2020 NBA Mock Draft Version 6.0: Coronavirus halts NBA season
3
Isaac Okoro Forward, Auburn University
12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.9 blocks, 51% fg, 29% 3pt, 32 mpg
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in an extremely interesting position picking third overall. The front office will be crossing their fingers on draft night in hopes that Cleveland does not trade their pick and opts to take a positional need over talent.
Anthony Edwards would be a near ideal backcourt partner for D’Angelo Russell, but the Wolves would certainly need some luck in order to acquire him. Instead, the team opts to take Isaac Okoro of Auburn: a lockdown defender who has legitimate star potential. Okoro is an athletic freak who can guard opponents’ top scorers starting on day one.
Offensively, he is certainly a project piece, but his inside and transition game look very good. His three point shooting will determine his ceiling, as it does for so many players nowadays.
The Wolves are an atrocity on the defensive end, and they will not be able to make a playoff push without improving on that end. Okoro will come into the NBA as a well above-average defender, while allowing Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell to take on the scoring load while he works on his offensive game. Okoro without a doubt has bust potential, but at the very least he will be an above-average defender who can guard the one through four with ease.
His jump shot mechanics are salvageable and he has shown that he is willing to at least attempt threes, doing so at a rate of 2.5 per game. The fit between Okoro and the Wolves coupled with his high ceiling is too good to pass on at three, even if he is not the best player available.