Former Auburn forward Isaac Okoro traded to the Chicago Bulls
A former Auburn basketball star is on the move. On Saturday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Chicago Bulls would be trading guard Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for small forward Isaac Okoro. It is questionable trade for Cleveland considering the injury history for Ball. Okoro is a reliable defensive player that also has value from the three-point line. Ball will go to a backup role with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 2024 season was the fifth season in the NBA for Okoro. He averaged 6.1 points per game and was 37% from the three-point range. For his career he is averaging 8.1 points and has a three-point percentage of 35%. His best year as a professional was the 2020-21 season when he scored 9.6 points and averaged 3.1 rebounds.
Okoro was drafted by Cleveland with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He played just one season for the Auburn Tigers. During the 2019-20 season he played 28 games and started each one. He averaged 12.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds. Auburn finished that season with a 25-6 record and appeared ready to make another run to the Final Four. All postseason events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Auburn made their surprising run to the Final Four the previous season in 2019.
Okoro should see more playing time in Chicago versus what he saw in Cleveland this past season. He averaged just 19.1 minutes a game after averaging 27.1 the year prior. His playing looked to diminish each year after averaging 32.4 minutes during his rookie season.
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