Blinksportsnews247Agbaji was on the varsity for four years and helped lead Kansas to a national championship as a senior, two things the Toronto front office has always valued. He has the potential pedigree of a former lottery pick, 14th overall in 2022.His measurements are also nice raptors. He’s 6-foot-5, not 6-8 or 6-9, but he has a 6-foot-10 wingspan and doesn’t lack athleticism or two-way upside.
His jumper still isn’t a reliable weapon, knocking down just 33 percent of his three-point attempts in his second NBA campaign, but there’s reason to believe it can become one with time, reps and work. He is a career 80 percent free throw shooter, improved his three-point percentage in his four years at Kansas (41 percent on 6.5 attempts as a senior) and shoots 42 percent of his attempts from the corners. in seasonAgbaji is a moto player and a character who generally fits the culture of the organization, and at 23 – less than 16 months older than Scottie Barnes – he’s in the right age group too..
Olynyk will turn 33 before the season ends, but the Raptors believe he is the perfect veteran for Barnes and their young core. The 11-year NBA veteran, who grew up as a guard before growing up — and played quarterback in high school — is uniquely skilled for a big man.
He can handle the ball, pass and shoot, hitting a career-best 43 percent of his three-point attempts this season with the Utah Jazz. It shouldn’t be long before he becomes a favorite of head coach Darko Rajakovic.And while the Raptors didn’t specifically target him because of his passport, his Canadian roots and years of service with the national team certainly don’t hurt.But let’s not forget that both guys wanted to play in Toronto.
That’s not the only reason why Olynyk and Agbaji were acquired from Utah for Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis Jr. and a late first-round pick in the 2024 draft just hours before Thursday’s trade deadline. That wasn’t the main reason either. Still, it’s a factor Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster are thinking about and evaluating more than ever as they move through the early stages of what Webster called a “multi-year process.”
“I spoke to both of them [after the deal] on the phone and that was my feeling right away,” Rajakovic said. “They were very happy and very excited to join our team. They like what we’re developing here with the young roster and the players in their 20s. It suits Ochai well. I think for Kelly to come home it’s a big part of him being happy and enjoying our team.
I think it’s very important because they want to be here, we want them to be here, and it gives us the continuity to start building something really special.Of course, it’s easier to draw a direct line to Olynyk, who was born in Toronto and grew up in nearby Scarborough before moving to Kamloops, B.C., as a teenager. His father, Ken, the longtime head coach at the University of Toronto, spent one season as a line assistant on Lenny Wilkens’ Raptors team when Olynyk was 10 years old.
His mother, Arlene, was the leading scorer of the team.”This moment is complete,” Olynyk said with a big smile on his face and the Raptors logo on his chest just hours after arriving in Toronto and joining his new club.
“It’s really cool to look back on your life and everything you’ve done so far and how monumental the Raptors have been in my life… Just being in the driveway and pretending to be a Raptor growing up. I fell asleep at night with an alarm clock radio listening to FAN590 and Chuck Swirsky. So putting on that shirt and those shirts and hats and stuff is something that can’t even be put into words.”
Olynyk heard his name linked to several different teams approaching Thursday’s trade deadline. Most of them were challengers looking for the missing piece to defeat them. The Raptors, as Olynyk said, “came out of nowhere.” They used to have a mutual interest.
He’s long admired the franchise from afar, and they’ve needed a versatile floor-to-ceiling big man for some time. It seemed almost inevitable.”It’s always been on our radar, on both of our radars,” he said. “I think maybe it was close [before], but it’s hard for me to know [for sure] … But [now] that it’s happened, it’s pretty scary.
“Agbaj also has a long-standing connection to the Raptors: team president. An old friend of his father, Olofu, who hails from Nigeria, Ujiri has known Agbaji since high school. Toronto kept an eye on him throughout his college and NBA career, but he didn’t have a first-round pick the year of the draft. Ujiri called Agbaj after business on Thursday. The first thing he said was, “You are with family now.””He is very close to my father, they grew up together,” said Agbaji.
“Those relationships before being in the team and knowing him were good. Now that he’s here, he’s right, it’s like being with family.”Agbaji was able to crack Will Hardy’s rotation midway through the Jazz’s rookie season and has played regularly (about 20 minutes a night) since Agbaji was sent to Utah in the Donovan Mitchell trade a few months after the draft and shortly after Rudy Gobert. went to Minnesota, the roster was young but very deep and competitive..
With Toronto, he has a chance to earn an even bigger role on a team that isn’t as deep or as far into the rebuilding process.”Since I got the call yesterday, it feels like a fresh new start,” Agbaji said. – I really feel that there is another part of my game that I can show.
Talking to Darko, I get the feeling he knows this too and Masajo gets it. So really, it’s about the opportunity, and I feel like I have a good opportunity here to show that.”Agbaj has a few more seasons of team ownership left on his rookie deal, and while Olynyk’s contract is expiring, the Raptors. see both players as long-term.
No, Olynyk will not help the team make the playoffs this season, as he would join the Philadelphia 67ers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors or any other team that expressed interest in him before the trade deadline. In the last 48 hours, he had to adjust his expectations and accept it. The fact that he arrived in Toronto made it easier.
This isn’t the first time he’s played the role of veteran leader for a young, rebuilding team — he’s done it with the Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and, most recently, Utah. This time he hopes to succeed.
The Raptors want to keep him beyond this season — it’s not hard to see them offering the veteran center a two-year free agency deal over the summer, or perhaps even extending him before the end of the campaign. The feeling seems to be mutual.
“If it works, I’d like to be here for the rest of my career,” Olynyk said.Both players are expected to play key roles off the bench for the final 30 games of the season, and depending on the future of free agent Gary Trent Jr., Agbaj could be in the starting lineup. position next year.The plan is to make life easier for the new guys as they settle in and get up to speed.
They didn’t tell doctors until hours before Friday night’s game, a nail-biting win over a Rockets team that was missing former Raptor Fred VanVleet. When they were available, the team decided it was best to keep them, and the plan is to make their debut on Saturday against Cleveland. Both Olynyk and Agbaj, but for different reasons, seem like this is where they should be..
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