The Utah Jazz need some help off the bench. When the season started, many fans, ourselves included believed that Ochai Agbaji was going to be a big factor for the team. With his ability to hit deep shots, and play solid to good perimeter defense, we thought for sure that he'd be the guy that would make all the difference in the world for the team.
He was looked at as the rightful starter at shooting guard or small forward for what he could do on both sides of the court. Yet, for whatever reason, whatever improvements he was supposed to make he didn't. He ended up regressing and turning in some dreadful performances, not only on offense where he missed a lot of shots but on defense where he's become less and less reliable.
His three-point shooting has fallen off some from the season prior, and his overall impact on offense has fallen off a cliff, going from -1.7 to -2.6. His overall BPM is saved only because he's playing so little these days, his defense isn't being as severely impacted as it was last season. He's hanging around a -0.3 on the season, which may be a bit more inflated than you'd think.
Though, he has had some good defensive outings, just enough to give you hope but not enough to warrant keeping him if he has to be part of a trade package. Right now, the Jazz have made it pretty clear they don't want to have to play him all that much, breaking 20 minutes a game just six times over the last 17 opportunities.
And we can't blame Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy for his refusal to play him more minutes. He's not a consistent enough player to rely on and he doesn't do one thing exceedingly well that forces you to play him. The Jazz shouldn't let moving him in a trade hold back the team if an opportunity presents itself; as much as that may be painful to say.