The Chicago Bulls have a clear direction. After muddling through several seasons, banking on overvalued veterans to make an impact, the Bulls have cleaned house and begun the belated youth movement.

Within a year, the Bulls have jettisoned Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Lonzo Ball—all 30 years old or older, aside from Ball, who’s 27. In turn, Chicago has added Matas Buzelis (20 years old), Josh Giddey (22 years old), Jalen Smith (25 years old), Tre Jones (25 years old), Isaac Okoro (24 years old), and Noa Essengue (18 years old).

While dumping Ball may not have been the best move, considering there were plenty of intriguing offers at the trade deadline, the overall swap was far from ill-conceived. Chicago sent a player who has never appeared in more than 63 games in a season, for Okoro, who’s only appeared in less than 63 games once. Despite being drafted three years earlier than Ball, Okoro has played in 47 more contests.

Furthermore, Okoro fits what the Bulls are striving to accomplish: improving their wing unit with a focus on defense. Ball is far from a detriment on the defensive end, but he’s hardly available and not a multi-positional defender like Okoro is.

Isaac Okoro’s three-point shot has been his best offensive attribute

However, in basketball, there’s value to be had on both sides of the floor, something Okoro hasn’t been as proficient in. The former Auburn Tigers’ defensive potential was off the charts as a prospect, but his offense lagged. Thus far into his career, his scouting report has proved true.

Okoro has never averaged double figures despite seeing as many as 32.4 minutes per contest in a season. The 24-year-old holds a career average of 8.1 points per game, and his career-high is 32 points. A season ago, Okoro averaged a career-low 6.1 points per contest and shot 46.4 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from long range.

The 6-foot-5 wing’s three-point percentage was above league average last season, as was it in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Yet, he’s never averaged more than 3.2 three-point attempts per game. Okoro has been hesitant from beyond the arc, only relying on no-dribble, wide-open attempts.

In Chicago, Okoro’s three-point proficiency will be put to the test. A season ago, the Bulls generated the most wide-open (six-plus feet) three-pointers in the NBA by a wide margin. Chicago averaged 25.6 triples per game—2.5 more than the next-best team. For what it’s worth, despite a culture shift, the Bulls have ranked in the top-10 in wide-open threes for three straight seasons.

Okoro will receive plenty of open threes, but it’s fair to wonder if his above-average three-point percentage will hold up, especially not playing alongside All-Stars Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.

The Bulls will quickly find out if Okoro’s potentially elevated three-point clip is for real in a free-flowing, uptempo offense. The Cleveland Cavaliers also hoisted a ton of threes, like the Bulls, but the Cavs were noticeably top-heavy, considering five players launched at least 5.2 threes per game as opposed to the Bulls’ more well-rounded approach (only three to attempt more than 5.2 per game).

Okoro might continue to stray away from attempting tight, or even open (between 4-6 feet) threes in Chicago. Nevertheless, he’ll be encouraged to let it fly more often, which will finally reveal if he’s an average marksman or if his low-volume and shot diet has skewed his efficiency.