Right now, the belief across the league is that while Cleveland would like to keep Okoro, there’s a limit to how much they’re willing to commit to him financially. That means the idea of facilitating Okoro in a sign-and-trade, where Okoro is paid an amount he’s happy with from a different team while the Cavaliers receive compensation, comes into the mix.
Okoro’s annual salary last season was $8.9 million. If he signs a deal that is more than $10.7 million annually, which is likely, then base-year compensation would come into play. If Okoro signs for over $10.7 annually, the trade would depend on last season’s salary unless the new contract is at least $17.8 million per season. So, if he signs a deal that starts at or more than $17.8 million, the outgoing salary would count as half the money he signed for.
The most likely outcome is that his new salary would be below, meaning the Cavaliers would only send out $8.9 million in a trade. This is where the complications begin. In typical sign-and-trade scenarios, opposing teams who sign a player aren’t looking to give up much value. It’s why you saw Cleveland only trade Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, two fringe rotation players, and two second-round selections to acquire sharpshooter Max Strus in a sign-and-trade deal last year.
With that in mind, no team looking to sign Okoro is looking to give anything back of serious value. So, the pipe dream of the Cavaliers getting a player like Isaiah Stewart from the Detroit Pistons for Okoro is purely a fantasy. Instead, it’ll be a middling return, which would force Cleveland to get creative in any possible Okoro deal, and, thankfully, the Cavaliers have time on their side to make a multi-team deal happen.
But for the fans who send emails and messages to Right Down Euclid foaming at the mouth over the Cavaliers’ lack of offseason moves chasing a dragon that was dealt to them by Visual Concepts simply because they don’t have patience? Well, that may remain the case, although league sources have expressed to Right Down Euclid that the Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Pistons and the Los Angeles Clippers are all teams who could be slowly, albeit eventually, brought to the table to negotiate in good faith on an Okoro-focused deal.
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