Before getting into this article, I would personally like to congratulate Ochai Agbaji and his family. Being drafted by an NBA team is a tremendous feat in itself, also considering you went inside the lottery is amazing as well. Next, I’d like to say good luck to Agbaji, and have fun. Embrace Cleveland and the culture. Anyways, the Cleveland Cavaliers had a good draft, in my eyes, when they selected Ochai Agbaji 14th overall from Kansas.
Agbaji is a 3-and-D wing who played all 4 years in college for Kansas, also winning a National Championship just a few months ago.
Personally, I am a fan of the pick. Even though I did say I wanted Cleveland to draft TyTy Washington Jr. in my latest article, I do think Agbaji was a solid pickup in itself. The Cavs want to make the playoffs next year and contend, and picking Agbaji just reiterates that, as our own Will Holtz emphasized. Having a player, in my opinion, that is among the most NBA-ready prospect in this draft, will really help the Cavs in their playoff hunt next season.
Some people that I know wished that the Cavaliers would’ve drafted someone like Malaki Branham, who is a younger prospect and is from Akron, Ohio. Some others wanted A.J. Griffin, who fell all the way to the 16th pick, getting drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. Personally, I don’t know who I wanted the Cavs to take. There were multiple prospects I was thinking about, but I was on the fence to be honest. But I do think Agbaji was the best choice.
Here’s why I think Agbaji was the right choice at 14.
Agbaji’s defense
The Cavaliers were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA last season, ranking in at the 5th-best team in terms of defensive rating. The Cavs’ players are known to be rugged, hard-nosed, gritty defenders. Just look at players like Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, and Lamar Stevens. All of them give it their all on the defensive end. For Agbaji, he’s a solid defender in his own right.
Even though he only averaged 0.9 steals per night this season, he is more of a player you put in to contest shots, more so than getting steals.
I really like his defense, I’m not going to lie. I think he can really be effective next season on the defensive end for us. A quartet of Agbaji, Okoro, Mobley, and Jarrett Allen next season is fierce on defense, and can also work offensively as well.
I personally think that he will be one of the best rookies next season, in terms of impact, too. Maybe I’m biased, I don’t know. But I do think that defensively he fits in to the Cavaliers’ culture.
Shooting
As a freshman in college, Agbaji shot 30.7% from 3, and ended up as a senior shooting 40.7% from distance, on what was on a robust 6.5 attempts per outing. This also shows how hard of a worker he is.
Starting college, he wasn’t a real threat from long range. Entering the draft, he was known as one of the best shooting prospects available, as the aforementioned Holtz touched on.
Along those lines, according to NBA.com’s tracking data, the Cavs were one of the worst corner shooting teams, being the 3rd-worst team in that stat. They shot 34.4% from the corners, only being ahead of Golden State Warriors (who somehow won the championship being the worst corner shooting team) and the Oklahoma City Thunder. I’d imagine Agbaji shooting a solid amount of corner 3’s for the Cavs next season.
Somehow, he shot only 74.3% from the free throw line in his senior season, but shot a very solid clip from 3, and his shooting stroke is impressive. Like I mentioned earlier, he is a hard worker, so he should be able to be better in terms of free throw shooting. If he can shoot above 80% from the line, that would be a tremendous help for Cleveland next season.
Agbaji can help as a rebounder
To my surprise, Agbaji is actually a solid rebounder. He’s only 6’5”, and he averaged 5.1 rebounds this season for Kansas. He also averaged 0.8 offensive rebounds per game, which is very helpful for the Cavs, as Kevin Love, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen can’t get ALL the rebounds for Cleveland.
Those extra possessions for the Cavs by getting offensive rebounds means a lot, and on the defensive end, Agbaji could be a player that can help Cleveland start the break at times.
What he needs to work on
If Agbaji will be mainly playing at the 2-guard, so he’ll need to become a better playmaker. He averaged 1.6 assists per game in his collegiate career, which is okay, but can definitely be improved upon.
Does he need to be a great playmaker as soon as he plays for the Cavs? No, the Cavs already have Darius Garland, one of the league’s best playmakers. Kevin Love is a solid playmaker for a big man, averaging 2.2 assists per night. But eventually, he should want to try to add that to his arsenal.
Being known as a defensive ace, he only averaged 0.9 steals per game this season, which hopefully can be increased soon. The Cavaliers were one of the worst teams when it comes to getting steals, being the 26th ranked team in that stat. The Cavs only averaged 7.1 steals per night, which is surprising considering the Cavs are statistically one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.
Like I mentioned earlier, congrats to Agbaji. This is just the first step, though. I think he’ll have a long and successful career in this league. Good luck, Ochai Agbaji.