Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro came to the realization on X that when Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news of his three-year, $38 million deal with the team a few days ago, that marked the final “Woj bomb” of Wojnarowski’s career before he announced his retirement from the industry on Wednesday.
Last Woj Bomb 🤷🏾♂️ #LetEmKnow
— IsaacOkoro (@isaacokoro303) September 18, 2024
Restricted free agent F Isaac Okoro has agreed on a three-year, $38 million deal to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Michael Tellem, Jeff Schwartz and Marcus Monk of @excelbasketball tell ESPN. Okoro — the fifth overall pick in 2020 — averaged 9.4 points a season ago. pic.twitter.com/dFInx3QoMS
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 14, 2024
Wojnarowski announced on Wednesday that he has decided to step away from the news industry. He will now serve as the general manager of St. Bonaventure University’s men’s basketball program.
ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has agreed to become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure, he told ESPN. The role includes Name Image and Likeness allocation, recruiting and supporting successful Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt. pic.twitter.com/pEF4HxiNq1
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 18, 2024
Okoro spent much of the 2024 NBA offseason as a restricted free agent. Back in late August — less than a month before Okoro agreed to re-sign with the Cavaliers — ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested that Cleveland had “hard-lined” in its contract talks with the 23-year-old. Fortunately, a deal was able to come together.
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, multiple NBA teams outside of the Cavaliers expressed interest in Okoro before he ultimately decided to remain in Cleveland. The Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets were reportedly interested in acquiring the youngster via sign-and-trade.
The Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets were among the teams who expressed interest in acquiring restricted free agent Isaac Okoro via sign-and-trade before he agreed to a three-year, $38 million deal to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources told @hoopshype. https://t.co/qE2PUxa6MP
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 14, 2024
After Okoro spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Cavaliers, his new contract has him lined up to stay in Cleveland for the foreseeable future.
Okoro has some room for growth on the offensive side of the ball. Despite the fact that he was a top-five pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, he has yet to average double digits in scoring in a single season in the league.
The former Auburn University standout is far from the best playmaker in the NBA right now as well, considering he has averaged only 1.7 assists per contest for his career.
However, while Okoro’s offensive skill set leaves much to be desired at the moment, it’s important to note that he won’t turn 24 years old until January and has seemingly only scratched the surface of his full potential. In addition, his 3-point percentage has improved in each season of his NBA career, so one could argue that he’s becoming a legitimate 3-and-D guy.
Perhaps Okoro will make noticeable strides in his offensive game in his fifth season in the pros and as a member of the Cavaliers.
