Ochai- What do we think?

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

My bad... am I supposed to slobber all over him or proclaim him the next Ray Allen/Klay Thompson? He's been solid... if a solid rookie stagnates in year 2 the outlook changes pretty significantly... especially with older rookies.

Neither did I. He plays like Klay lite low usage will hit a lot of threes and hopefully play decent man defense. Every team needs that to be successful

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

My bad... am I supposed to slobber all over him or proclaim him the next Ray Allen/Klay Thompson? He's been solid... if a solid rookie stagnates in year 2 the outlook changes pretty significantly... especially with older rookies.

He’s the quintessential 3&D who will be elevated because he plays with guys like Lauri Markkanen and Kessler

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

It’s just weird to me that with just about everyone here being freaks about NBA basketball that seemingly so few remember players that had some shine early in their careers and then the shine just came off.

I would love Ochai to be great, but he just looks like a good rounded player to me on a real team. Which is great! But people here talk about him like he’s a star and I think we maybe need to touch the brakes on that.

No one’s freaking out about Agbaji?? He’s the quintessential 3@D wing and that’s exciting

And I think we sell him harder than the Knicks sold Quentin Grimes this summer…

No we don’t?? How are we doing that??

This. I think starting him now is the right move. It's a double showcase... he gets to show us and others what he can do.

we need guys like him though. We have our two stars in Lauri and Kessler and expect to see us add another high usage player through one of the draft trade or free agency we need a high quality low usage guy like OA to make shots and hopefully play defense. He’s better served here. We have assets coming out the *** we don’t need to trade him to build the roster.

I would consider trading him for DFS, like you mentioned above. I think we are going to be in win now mode this coming off season.

Lol he might be just as good if not better and he’s younger and cheaper. Why the fu** would we trade him for DFS? Let alone the fact we might be able to get more for OA.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Neither did I. He plays like Klay lite low usage will hit a lot of threes and hopefully play decent man defense. Every team needs that to be successful

You delusional man... go look at Klay's rookie numbers and come talk to me.

He’s the quintessential 3&D who will be elevated because he plays with guys like Lauri Markkanen and Kessler

His defense is not good yet. He is below the Niang Line in Stocks and Rebounds per minute. He does not get into guys at all.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

No one’s freaking out about Agbaji?? He’s the quintessential 3@D wing and that’s exciting

No we don’t?? How are we doing that??

You just pump him up... say he is untouchable... etc. Doesn't mean you trade him... just juice his value.

we need guys like him though. We have our two stars in Lauri and Kessler and expect to see us add another high usage player through one of the draft trade or free agency we need a high quality low usage guy like OA to make shots and hopefully play defense. He’s better served here. We have assets coming out the *** we don’t need to trade him to build the roster.

I am not saying trade him for nothing. We need guys like him but we also need guys way better than him... if we can use him to get a better chance at a player with higher upside then you do it. We got assets... sure but a team may prefer an actual player to a future pick.

Lol he might be just as good if not better and he’s younger and cheaper. Why the fu** would we trade him for DFS? Let alone the fact we might be able to get more for OA.

 

[Elizah Huge]

I just want it known I love Ochai and absolutely would not trade him to move up in the draft unless it’s into the top-4.

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

You delusional man... go look at Klay's rookie numbers and come talk to me.

I said Klay lite not actual Klay. They have similar games.

His defense is not good yet. He is below the Niang Line in Stocks and Rebounds per minute. He does not get into guys at all.

He shows the ability to be good. He stays in front of his man as good or better than anyone on the team.

You just pump him up... say he is untouchable... etc. Doesn't mean you trade him... just juice his value.

I never said he was untouchable. Go just don’t see the value in trading him for what he’s worth, and we still don’t know what OA the finished product will be. What we do know is he’s made huge strides since the beginning of the season which tells me he’s only going to get better as a 3@D wing. You sound as though what he is now is all he will be.

As far as we needing more help, sure but we don’t need them at the expense of OA we have plenty of cap and picks and other assets for that. We don’t need to use him to strengthen the team IMO.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

He stays in front of his man as good or better than anyone on the team.

You have got to be kidding. Ochai's defense is Charmin soft at this point. You can't always guard people at an arm's length in the NBA

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

You have got to be kidding. Ochai's defense is Charmin soft at this point. You can't always guard people at an arm's length in the NBA

Does he let people get by him at will? No.

 

[checkbookdoc]

I am confident that Ochai will be a good offensive player. I think in a year or two he looks a lot like Buddy Hield this year (~8 3PA per game & ~4 drives/fast breaks) but with a little worse 3% and a better 2% and averaging 14-17 PPG. There is a chance he becomes more, but that is a really great complimentary player.

The real question for him is how good of a wing defender can he become. Right now he seems to have the desire and physical attributes, but needs to improve in technique and scouting. If he becomes a plus defender (not all defense, but good like DFS) then he is going to be awesome. If his defense slips then he is a Malik Beasley level player. All about the defense.

 

[HeatCheck]

I am confident that Ochai will be a good offensive player. I think in a year or two he looks a lot like Buddy Hield this year (~8 3PA per game & ~4 drives/fast breaks) but with a little worse 3% and a better 2% and averaging 14-17 PPG. There is a chance he becomes more, but that is a really great complimentary player.

The real question for him is how good of a wing defender can he become. Right now he seems to have the desire and physical attributes, but needs to improve in technique and scouting. If he becomes a plus defender (not all defense, but good like DFS) then he is going to be awesome. If his defense slips then he is a Malik Beasley level player. All about the defense.

Agreed it will be all about defensive improvement with him which was his main knock (along with age) coming out of Kansas last year.

I believe he can be a nice supporting player for the next 8 years in this league.

Would I package him with picks for a shot to draft a much higher ceiling prospect such as Brandon Miller or a Thompson Twin? Probably.

 

[fishonjazz]

The thing I love about Ochai is that he is the kind of player who you can put in to any lineup and it works. I don't think he needs to get much better than he already is to be a really solid 5th starter / 2nd or 3rd guy off the bench.

I don't love the reports from Tony Jones that seem to indicate that the Jazz see him as the surefire starting shooting guard next year, or that they are thinking of potential free agents/draft prospects in relation to how they would fit with Ochai. I don't think he's earned that kind of respect yet. I definitely don't think he's untouchable, but I would also be careful about giving away a clear rotation level player that fits in to any team we build and is under team control for a long time.

I heard some guys on the local sports radio broadcast yesterday (can't remember their names) who were at a jazz game watching warmups and they said they believe Ochai is going to be one of the best shooters in the league and that they believe he will be a great scorer at all three levels (at the rim, mid range, and 3 point). They were insanely high on Ochai. These guys have access and get to see things we don't so it was pretty encouraging