NBA Draft 2020: Top 3 options for Detroit Pistons with the No. 7 pick

Possible NBA Draft target for Detroit Pistons — Isaac Okoro

Wing | Auburn | 6’6 | 225 lbs | 19 years old 

If Troy Weaver ultimately gives into his past temptations and zeroes in on a toolsy prospect with blossoming skills, then he will have a decent assortment to choose from. FSU forward Patrick Williams makes sense, given his arsenal of pogo-stick leaping, shot-blocking instincts, and shot-making flashes as the youngest NCAA player in the draft. As does USC center Onyeka Okongwu, one of the best athletes in the class with quick-twitch leaping, outlier lateral mobility, and advanced instincts to boot.

But if Weaver were to make a truly OKC-lite selection at No. 7, then Auburn power-wing Isaac Okoro fits the billing as a powerful downhill athlete and dominant on-ball stopper on defense. Built like a Tesla Cybertruck at 6’6 with a chiseled 215-pound frame, Okoro imposes his will on both ends of the floor, whether he’s plowing through defenders on his way to the basket or vaporizing screens when hounding players on defense.

As a freshman, Okoro averaged 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 stocks per game, primarily living at the basket off of cuts and self-created slashes. His modest shooting line of .514/.286/.672 doesn’t inspire much confidence in his shooting upside, but he was nonetheless an efficient scorer even with his limitations outside of the paint, finishing the year with a strong .586 true shooting percentage.

If Isaac Okoro gets a head of steam and wants to get to the basket, then he’s getting to the basket. He’s simply too fast, too strong, too balanced, too inevitable as a downhill slasher for weaker players (meaning, basically everyone) to dislodge him or knock him off his path. Okoro ranked in the 89th percentile scoring around the basket in the halfcourt (64.2% FG) and ranked in the 97thpercentile as an isolation scorer (albeit in a small sample), with his forceful slashing being the catalyst for efficient self-created offense.

He’s also made remarkable strides as a ball-handler and passer in the last year alone, capable of making live-dribble skip passes and an assortment of other passes that make him an even more lethal downhill creator.

The shooting projection is quite troubling, however, which places a severe cap on his offensive utility if it’s not cleaned up. There are not many indicators in his favor, especially when considering that he shot a mere 25.3% on shots away from the basket this year, which is really, really poor. His mechanics aren’t outright awful, but they’re very inconsistent and a tad stiff, meaning he’ll need to undergo a good amount of shot-doctoring at the next level before he’s a respectable threat beyond the arc.

Currently a non-factor beyond the arc, Okoro makes it too easy for opposing teams to ignore him and help off of him, which only makes life more difficult for his teammates. Becoming a respectable threat will take a lot of work, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll get to that point.

Betting on Isaac Okoro is betting on the principle that an object in motion stays in motion, betting on a physical marvel continuing on his current growth trajectory, betting that the tangible handle improvements and passing flashes from the past year ultimately coalesce into real ball skills and creation equity down the road.

This is, by and large, not a safe bet; it carries risk and reward, depending on expectation, and the success of such a proposition lies largely on the shoulders of whichever team takes on the task of developing him long-term.

Betting on Okoro is a proposition that won’t have immediate returns. Honing his handle, adding on to his comfortability as a ball-handler and passer, readjusting his robotic shot mechanics and building up his confidence from beyond the arc, all the while going through the typical ups and downs that young players go through, means that he likely won’t be a positive contributor from day one.

The latter point isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, not if the Pistons are content with being mediocre (if not flat-out bad) for another season, thus setting themselves up for another high pick in a 2021 draft loaded with initiator prospects. And there are always other means of addressing the needs in the backcourt, should Weaver use the No. 7 pick on an upside play or whomever he views as the best player available since he could always look to the trade market or free agency to pick up a guard.

The draft is about finding a player with projectable upside and two-way impact, and given the value of dribble-pass-shoot wings in the modern era, finding a player who possesses two of the three with a lottery selection is a reasonable proposition. Isaac Okoro isn’t without his flaws, but there’s plenty to like, especially for the Detroit Pistons.