The Cleveland Cavaliers began their 2022 NBA Draft on Thursday night by selecting Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji 14th overall, which was not the most shocking selection. Following that, the Cavaliers would select three players in the second round at 39th, 49th and 56th overall.
With their 39th and reportedly likely also 56th selections, Cleveland went with international prospects Khalifa Diop, a big from Gran Carania in Spain’s Liga ACB, and Luke Travers, a wing from the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s NBL. Cleveland would select Isaiah Mobley, a big from USC, at #49.
We’ll have to see possibly in coming years what those stashed prospects could become, and the Cavaliers could be onto something with the Mobley selection, particularly as a big with some stretch potential, and nice passing/defensive instincts.
When it comes to Agbaji, the key selection at least earlier on, he should be a player that can help the Cavs, seemingly as soon as next season. Agbaji was a four-year starter (almost exclusively) at Kansas, and he had a decorated senior season capped with a national title.
He projects as what could be a ready-made catch-and-shoot player that is very athletic, an astute off-ball mover as a shooter and cutter, and could be a quality perimeter defender. He shot 40.7 percent from three on 6.5 attempts per outing last season at KU, and 37.7 percent from three on 6.9 attempts per game as a junior.
In regards to the Agbaji selection, I personally don’t believe that’d affect and a possible Collin Sexton signing, who seems highly likely to be back, and Caris LeVert could still very well get more time with Cleveland next season. LeVert is extension-eligible, but he could be an expiring trade piece to use this offseason or during next season, so we’ll see.
However, when it comes to the Agbaji outlook, while it’ll take some time to figure out the minutes for the perimeter guys, it does seem that Isaac Okoro could be the Cav that could be affected the most by this Agbaji pick. Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the team will be keeping a close eye on that from here.
Okoro looks to be the Cavs player impacted the most by this Agbaji pick.
Okoro has held his own defensively, and I commend his efforts through two seasons on that end of the floor. He can often do a nice job against key perimeter threats, and while I prefer Lamar Stevens for stretches against bigger wings, when those are the matchups it appears, Okoro has done solid work defensively.
The workload for him on that end has been nothing to sneeze at, and versus a number of primary playmakers, he can help deter drives, and his screen navigation improved versus NBA players last season. Okoro’s off-ball defense is something I see as an improvement area, but all in all, I give him his due for his defense thus far.
The other end of the floor is the more concerning thing, though. Okoro is still a very young player at only 21, and I get that, and coming out of one collegiate season at Auburn, he had a ways to go there. The dude is still pretty raw.
But next season, to warrant a starting or considerable minutes-share, Okoro needs to show more offensively. He’s had 9.6 and 8.8 points per game in his first two seasons, in 32.4 and then 29.6 minutes per contest.
Okoro did show some positive signs as a catch-and-shoot player in the second half of last season, which led to his three-point shooting clip increasing to 35.0 percent in Year 2, albeit on only 2.3 attempts per contest, down from 3.2 in Year 1. In his last 40 games of last season, he shot 38.0 percent from three, on 2.0 attempts per outing in that span, hardly a significant volume.
Okoro is not a player that’s shown much as far as shot creation growth, or signs for that matter, in set offense. So the catch-and-shoot growth, or ball handling development, likely has to be there for him to be playing a considerable minutes-share next season.
The defense is his strength, and that’s been solid during his share of occasions, particularly when Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen were both available. I give Isaac his credit for his efforts there, but there has to be more tangible growth signs more consistently next season if he is a player that can regularly play near 24-28 minutes per game. I personally don’t foresee that happening, though.
So, while I’m not saying it’ll be early on, and I’m not suggesting it’s a certainty, Okoro looks to be the player most affected by this Agbaji pick. Agbaji doesn’t appear to be much of a shot creation presence, nor is he a playmaker for others at this stage, in fairness.
Despite those things, he does have a 6-foot-10 wingspan, and he could be a quality defender pretty early on on the perimeter. With that factored in, along with his catch-and-shoot, and movement shooting potential, he could be a player that could cut supplant Okoro regularly in the rotation down the road.
Again, Okoro is just 21, and Agbaji is 22 already, but I do think with his length, shooting abilities and in instances with length in the frontcourt around him, he could appear in a variety of lineups, and some with Darius Garland and Collin Sexton for offensive stretches. Cleveland will have to sort out the minutes-share, of course.
Regardless, with Agbaji in the fold looking onward, too, Okoro for now could be a player that could potentially be expendable for Altman and company, feasibly. That’s if Lamar Stevens were to be kept around.