Oak Park alumnus Ochai Agbaji was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Utah Jazz as part of a blockbusting trade in which Cleveland received three-time all-star Donovan Mitchell in exchange for three players, including Agbaji, and five draft picks over the next decade.

The Jazz also traded their other major contributor, Rudy Gobert, for a mixture of players and future picks in the draft, setting them up for a significant rebuilding effort in the coming decade.

Sophomore Chi Smith, a NBA fan, had this to say about the trade:

“I was surprised because I thought he was going to be a major player in the Cavs, it’s a young team, and Ochai is young, so I just thought he’d fit well, but I guess that’s not what the Cavs wanted. So, I was shocked, but I guess that’s going to be good for him because he’s going to get a chance to be in the main rotation in his rookie year.”

Basketball coach Josh Howard, Agbaji’s former coach, said this about the trade:

“I was shocked because he hasn’t even played a game for the Cavs and he looked like he did well in summer league, but I understand what the Cavs were doing. Like, if you can go and get a perennial all-star player, you have got to do it. So, it’s just unfortunate that he kind of like, had an idea of where he’s going, and then he is in a completely different place. It’s just the life of an NBA player. He’s an asset and he got traded. I think he’s going to get a lot more minutes there, Utah isn’t going to be as competitive as the Cavs were. So, he’s going to be kind of relied on more but if he’s going to be a building block there, and that’s pretty cool.”