Gradually, Cavs’ Ochai Agbaji should be able to come into his own

Early on in his rookie season, I don’t anticipate we’ll see Ochai Agbaji have a particularly notable role for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As a 14th overall selection, and not a top three or four pick, and with plenty of others involved at the 2 and 3 positions, it’s going to take time for Agbaji to have ample opportunities. How long it is into the upcoming season is something we’ll have to see about.

It’s apparent that Agbaji will have to contend with guys such as Caris LeVert, seemingly Collin Sexton, if he’s back, Isaac Okoro, and feasibly Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens for minutes. One could put Lauri Markkanen a bit in that 2/3 outlook too, with the LeVert/Sexton element in mind, for what it’s worth.

That said, in more so the rotational sense, if Agbaji can show that he can make some things happen as a meaningful shooting presence if opportunities do arise fairly early on, he’ll help his case for more minutes over time. Not to mention, if there is possibly a trade involving LeVert, who is currently expiring, or Sexton, that could lead to more chances for minutes for Agbaji.

The Cavaliers have reportedly had sign-and-trade discussions involving the restricted free agent in Sexton with the Dallas Mavericks, to that point, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com on an episode of The Wine and Gold Talk Podcast.

Now, Fedor stated in his report from there that Cleveland was not interested in what the Mavs were offering, and aren’t interested in what the Utah Jazz, another rumored potential suitor, would be; frankly, it still seems likely that Sexton is back. That could potentially be via the $7.2 million qualifying offer, though; I’d still prefer Cleveland finds a way to sign him long-term, given his offensive abilities, anyhow.

Regardless, as it pertains to Agbaji, circling back, if he can be a valuable rotational catch-and-shoot presence for Cleveland if early chances do come, it seems likely that he’ll find a way to be involved pretty regularly for stretches.

Agbaji connected on 40.0 percent and 37.7 percent of his three-point attempts in his senior and previously junior seasons at Kansas, and improved as an off-ball shooter over his four-year collegiate career with the Jayhawks.

And to me, one would think that over time, if the Cavaliers can find ways to get him into a rhythm, and get him some meaningful minutes to find his spots, he should find his niche and eventually, flourish. It’ll take seasoning, but he should be able to come along in due time.

Gradually, Agbaji should be able to come into his own with the Cavs.

Agbaji is a player that I wouldn’t figure to have much of a shot creation presence, per se, and his playmaking at Kansas for others was not a strength of his game. In that aspect, his assist rate over the course of four seasons was a paltry 9.4 percent.

But for Cleveland, if he can be establish himself as an impactful catch-and-shoot player in rotational minutes I’d think, then the team could definitely find ways to get him chances. He placed in the 94th percentile in catch-and-shoot plays as a senior at KU, per Synergy Sports.

As we expressed, there’s a plethora of other guys involved, too, and if he’s around, I could foresee Cedi Osman getting some opportunities still, and Osman has shown he can get hot for the Cavaliers, and was on numerous occasions last season. Osman is a player that’s been involved in trade rumors, though, had some unfortunate DNPs again near season’s end, and could seemingly be moved.

For Agbaji, however, if the Cavaliers can allow him to get into a groove more as the 2022-23 season progresses, he could have a noteworthy impact for the team. I’d personally not expect him to start next season, in fairness; maybe those chances could come if injuries transpire, leading to some spot starts.

If Agbaji can come along gradually, either way, as time wears on, he could come into his own as a shooter, and he could mesh really well with players such as Darius Garland, and Sexton, for example. The likes of Evan Mobley and Kevin Love are others that I could foresee Agbaji having a nice rapport with, too, given their feel as gifted playmaking bigs.

So, generally, if the chances arise, Agbaji could gradually come into his own over his first season for Cleveland, and looking onward into years to come. If that means guys such as Isaac Okoro, Osman, and/or LeVert are potentially moved, oh well.

But I still could foresee Agbaji playing in some stretches with Okoro, as an aside, and Agbaji’s 6-foot-10 wingspan should help on defense, along with his basketball IQ, even with him 6-foot-5.

It’ll be intriguing to see how Agbaji’s rookie year goes, and along with the shooting potential, his athleticism in transition and possibly being a rotational lob threat on the weak side, even, is something to keep an eye on.