he notes that Niang is close with Donovan Mitchell, while LeVert is an important part of the second unit. Okoro himself could become a trade candidate later in the season too.

In Scotto’s view, the worst-case scenario for the Cavs would be for Okoro to accept his one-year qualifying offer, since that would give him trade veto rights for the 2024/25 season and he could potentially leave for nothing next summer. For that reason, Scotto expects the Cavs to either come to terms on a multiyear deal with the former No. 5 overall pick or to find a sign-and-trade scenario they like.

Four NBA Restricted Free Agents Still Available

July 27th, 2024 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Nearly four weeks into the NBA’s 2024/25 league year, there are only four restricted free agents who have yet to reach agreements on new deals, including just one who is coming off a standard contract.

Here are the unsigned RFAs:

Isaac Okoro, Cavaliers ($11,828,974 qualifying offer)
Emoni Bates, Cavaliers (two-way qualifying offer)
Jacob Toppin, Knicks (two-way qualifying offer)
Oscar Tshiebwe, Pacers (two-way qualifying offer)

There are still a couple teams with cap room available, so one of those teams – the Pistons and Jazz – could make life difficult for the Cavaliers by giving Okoro an offer sheet in that $12-15MM range, but there has been no indication either club plans to do so. A sign-and-trade to an over-the-cap team is another possibility, and Fedor confirmed in a subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com that the Cavs have had talks with some possible trade partners about a deal, but it doesn’t sound like any real progress has been made on that front.

Barring a late-summer push from a new suitor, Okoro may ultimately have to decide whether he wants to earn a higher salary in 2024/25 and bet on himself again as an unrestricted free agent in 2025 or if he prefers the security of a multiyear deal that would pay him less in year one.

Okoro’s leverage is limited, but even his “worst-case” scenario would be a guaranteed $11.8MM salary for next season. Bates, Toppin, and Tshiebwe have far less leverage and a far less appealing set of choices.

Of the 15 players who received two-way qualifying offers this offseason, only one (Vit Krejci of the Hawks) has agreed to a standard contract. Two others had their QOs withdrawn, while nine have returned to their respective teams on new two-way deals. The odds are good that the final three – Bates, Toppin, and Tshiebwe – will eventually have to accept two-way contracts too.

The deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent passed on July 13, so Bates, Toppin, and Tshiebwe aren’t facing any sort of short-term deadline on whether or not to accept their two-way offers. They can afford to wait a little longer to make their decisions.

Still, even if they accept their respective qualifying offers, those one-year deals come with few assurances. A two-way player can earn a $578,577 salary over the course of the 2024/25 season, but a qualifying offer is only partially guaranteed for $77,500.

The Cavaliers currently have three open two-way slots, while the Knicks have two, so I think Bates and Toppin would be well-positioned to stick around into the regular season if they accept their QOs.

Tshiebwe’s outlook is less clear. Within the last 24 hours, the Pacers filled two of their three two-way openings by signing Quenton Jackson and Tristen Newton. Tshiebwe could take the third slot, but Indiana still has an unsigned second-round pick (Enrique Freeman) who may be the frontrunner for that final two-way, as Dustin Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star.

Tshiebwe was an All-NBA G League first-teamer and the G League Rookie of the Year this past season, so I expect he’d draw two-way interest from other teams if the Pacers determine they don’t have room for him.