This has been encouraging from Ochai Agbaji in Cavs Summer League

Back when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him at the end of the draft lottery about three weeks ago now, it seemed as if Ochai Agbaji could be a ready-made catch-and-shoot player.

It’s difficult to project him having a high ceiling, compared to some other prospects it appears, but for a #14 pick, one can understand where Cleveland was coming from there. Agbaji was a player that was often mocked to the Cavaliers throughout the draft process, and with how he gradually progressed as a shooter in a four-year collegiate career at Kansas, it was not surprising Cleveland went that route.

Agbaji connected on 40.7 percent of his three-point attempts as a senior with the Jayhawks in 2021-22, in what was on 6.5 attempts per outing. The season prior in 2020-21, he shot 37.7 percent from three on 6.9 attempts per game.

Next season, maybe after some stretch of games into the campaign feasibly, Agbaji should be able to help Cleveland as a rotational shooter in stretches. I can’t say that definitively, with others involved, though he currently is helping his case, at least somewhat, in Las Vegas Summer League play.

It is Summer League, objectively, so one can’t overreact. Even still, Agbaji has demonstrated how he could possibly be a knockdown shooter if given the opportunities with the Cavs. He had 16 points in Cleveland’s first game in a win over the Summer San Antonio Spurs, and 24 points in Cleveland’s last game, albeit in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets Summer League squad.

Agbaji had a rough outing with just eight points in a loss to the Summer Denver Nuggets, but in those other contests, he hit four threes versus the Spurs and four threes again versus the Hornets. One thing, in particular, has been great to see from him overall through three games, in which he’s shot 43.5 percent from three, however.

It’s been encouraging to see Agbaji firing away as a shooter, which will be paramount for him with the Cavs.

It’s been Summer League, so one can’t be overreacting here, to get that caveat out there. Despite that, it’s been good to see Agbaji getting his share of shots up from the perimeter, and especially, firing away without hesitation.

For him to be maximized with the Cavaliers in coming years, the Wine and Gold need him to of course hit shots when he’s in, but play with superior confidence. I understand that Agbaji, who is 22 already, may not be a volume shot creator for Cleveland in legit games, as that’s not an area where he was consistently on-point, even later in his KU career.

Having said that, for the Cavs, Agbaji could become a heck of a movement shooting threat if they bring him along, seemingly gradually, and at minimum, him helping with floor spacing, a la Lauri Markkanen, could be impactful for stretches.

The Cavaliers will have to figure out the lineup construction, though, and if consolidation eventually happens down the road involving guys such as Caris LeVert perhaps, and/or Isaac Okoro later, it is what it is.

The gist is, with Agbaji, it again would be notable if he can be a knockdown catch-and-shoot player in coming years, and whether or not shot creation comes, a big-time movement shooter would be big for Cleveland in stretches. Agbaji is a gifted athlete vertically as a cutter and finisher inside, too, which could help the team to take advantage of his shooting capabilities.

In the mean time currently, while I’d think we could see his minutes trimmed down significantly or him being potentially done involving the next two games, it has been encouraging to see Agbaji not be at all hesitant in Vegas Summer League. We’ll see what plays out in the next two Summer League outings for Cleveland, who plays the Detroit Pistons Summer League squad soon here at 5:30 PM Eastern on ESPNU, and they’ll finish either on Saturday or Sunday.

While it’ll probably take some chunk of games during next season before he could receive regular opportunities in rotational stretches, if Agbaji can get into a rhythm and is playing with confidence, he’ll make a strong case. By comparison, injuries have been a considerable part of it unfortunately, but even when the chances have arisen, Dylan Windler just has not panned out the way myself and seemingly a number of others thought he may have as a shooter.

With Agbaji, he is more sturdy at 215 pounds and more put-together than Windler, however, so hopefully he can stay healthy for the most part moving forward.