For Cavs’ Summer Squad, Promise Has Been Name of the Game

LAS VEGAS — Led by Emoni Bates and Sam Merrill, Cleveland’s lights-out shooting resulted in a 100-77 victory over the Grizzlies at the NBA Summer League here on Monday. The new additions to the Cavs’ roster did not disappoint, as Bates shot 5-of-8 from the 3-point line and Merrill shot an impressive 8-of-11, contributing to a team total of 55.6% from downtown. The young talent continues to outshine their opponents, as the Cavs earned a second blowout victory in a row.

Generally speaking, in the eyes of fans, the results of summer league games does little to change the narrative of where teams are projected to end up in the standings for the coming year. Be that as it may, the anticipation surrounding the new draft picks shows there is a lot at stake in Vegas for young up-and-coming players. 

Whether it is the first or last pick of the draft, or even an undrafted player, there is always a showcase of next-generational talent on full display for fans. And if you tuned into the most recent Cavs-Grizzlies game, you were able to witness a spectacular shooting performance by the Cavs’ newly signed guard, Merrill, who scored 27 points in 21 minutes. The 6-foot-4 guard, out of Utah State, who was notably the last pick in the 2020 NBA draft, came out firing against his former team. 

The 27-year-old felt he had something to prove, which may have come from having the added motivation of going against the Grizzlies, who waived Merrill in the middle of the 2021-22 season. This is all in benefit to the Cavs, who recently signed the 2021 NBA champion to a three-year contract. Before earning his contract, Merrill was the No. 1 overall pick in the G League Draft, averaging 18.4 points per game for the Cavs’ affiliate, Cleveland Charge.

No matter how you look at it, these games matter to both the players, who are looking to showcase their talent, and front offices, who are looking to justify their draft selections and signings. As the young draft picks are vying to compete, to not only validate their front office’s commitment to them, but to also prove all the other teams that passed over them wrong.

With this in mind, as a result of last year’s Caris LeVert trade, Cleveland’s protected top-10 pick went to the Pacers in this year’s draft. For that reason, the Cavs did not have the opportunity to select a first-rounder this year. Important to note, as the Cavs are rather short-handed on first-round picks, fans will have to get used to watching the commissioner skip over them in the next three out of six seasons. 

Consequently, with limited draft assets, there is limited room for error. Needless to say, every pick matters for the Cavs therefore, in this year’s summer league, all eyes are on the second-round pick (No. 49 overall) in Bates. This is the same player who was the first sophomore ever to win the high school boys’ Gatorade National Player of the Year award. It goes without saying, Bates’ talent and notoriety far exceeds that of any normal second-round draft pick. 

Indeed, the young prospect out of Ann Arbor, at one point in time, was regarded as the No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. Coming out of Eastern Michigan, in his one and only season, the hometown kid averaged 19.2 points and 2.5 threes made per game. The young, versatile small-forward is known for being a high-volume shooter who is capable of stretching the floor on the wing. 

However, questions of inefficiency and shot selection, and maybe even off-the-court issues, led to Bates falling in this year’s draft. Some of these doubts were quieted in the third game of the Cavs’ summer league, as the rookie showed his prowess on both the offensive and defensive end. The 19-year-old scored an efficient 21 points, as well as displaying some defensive versatility, recording 2 blocks and 2 steals. 

The takeaways from the game showed that at 6-10, Bates seems to be able to get his shot off with ease, both off the dribble and by way of catch-and-shoot. Not to mention, with the combination of length and ball-handling skills, this leads to elite shot-creating capability. Adding a multifaceted three-level scoring threat that can create opportunities off the dribble will no doubt take pressure off of the Cavs’ All-Star backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. 

As a result of the draft pick’s stellar scoring ability, the Cavs improved to 3-0 in this year’s summer league. Is this a sign of things to come for the 2023-24 Cavaliers? Or maybe July is too early to tell.

Some may argue that it’s too soon to get excited about the young prospects’ play, and the doubters can justify their argument by bringing up the 2014 Cavs Summer league. This was the year when the 2013 first overall draft pick, Anthony Bennett, also led the Cavs to win their first three games of the Las Vegas tournament. The UNLV alumni averaged nearly a double-double and scored 16 points per game. Bennett showed flashes of scoring proficiency in the summer league, but that never quite translated to the NBA season. This left many fans and league front-office executives puzzled. 

One theory, that no one seems to give any consideration, is the location of that year’s summer league. Bennett was a star at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. And it must be remembered, the Las Vegas summer league is hosted at the Thomas & Mack Center, where the former Runnin’ Rebel star played home games in college. 

This may seem like a stretch, if you didn’t already know Bennett’s collegiate home/away splits. Notably, the former No. 1 pick averaged 5+ more points per game playing at home (18 ppg on 58% shooting) compared to away games (13 ppg on 44% shooting). I guess you could say for Bennett, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Despite the small sample size, so far throughout the summer league, Bates is showing his potential ability to make an immediate impact for the Cavs this upcoming season. Seeing that, this is an encouraging sign for a team lacking at the wing position most of last year. This explains the moves made this offseason by the front office, signing Georges Niang in free agency and acquiring Max Strus through a trade. Notably, both newly added players have 40+ career postseason appearances between them. 

With Strus’ and Niang’s ability to catch and shoot on the wings, the Cavs’ front office has definitely made it a point to fill the team’s needs with experienced players. The new additions hope to bring leadership to a promising youthful team, which finished fourth in the Eastern Conference. 

While keeping the majority of the roster intact, the Cavs look forward to running it back, building off their success from the previous year. Albeit, the excuses are running out for the young team, being only two months removed from the elimination from the first round, the fans are silently thinking, “Do it in the playoffs.” 

Despite the sobering and disappointing end to last year’s season, fans still have much to be optimistic about. As it is important to keep in mind, it was the first time since 1998 that the Cavs made the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster. This offseason consisted of making moves to add depth to the already established young core of Mitchell and Garland, and rim protectors Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. 

Besides obviously lacking experience, the team needed a wing player that can both play defense and shoot. Without paying a premium price, the 3-and-D wing players are hard to come by in the current-day NBA. 

Only time will tell if Bates can be the missing rotational piece for a young Cavs team hoping to make a deep playoff run. If Bates can develop his defensive effort to match his offensive mindset, he looks to fill an important role on an already talented Cavs team that may have gotten itself the steal of the draft. 

At the same time, there appears to be minimal pressure on the rookie to do it himself, as the re-signing of LeVert and the acquisitions of Niang and Strus could all help contribute to making a deep playoff run. Ultimately, the question is, can they be the difference-makers late in the year, when it comes playoff time? We will just have to wait and see.

No matter what, fans have much to be excited about for not only next season but the long-term future. And winning a summer league championship can only add to the optimism in Cleveland.