Likely top-10 pick Isaac Okoro to stay in NBA draft

This was pretty obvious when Isaac Okoro announced he was signing with recently merged LifeStyle Sports Agency and Young Money Sports (the latter of which is rapper Lil Wayne’s agency).

However, now he made it official.

Likely top 10 — and maybe top-five — pick Isaac Okoro is staying in the draft, he told Sports Illustrated.

“I’ll be officially in the draft,” Okoro said. “I haven’t posted it on social media, but I feel like it will be the best move for me. It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to have a chance to make it to the NBA. It feels so surreal right now, but I also know once draft day comes, I’m just gonna be ready for the moment.”

No surprise here, he’s exactly the player who should stay in the draft.

Okoro is a 6'6" wing out of Auburn who caught the eye of scouts because he has the potential to be an elite defender. This season he improved on the offensive end and scored 12.9 points a game while showing some versatility, but he shot just 29 from three (that needs to improve). He’s a bit of a project on offense, but in a down draft year where everyone is flawed, Okoro could develop into a quality role player and elite defender, and that has genuine value.