Cleveland Cavaliers: 4 names to watch during SLC Summer League

The Cleveland Cavaliers start Summer League play on Monday in Salt Lake City, Utah, and there’s some players on that roster for them that stand out.

The NBA Salt Lake City Summer League is set to tip off July 1 and the Cleveland Cavaliers have decided on their representation (per the team’s official announcement). Among the 16-man roster are 2019 NBA Draft picks Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr.

Without a doubt, there will be lots of eyes fixated on those three guys come tip-off Monday at 7 PM on NBATV. Another name to watch will be head coach John Beilein who will be head coaching the SLC summer league squad.

Besides the three draft picks, the roster is made up largely of undrafted free agents. The Cavs, as it sits right now, will have two open roster spots with the expected release of J.R. Smith and the pending status of David Nwaba.

Nwaba was reportedly not extended the qualifying offer yesterday, and per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, the Cavs will have two open roster spots if Cleveland does not end up bringing back Nwaba (which still reportedly could be a possibility, though).

This leaves the door open to those playing in the summer league. There are a few players to keep an eye on who may make a push for the Cavs’ roster, and per Fedor, would likely be playing for a minimum deal.

#1: Yovel Zoosman, G/F, Maccabi Tel Aviv

Yovel Zoosman is a name not familiar to many casual basketball fans. He is a shooting guard hailing from Israel who made his professional debut at the age of 17 for Maccabi Tel Aviv. For a 21-year-old, he boasts plenty of experience, which includes a 2018 FIBA Under-20 Championship MVP as well as other international experience.

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At 6-foot-7, he has great size for a guard. He’s played somewhat limited minutes for Maccabi but was part of two Israeli League Championship teams.

He was considered a late second-round prospect in this draft by many and could be a good value addition for the Cavs, as a potential rotational project piece that can be a quality defender against 2’s and 3’s, as he reportedly has a 7-foot-1 wingspan (per EuroHoops), and seems to use that well as a team defender and when closing out to shooters/drivers near the rim.

Hit shooting numbers are not great in the Israeli league, but he did show a good shooting stroke in Liga Leumit, a “second level” Israeli league. He figures to be a developmental defensive wing.

#2: Jalen Hudson, G, Florida

From St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School, in Akron, Ohio … Jalen Hudson. Hudson, a four-year college player, finished his career with two seasons at the University of Florida.

He played his high school ball in Akron at Saint Vincent-St. Mary’s and organically started his college career at Virginia Tech. His senior campaign was largely disappointing, though, as his numbers dropped in just about every campaign from his junior campaign.

The Gators also struggled out of the gate as a team.

Focusing more on Hudson’s junior season, he demonstrated he can score in a multitude of ways and knock down three-point shots (at a 40.4% clip).

We’ll have to find out whether his sophomore and junior seasons were a better representation of his skill set, as opposed to his senior season which saw his three-point shooting to drop to an anemic 28.0%.

He is already 23 years old, but could still be a nice stash in the G-League for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ affiliate, the Canton Charge.

Consistency is key for Hudson, and the minor leagues of basketball may be a good place to work on his game.

#3: Dean Wade, F, Kansas State

Kansas-native Dean Wade was a four-year starter at Kansas State and garnered All-Big 12 accolades. Wade’s senior season was cut short by a reported foot injury, though, as was his junior season.

When Wade was healthy, though, K-State was a different team. They won the Paradise Jam and were Big 12 regular season co-champions.

Wade himself is an accomplished shooter, especially for a 6-foot-10 big. In a league where floor spacing is becoming an increasingly important factor, Wade’s career 38.6% three-point shooting is a huge draw.

He also had solid defensive ratings from his time in Manhattan.

His draft stock took a hit largely due to his injuries, but if he can stay healthy, he could wind up on an NBA roster and be a solid pro; Wade could carve out some rotational minutes in the 2019-20 season due to shooting and face-up, and could be a nice piece for Cleveland as a two-way player this year, as our Dan Gilinsky detailed.

Bonus #4: Phil Booth, G, Villanova

Phil Booth‘s inclusion is largely a personal victory lap since I suggested about two months ago the Cleveland Cavaliers sign him as an undrafted free agent.

Booth is just a really solid basketball player. He boasts championship experience and played under Jay Wright, one of the best head coaches in the country, at Vanderbilt.

Booth will one day find himself on an NBA roster, and it would be no huge shock for it to be the Cavs, as Booth had averages of 14.3 points and 3.35 assists per game over his last two years at Villanova, and had a very efficient 57.2% true shooting clip in his four-plus year career.

The Cavs have a solid selection of talent on their summer league roster. It is still uncertain how many open rosters spots there will be, though.

Should more spots open up Naz Mitrou-Long, formerly of the Utah Jazz as a two-way player, and Malik Newman, who played for the Canton Charge most of last year, could be in the running for a likely-minimum deal (again per Fedor’s report) as well.

dark. Next. Cavs: Windler-Nance duo should mesh really well

Statistics for this article were gathered from Sports Reference’s college basketball statistics.

Cavaliers: 4 names to watch during Salt Lake City Summer League

By Josh Friedman | Jun 29, 2019