There are a lot of eyeballs on Emoni Bates for a second-round pick. The Cavaliers’ rookie forward was selected No. 49 overall — not usually a spot that garners any attention.
But Bates not many second-round picks were considered The Next Kevin Durant when coming out of high school. It hasn’t worked out that way for Bates after an uneven college career, first at Memphis, then at Eastern Michigan.
At times, he looked like a future NBA All-Star. At other times, he looked like he didn’t care. At least, that’s what the scouts said.
With the Cavs at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Bates has undoubtedly shown flashes of that promise. Through the first three games, he’s averaging 16.3 points, shooting 41 percent from the floor, including 38 percent on 3-pointers. At 6-foot-10, Bates isn’t much of a rebounder, but that’s OK. The Cavs are looking for guys who can stretch the floor.
Bates is showing a penchant for doing just that, the Cavs having signed him to a two-way contract.
“I’m the most happy I’ve ever been throughout my whole basketball career, because I feel like I can have fun right now,” Bates said after a recent practice, via Joe Gabriele of Cavs.com. “There’s no expectations. And I’m around talented players. I can learn from everybody, like (Donovan Mitchell), (Darius Garland), Evan Mobley. Even a guy like (Sharife Cooper), guys in the G-League that have been here already. So, I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.”
Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said the same about Bates — that there’s no pressure.
“We want to really help (Bates) with the tools to get into a routine here,” Altman said. “But he has a runway, and he doesn’t have to prove something right away – which I think was part of the problem the last few years. Everyone wanted him to be the next (Kevin Durant), and it’s OK if he’s not that.”
That was big of Altman to say. It really is OK that Bates is not the next KD. The Cavs are just hoping the first Emoni Bates becomes a steal. It sure seems he has that potential.
“It feels so good knowing that this is my new home for right now,” Bates said. “Just being with my coaches and everything. For me, this is a blessing, for sure. Especially because they took a chance on me. This is everything to me.”
- Shooting guard Sam Merrill leads the summer team in scoring at 18.6 ppg through three games. The Cavs are hoping Merrill and newcomer Ty Jerome can add some perimeter shooting off the bench with perhaps some regular minutes. Both will get plenty of chances.
- For more on the Cavs’ summer squad, check out the lengthy post by our Brandon Santomauro, who is in Vegas taking in the games live. (Full story)
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