When he’s out there, Cavs need Ochai Agbaji to be ultra-confident

When the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Ochai Agbaji with the 14th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft in late June, it was apparent what the rationale was. Agbaji is a player who steadily improved as a three-point shooter off-the-catch over his four-year collegiate career at Kansas, and Cleveland was linked to Agbaji throughout the draft process.

Now, there’s plenty of others involved, and one would assume it’s going to take some time to sort things out when it comes to minutes for the 2 and 3. The likes of Caris LeVert, Collin Sexton still seemingly, whether or not a new deal is reached for him, Isaac Okoro and Lauri Markkanen/Dean Wade are guys that come to mind at the 2 and 3 spots.

Point being, it’s difficult to forecast how long it will be, at the moment in this case, before Agbaji could potentially be a guy that plays a notable minutes-share.

That being said, if there’s a potential trade involving LeVert, or perhaps a sign-and-trade at some point involving Sexton, that could open up some Agbaji minutes. Or just in general, if Agbaji’s perimeter shooting is there in some time early on this coming season, he could be a player that cements himself in the rotation.

To me, though, it’s evident that, while they likely are anyhow, Cleveland needs Agbaji to be putting looks up when they come without hesitation, and to have no conscience as a deep shooter.

When he’s out there, the Cavs need Agbaji to be ultra-confident.

At this point for the Cavaliers, it’s not as if Agbaji is coming in and with them needing him to be a starter from the jump, or with him having been a top 3 pick or something. This isn’t a guy that was a Darius Garland-type pick, or Evan Mobley, who had the hype of being what could be Cleveland’s franchise centerpiece in the near future; we might even see more fuel to that fire going forward after his stupendous rookie season, too.

Conversely, for Agbaji, it’s not as if this is a pick with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Now, I’m not writing the dude off or anything, but this was a #14 pick, and it’s likely a selection where the player will be gradually brought along, at least to some degree.

However, when the chances do arise for him, the Cavaliers just need Agbaji to be ultra-confident as a shooter from range. With the Jayhawks, Agbaji showed growth year-to-year as a three-point shooting presence, and in his junior and senior campaigns, connected on 37.7 and 40.0 percent from three on 6.9 and then 6.5 attempts per outing.

For Cleveland, if the shooting translates from spot-ups from the corners and on the wing, and some from movement looks, that’d help the Wine and Gold’s drivers and mesh well with Evan Mobley, for example. Agbaji improved his stroke over his time at KU, has a really quick release, does a nice job squaring himself off-the-catch and should be able to get his share of looks from Darius Garland, among others.

Granted, the Cavaliers will have to tweak things lineup-wise to find the groups the 6-foot-5 Agbaji will best work with, feasibly for rotational stretches. But if he can establish a rhythm shooting-wise, he could be the X-factor-type presence for the Wine and Gold in his share of outings, even as a rookie.

Agbaji has the makings of a solid defensive piece, also, and his 6-foot-10 wingspan should help him in coming years make some plays off-ball there, and for getting off his shots on the perimeter, to some degree.

Plus, Agbaji is an impactful athlete and as a mover off-ball and in the open floor, his finishing was very impressive at Kansas. That and his cutting should aid him and the team, too.

However, generally, to me it’ll be crucial for Agbaji going forward to be ultra-confident as a perimeter shooter. He did look that way in Las Vegas Summer League, but that was Summer League.

For a player of his ilk, or what it looks to be, one can’t overstate the importance of supreme confidence for if he’ll pan out or not. He’s going to inherently have some ups and downs as a rookie; he just can’t have that confidence waiver.