When the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Ochai Agbaji last month with the 14th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, it was not a shocking pick.
Agbaji looked to be a player that could make a difference for the Cavaliers early on, with how he could be a knockdown shooter for them, and be a valuable floor spacer. Agbaji steadily improved as a shooter over the course of his time with the Kansas Jayhawks, and it was understandable as to why he was linked to Cleveland throughout the draft process.
Agbaji could be a meaningful catch-and-shoot player even in the earlygoing in his career with the Cavaliers it appears, if his perimeter shooting can translate when he gets opportunities.
He hit 40.0 percent of his three-point attempts in his senior season at KU, and 37.7 percent of his attempts from range as a junior. This was with the attempts last season being 6.5 per outing and the previous year at 6.9 per game.
Granted, there will be others involved, when it comes to the 2 and 3 for Cleveland in the rotational sense, with Caris LeVert, Collin Sexton potentially, Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman, perhaps, for instance. Agbaji could be a player that ends up receiving some real stretches of play even pretty early on next season, though, for catch-and-shoot/off-ball purposes, one would imagine.
It’ll take some time for things to shake out, of course, but Agbaji could end up having a bigger role next season than some may think, frankly.
Agbaji could ultimately end up having a larger Cavs role than some think next season.
At this juncture, it seems pretty safe to say that Agbaji is not going to be starting next season at its outset. The Cavaliers look to be running it back in regards to when the guys are healthy, in relation to the three-big lineup, and I’d think that at the beginning of next season, Lauri Markkanen should be much more adjusted to a de facto starting 3 role.
With the 2 position in mind in this sense, it’s currently reportedly likely that Caris LeVert starts at that spot, albeit this is before training camp, which will eventually decide things. Now, could LeVert potentially be an expiring trade piece next season?
Maybe, if he is not extended, or maybe Sexton could be a trade candidate, based on how he/his representation and the Cavaliers seem have to have a gap to mend on the new contract front, and he could possibly be on an expiring deal next year.
If either LeVert or Sexton are out of the picture at some point down the road, that could play into more minutes for Agbaji, in theory, or either way, I don’t think it’d be far-fetched if Agbaji could cut into Okoro’s minutes.
It’ll likely take some time into next season for Agbaji to receive his share of meaningful minutes, in fairness. The Cavaliers coaching staff is going to have to sort some things out when it comes to the perimeter/wing guys, aside from Darius Garland at the starting 1.
That being said, I don’t personally expect Agbaji to be all that viable as a shot creator early in his career, as that was not a key strength of his at Kansas in his four-year collegiate career, but he could be a knockdown guy off the catch. He could very well an impact floor spacer if given the opportunities in the first chunk of the season, say within the first 12-15 games.
And if that’s the case, I could foresee him becoming a rotational fixture after that point, perhaps playing 20 minutes per game pretty regularly after the first quarter of the season, we’ll say. If Agbaji can be efficient in his time on the floor, and hold up defensively, while being an active cutter and help positioning on the glass a bit, the Cavs will find ways to get him on the floor the rest of the way.
I personally wouldn’t expect to see him as a starter often next season, but if consolidation among the 2/3 group, and especially the natural 2 group happens, that could potentially happen a fair amount as the season progresses. I don’t personally believe that after the first chunk of the season, however, that he’ll regularly be a DNP-coach’s decision.
All things considered, with him playing time at the 3 as well, with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen at the 4/5 I’d imagine in those instances, Agbaji could end up having a bigger role next season than some may think.