Cadee: Long-term NBA career still within Olbrich's grasp

• Olbrich signs a one-year deal with Alvark Tokyo as a high-paid B.League import
• He chose Japan over European interest to work with new coach Ryan Richman
• The 22-year-old had 37 NBA games and a triple-double with Chicago last season

Lachlan Olbrich is an NBA player, there's no doubt in the mind of former Australian Boomer Jason Cadee.

While Olbrich may have shocked people by signing to play in the Japanese B.League side Alvark Tokyo, even though it's reportedly a deal which will have him the league's highest-paid import, but Cadee believes the 2025 NBL champion with the Illawarra Hawks will still have a significant career int he NBA.

The 22-year-old versatile forward had standout moments in several Summer League tournaments for the Golden State Warriors, establishing himself as probably the most likely Aussie to earn an NBA contract - aside from those already signed.

His performances for the Warriors added to an already impressive resume, which included joining Michael Jordan as well as Kirk Hinrich and Jay Williams, as the only Chicago Bulls players to record a triple-double in their rookie season.

Speaking on the Cut to the Jase podcast last month, when Olbrich was at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Cadee said he stood out from so many other Aussies showcasing their skills at the tournament.

"Because he's an NBA player, I think that's the difference," Cadee said on the basketball.com.au podcast.

"Like there's some guys at Summer League that won't ever be an NBA player, and there's some that will be, and there's some that are top draft picks.

"But I just think, like Lachy answered questions last year in his time with the Bulls and in the G League. He was having triple doubles, like being a 6'11" version of Josh Giddey out there."

There's no doubt Olbrich will be a star in Japan but moving to a different competition doesn't rule a long NBA career out for the youngster, according to Cadee.

"Over the course of the next few years, I think he is an NBA player who can become an NBA role player," he said.

The B.League has become a genuine destination for Australians rather than a stopover, and the traffic runs both ways. NBL clubs have spent this off-season playing pre-season games against B.League opposition, with Perth headed to Okinawa in September to face the Chiba Jets and the Ryukyu Golden Kings.

Olbrich joins the likes of Boomers big man Nick Kay in Japan while Brock Motum has left the league to play in Taiwan and Keanu Pinder has returned to the NBL with the Cairns Taipans - the club he won back-to-back Most Improved Player awards with.

After making his decision to sign with Alvark Tokyo, Olbrich told ESPN one of the biggest attractions was to play under coach Ryan Richman, who has been an NBA assistant coach before.