The Cleveland Cavaliers and Isaac Okoro‘s “reps remain in contact,” per cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. “Cleveland likes Okoro. It values him- to a point. Wants him back — at
the right price.”
“Sources say the Cavs have already made multiple variations of what they deem fair, multi-year offers that align with Okoro’s perceived market value and his place within the hierarchy of the organization. Those potential deals also give him financial security.”
Fedor also took to the Wine & Gold Talk Podcast to say that he’s “not sure what the offer is specifically…”
Cavs Lowballing Free Agent Isaac Okoro Could Cost Them
“…The sense that I get in talking to people around the NBA is that it’s a multi-year offer in the annual range of $8 to $10 million,” Fedor reports.
Interestingly, Fedor states that the Cavs have let Okoro’s market decide itself.
“Teams have had an opportunity to use their cap space on Isaac, and they have chosen not to,” Fedor adds. “There have been teams out there that have the mid-level exception available. They’ve had an opportunity to use that on Isaac, which is a little bit north of what his qualifying offer is… and they haven’t done that.”
Contract Comparisons
A player’s free market value being determined by his and other team’s interest in him isn’t a novel concept.
Nonetheless, teams have often paid above or below a player’s free market value, so it’s not quite a law. In a case where a free agent may earn more than expected, it comes down to factors such as potential and respect. For example, Evan Mobley isn’t producing at an ideal level offensively. However, the Cavs still offered him a max contract extension. The same can be said of Darius Garland, who regressed at both ends last season.
Okoro isn’t on either player’s level. Yet, he’s only 23 years old, an elite perimeter defender, and now an efficient deep threat. An offer of $8 to $10 million annually would pay him a similar amount as the highly touted Alex Caruso ($9.9 million). Yet, it’s worth noting that Caruso will turn 31-years-old next season. Again, Okoro is just 23.
The only player who has a similar age, skillset, and production as Okoro is Indiana Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith. Yet, the 24-year-old Nesmith makes $11 million per season, a tad more than the Cavs are offering. With that being said, Okoro may want even more than that.
Unfortunately for the 2020 No. 5 pick, “if it gets to a point where Isaac and his people are looking for multiple years around $12 to $15 million… that’s not a number that the Cavs would be comfortable with moving forward.”
If paid between $12 to $15 million per year, Okoro’s contract would be similar to New Orleans Pelicans swingman Herb Jones. After signing a four-year, $53.8 million contract with the Pelicans in 2023, Jones will make $13 million next season.
To be frank, Okoro has a reason to believe he’s on Jones’s level. Though he doesn’t have the star power of the Pelicans fan favorite, he’s a multipositional lockdown defender playing a 3-and-D role. Perhaps the Cavs don’t see it that way. Yet, if they look at the rest of their roster, they’ll be hard-pressed to find an on-ball defender like Okoro.
Plan B
Ultimately, Cleveland is arguably lowballing Okoro. As a result, the Georgia native is probably best off signing his qualifying offer and entering restricted free agency in 2025. Then, he’ll enter the offseason with multiple executives eyeing his performance to see if they’ll bring him on.
With that being said, the difference between this summer and next could just come down to timing.
Teams have been finicky about signing multiple players due to the financial restraints dictated by the CBA. Furthermore, because he’s a restricted free agent, opposing teams know that the Cavs can match any offer they give him. Thus, they may have deemed a pursuit of him futile.
Besides, if re-signing Caris LeVert —who averaged 14.0 points per game on .421-.325-.766 splits last season —is so important to Cleveland that they’ll let him walk next season, then Okoro already knows his place with the organization. Unless he doesn’t believe he’ll play well enough in 2023-24 to get better offers than he’s receiving, perhaps he should just leave anyways.
