Seven weeks into the NBA’s 2024/25 league year, there are only two restricted free agents who have yet to reach agreements on new contracts, and both players ended last season as Cavaliers.
Here are the unsigned RFAs:
- Isaac Okoro ($11,828,974 qualifying offer)
- Emoni Bates (two-way qualifying offer)
As our Luke Adams outlined last week, the Pistons are the only team in the NBA with cap room remaining, seemingly leaving little in the form of leverage for Okoro, who was the fifth overall pick of the 2020 draft. Detroit has about $10.2MM in space below the cap right now, and that figure could increase to almost $18MM if the team released big man Paul Reed, who is on a non-guaranteed deal.
Okoro makes some sense as a target for the Pistons, given his age (he’s 23), defensive pedigree, and familiarity with new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who coached him in Cleveland. But there haven’t been any hints that the Pistons are considering an offer sheet for Okoro, and they’d probably have to waive Reed to put together an offer strong enough to dissuade the Cavs from matching.
You could also make the argument that Okoro would be somewhat redundant on a roster featuring recent lottery picks Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, a couple of forwards known for their defense and not their jump shots. Okoro converted a career-high 39.1% of his three-point tries in ’23/24, but he’s a reluctant shooter for a wing, only attempting 3.1 per contest in 27.3 MPG. Having two of those three players on the court at the same time would really cramp offensive spacing, which has been an issue for Detroit for several seasons.
The Pistons currently have Jaden Ivey, Simone Fontecchio, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Malik Beasley on the roster as well, players who figure to be vying for minutes at the two and three. Veteran Tobias Harris is another option at small forward, though he typically spends more time at power forward. Even if they really like Okoro, playing time certainly wouldn’t be handed to him.
The Cavs have reportedly discussed a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets involving Okoro and Dorian Finney-Smith, but it sounds like those talks didn’t get serious. A reunion with Cleveland still feels like the mostly likely outcome for Okoro, the question is more about what type of contract he might sign.
Given how much money Cleveland has committed in extensions this offseason for Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, plus Darius Garland‘s max contract, the team’s salary outlook for ’25/26 and beyond is looking quite expensive.
While the Cavs reportedly value Okoro both on and off the court, it makes sense that they would be reluctant to offer him a contract in the range of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception for multiple seasons. Still, even in a “worst case” scenario, Okoro could simply accept his $11.8MM qualifying offer and hit unrestricted free agency — perhaps opening more options — in 2025.
Bates’ situation is more straightforward. The Cavaliers have one two-way spot earmarked for JT Thor, but still have a pair of two-way openings. There’s an expectation that Bates, who spent his rookie season on a two-way deal with Cleveland, will return on another two-way contract.
so what is going on with Okoro? His stats say a bench player 2nd team player. So does he think he deserves a long term deal? I can’t see him worth more than $10 million a season on any team.
Easily Cavs best on ball defender, can guard multiple positions & hits threes. Still young & steadily improving.
The Cavs slowness in getting these two resolved suggests that they are waiting or trying for something else to get done first.
I think they are trying to avoid a long term deal. With the new CBA you don’t want to go way over the tax line. They have 3 players with big contracts in the future.
They’re trying to avoid a high price point in a longer-term deal. The Cavs have settled in with their offer. They don’t want to offer more, but Okoro taking the one-year deal and then leaving for nothing doesn’t help them either, because he gains the ability to refuse a trade if he takes the QO, and that means he’ll leave for nothing in FA, something the Cavs can’t really afford long-term.
Okoro’s pure numbers don’t tell the whole story. The Cavs are much better with a healthy Okoro than without him. Maybe he’s a bench player, but he’s a quality bench player who can fill multiple roles and attack off the catch both from 3 and as a cutter, and can score in transition or attack mismatches with impunity. He has holes in his game, obviously, but his impact is outsized relative to his stats. He’s relegated to being the 5th or sixth option as a starter because all of Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, Allen, and LeVert are better on offense than him, especially with the ball in their hands. Defensively, though, you could make the argument that he’s the Cavs 2nd or 3rd best player.
Even if every read had cap space. No one is offering it to Okoro. He’s underperformed up until this point. Stop the shenanigans and take the QO. Like he’s going to walk away from 11 mill.
Maybe a sign and trade with both. Caris could be used in salary if looking for a all star. Maybe a upgrade at SF. They also need veterans on the bench. No veterans means they will just lose in the playoffs waisting time.
Okoro, Bates and Caris for Ingram and Roddy
I don’t think EITHER team would do that deal.
Only exacerbates cap issues in future for Cleveland and takes away their best defender on the wing.
Levert is redundant on that roster and doesn’t fit their timeline anyway, no one cares about Bates and Okoro has more value to CLE with defense that any other team he’d go to…but it’s no where near the value of even the over-rated Ingram.
Cheap owners who don’t wanna win are ruining the league.