Cavs’ Brandon Knight’s reported work ethic can only help young guys

It would be ideal for the Cleveland Cavaliers if Brandon Knight can help lead by example, and with his reported work ethic, that would seem to be the case already.

The Cleveland Cavaliers need their veterans to set the tone by having an outstanding work ethic, and helping young pieces such as Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Ante Zizic and others with the mental side of the game. Brandon Knight, who has had his ups and downs in the NBA but is definitely a talented guard, would seem to have plenty to provide in the leadership department as well, in particular, based on his reported work ethic.

As we’ve touched on previously, Knight and Marquese Chriss arrived in Cleveland near the 2019 NBA trade deadline last month from being dealt by the Houston Rockets in a reported Alec Burks‘ three-team deal with the Sacramento Kings.

Since arriving with the Cavs, Knight has often been a stabilizing presence alongside Sexton as a starter, and has provided a nice three-point shooting presence off the catch (41.4 percent from deep in his nine games with Cleveland, per Basketball Reference).

Recently, Cleveland.com’s Hayden Grove demonstrated how Knight’s work ethic is likely the reason he’s still playing in the NBA, despite having a number of rough injuries.

What really detailed Knight’s work ethic in the piece Grove wrote was what Ed Waite, a former teammate and friend of Knight, and former Monmouth University player, said about the Cavalier guard.

"“One day in high school, Brandon called me and said, ‘Hey, let’s work out today,” Waite said. “I asked what he had in mind and he says, ‘Let’s go to the beach for a workout then finish up in the gym.“We both pulled up to Commercial Beach in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s like 90 degrees outside. We start the beach workout and after about an hour of work, we proceeded to do sprints in the sand. We kept our socks on, just so the sand wouldn’t feel like walking across a frying pan.”"

From there, Grove touched on how Waite and Knight then went to their high school, Pine Crest School, where they won two state titles together, to get shots up.

"“We both set a goal to make 500 shots apiece,” Waite said. “We get done with that after about two hours. After that nearly four-hour workout session, I was like, ‘I’m done. No more. See you later.'”"

From there, Daite then noted how Knight said later that night that he got up ‘an extra 500 makes.”

Clearly, that’s the kind of worker that the rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for.

We’ve touched on how the rookie Sexton’s work ethic has reportedly enabled him to improve his perimeter shooting as this season has progressed, and with Knight (another guard with an incredible work ethic) sharing the floor with him for considerable minutes post-All-Star break and being in film sessions with him, the example should be set for Sexton.

Grove then highlighted how even after all the work put into NBA game days, Knight would shoot more (even after NBA games and postgame treatment), according to Cavs head coach Larry Drew, who was Knight’s head coach at the time with the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Per Grove, Drew told Knight to “back off a bit” at the time, because of the NBA having “a long season.”

Now, Knight (again, per Grove) will reportedly at times still do some postgame shooting at the Cleveland Cavaliers training facility in Independence, but he usually gets recharged from postgame rest to “get back into a rhythm.”

Grove also would go on to mention how Knight’s work ethic (including a 4.3 GPA in high school that led to him getting 18 credits from AP coursework going into the University of Kentucky) comes from his Dad working 12-hour days on the railroad, and graveyard shifts in order to support his family and “make every one of his son’s games.”

In the interview, Grove illustrated how Knight believes his faith is the reason he’s gotten to this point, overcome a rough ACL injury, as said by Daite, and that Knight feels it’s a blessing to have wound up in Cleveland, because Knight knew it “would provide an opportunity unavailable in many other cities.”

Thus far with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Knight has averaged 6.9 points on 54.9 percent effective field goal shooting and 2.3 assists in 17.9 minutes per game, per NBA.com.

Hard workers such as Knight (who’s playing on his fifth team in eight NBA seasons but is still showing he belongs) and Matthew Dellavedova, another backcourt veteran, and Channing Frye, another model teammate who has bounced around the NBA, should only help to set the right example for players such as Sexton, Osman and Zizic.