(670 The Score) The Bulls’ vision in trading guard Lonzo Ball to the Cavaliers for wing Isaac Okoro was to help instill a structure on the defensive end, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas told 670 The Score play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirsky.
“We have an identity in terms of offense,” Karnisovas said in an interview in Las Vegas as the Bulls continue their Summer League action there. “We have to find our identity defensively. In order to do that, we got to start bringing in good defensive players. That was the idea behind acquiring Okoro.”
While they played at one of the NBA’s fastest tempos offensively, the Bulls lagged defensively by ranking 19th in efficiency on that end. The 6-foot-5 Okoro was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He never established himself as a threat on the offensive end in Cleveland, but he has been a lockdown defender on the wing.
Okoro averaged 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season, when he shot 46.4% overall and 37.1% on low-volume 3-point shooting. Whether he starts or is one of the first players off the bench, Okoro projects to play significant minutes for the Bulls.