Agbaji Should Help Right Away

NBA Draft night was uneventful if you were looking for blockbuster trades, but the Cleveland Cavaliers did alright for themselves.

We have said since the results of the lottery were known that it should be difficult for the Cavs to draft a project. We understand that’s what the draft has become, trying to project what a college player, usually 19 or 20 years old, will become.

Koby Altman and GM Mike Gansey should have been looking differently. After being in the top four in the Eastern Conference standings as late as the All Star break, the wine and gold (we guess we should say, new gold) need to finish in the top six in the East next year. That’s the next step for the franchise.

To that end, they needed to add either a veteran by dealing the pick, or take someone who is ready to step in and contribute immediately.

On a good team, which the Cavaliers are now, it is difficult for a guy picked in the middle of the first round to get minutes. Usually, it’s because they don’t know how to defend at the NBA level.

Cleveland took a four year college player in Ochai Agbaji from Kansas, voted the Most Outstanding Player at this past year’s Final Four. Agbaji is 6’6″, 215 pounds and has improved his shooting, particularly from three point range, every year.

And he has been a good defender at the college level as well, and can switch on the perimeter (which we think is a blight on the game, actually), the way most NBA teams do it.

He may not have a high ceiling, but he has a low floor, and at pick #14, that’s not a bad thing. Adbaji is probably a better player right now than many of the players picked ahead of him. Three years from now, that might be a different story.

But again, the Cavs aren’t in the business of long-term development anymore. And it’s not like they have a bunch of grizzled veterans. They were the 8th youngest team in the league last season, and that’s with Kevin Love, Ed Davis, and Rajon Rondo.

The age of their core players, Darius Garland (turns 23 in January), Evan Mobley (21 last week), and Jarrett Allen (24 in April), would put them in the top three in terms of youth.

Let’s not forget that Agbaji also fills a position of need. The Cavs aren’t exactly teeming with 6’5″ or 6’6″ players who can shoot the ball. The rookie should get plenty of opportunities to contribute.

The free agency period is coming up and the trades will probably start throughout the NBA after the calendar turns to July.

Hopefully, Altman and Gansey aren’t standing pat. We believe the wine and gold need another veteran wing and another veteran big man as well as a point guard, unless they have decided Collin Sexton fits as both a #1 or a #2.

And they still need shooting.

They did a good job in the draft though, getting someone who can help right away. This is a key year for the franchise. They can’t settle for another play in game season.