Cavs’ Emoni Bates Getting Another Chance To Rise As Summer Run Begins

July 12, 2024

Cavaliers forward Emoni Bates has one NBA season under his belt, though most of that was spent in the G League. So where does he go from here?

How about the Las Vegas Summer League with the rest of the Cavs? That starts on Friday. Bates won’t specifically say so, but the goal is to earn a spot on the parent club, become a contributor there, and soon.

The Cavs need perimeter shooting from the wing. It wouldn’t hurt if that player has size. Bates offers both at 6-foot-9. He has the upside — we all know that. But there is also a reason he dropped to No. 49 overall in the 2023 draft. Some of it had to do with what some people perceived as a lack of effort. Some said he hasn’t done enough beyond score in the college and the G League. Others said maybe it was his defense.

As for the Cavs after Year One, there’s still a big willingness to find out. Can that upside be tapped into and make a difference at the NBA level?

Bates, of course, is as he always is. He’s just ready to ball.

“I really wouldn’t say I want to prove anything to anybody,” he told reporters. “I just feel like going out there and playing the game I love.”

Bates appeared in just 15 games as a rookie. Most of it came in garbage time. With new coach Kenny Atkinson there is likely to come a new opportunity. The goal now is to find out if Bates can become anything more than a really good G Leaguer.

Bates has gained 26 pounds since being drafted, as reported by Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com. The idea is to be able to be stronger, take his game down low at times, absorb contact and finish. The Cavaliers want him to play to his strengths but also become more than just a player who is all perimeter, all the time.

“A lot of the things that we had been emphasizing throughout the season, we saw come more naturally to him,” said Cleveland Charge coach Mike Gerrity. “Just playing quicker and faster when he doesn’t have the ball.”

Bates, for his part, is ready to continue to try to take it to another level. The Cavaliers, for their part, seem excited to see how it goes.

“Just having fun. Being at peace. Doing what I love to do,” Bates said, via Sands. “I really don’t do it for nobody but myself, and the people I love. It’s all about just me playing the game that I’ve been playing since I was a kid.”