The best and worst-case scenarios for Cavs’ Ochai Agbaji this season

Worst-case scenario

The worst-case scenario for Agbaji is if his head coach J.B. Bickerstaff refuses to play him in the starting five or be one of the first players off the bench. Bickerstaff’s history of knowing how to rotate players to get their best out of them isn’t exactly the best amongst coaches.

I’d like to believe that Bickerstaff will give Agbaji the time to get his feet wet at first but also know that Agbaji is a more talented offensive player than someone like Isaac Okoro and needs minutes on the floor to help the team out the most.

The worst-case scenario would have Agbaji not make it into Bickerstaff’s nine or ten-man rotation. What excuse Bickerstaff would use to justify such a move is anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t likely be in the team’s best interest even though the head coach might suggest that at first.

The other worst-case scenario is that Agbaji suffers some type of injury that would limit his time on the floor and his growth as an NBA player.

Thinking of Agbaji coming from the Kansas Jayhawks team got me looking back at a couple of other former Jayhawks that once played for the Cavs for some perspective on this debate. Darnell Jackson, a 6’9″ power forward came to Cleveland in 2008 and had hopes of having a good career in the league. But after a first season with the team where he only started in two games and played a measly eight minutes a game, he was out of the league by 2011.

Then there was Drew Gooden, a 6’10” power forward, who was selected at No. 4 by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA Draft. He came to Cleveland in 2004, in a trade that brought the team also former Cavalier and fan favorite Anderson Varejao.

Gooden’s time as a Cav was much more successful as he started all three years while in Cleveland and also helped a young LeBron James get to the NBA Finals in 2007.

Where Agbaji falls on this spectrum of past Kansas Jayhawk basketball players as Cavaliers is up for debate, but I like his chances at this point. His shooting abilities, hustle away from the ball and defensive skills are solid and should be able to help this team from the jump.