The Utah Jazz are looking for some help this offseason. They're looking for players who can improve the team, both shooting the ball, rebounding the ball, and playing defense at every level. Yet, while there's a reason to focus on other areas of need, the biggest hole the team has right now is their perimeter defense.
The Utah Jazz need help to up their defense. They have a few good players, Kris Dunn and Walker Kessler come to mind, but Dunn is a free agency this season. They're the team's two best defensive players, but they need more. They need guys who can help them, or if necessary, replace them.
Preferably, whoever the Jazz get would help Dunn and Kessler bolster the team's defense, but if the team is no longer interested in keeping Dunn, Bleacher Report may have found his replacement. Again, keeping both and adding this player is the way to go.
According to Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey, the Utah Jazz's most realistic option this offseason is the Cleveland Cavaliers' guard/forward Isaac Okoro. Okoro, who isn't much of an offensive player, may be a realistic option for the Jazz, we're just hoping he's not the only option.
Bailey rightfully points out, however, that the team needs more help on the perimeter, writing;
"Realistic: Isaac Okoro
After moving Ochai Agbaji and Simone Fontecchio last season, the Utah Jazz are woefully short on wings.
And as another team near the outset of a rebuild, Utah can afford to throw a "make Cleveland think twice about matching" offer to Isaac Okoro in restricted free agency.
The 23-year-old fits the rebuilding timeline, shot 39.1 percent from deep in 2023-24 and is developing into a solid, multipositional defender."
Let's be very clear, Okoro is a bust. He's the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and he's never averaged double-digits in a season. He's averaging just three shots from three, for his career, and doesn't even average one full shot. He's not a good offensive player by any means.
He is, however, the perfect defensive player for the Utah Jazz. Assuming we're running things back next season, the goal should be to have Dunn re-signed, and Kessler in the starting lineup, that way if Okoro were to come, the team's defense would be as good as possible.
He's too limited offensively for the Cavs to seriously consider bringing him back. The Cavaliers have always hoped he'd develop into a three-and-D type of player and haven't. So he's no longer a fit with the Cavaliers. The Jazz don't have the same expectations or needs as Okoro. He isn't their third-round pick, he isn't their bust.
He can be a defensive specialist with the Jazz, either as a part-time starter or as a full-time rotational guy. Pair him with Dunn and Kessler, and you may have one of the best defensive teams in the league, even if Collin Sexton or Keyonte George are on the court.
Okoro makes a load of sense if he isn't coming in with a huge contract, or having to give up anything more than a second-round (or matching contracts) for him.
Why not an Okoro for Jordan Clarkson trade? I'd be down for that.