The Cleveland Cavaliers, along with other NBA teams, did not participate in Summer League, either in Salt Lake City or in Las Vegas, last year.
Clearly, the COVID-19 element was the reasoning there, and while precautions will still be in place to some extent for safety, it’s meaningful that Summer League will be back in the fold this go-round.
The Cavs will be taking part in Vegas, with their first game being on Sunday against the Houston Rockets at 6:30 Eastern. For reference, you can check out the Wine and Gold’s Vegas Summer League roster at this link, via the Cavaliers.
So with the Vegas outings in mind, what should be a few intriguing things to be looking out for in Summer League for Cleveland this time around?
We’ll take a look at three storylines for this version of the Cavs Vegas Summer League squad here.
Firstly, it should be interesting to see how see Isaac Okoro does as a crucial playmaking presence for Cavs assistant coach J.J. Outlaw, who will serve as Cleveland’s Summer League head coach.
#1: What Okoro shows as a Cavs playmaker
Okoro wasn’t utilized much as a playmaker in his rookie season, and that wasn’t surprising, with the likes of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton often handling those duties. Cedi Osman at times in bench minutes was a de facto lead playmaker as well at times, and while he had his struggles as as a shooter, I thought he did a nice job when thrust into that role on occasion.
Okoro, conversely, didn’t get many opportunities in his lone collegiate season at Auburn as a key playmaking presence, but he did show he could be a capable secondary playmaker there, and showed flashes in that realm for Cleveland as a rookie. That was more so when he seemed more confident offensively, from April-onward, I thought.
In Summer League this time (he didn’t have the chance last offseason), the Cavaliers do reportedly want to get Okoro reps as a key playmaker, and he should have plenty of opportunities to show progress as a passer in the process. I’d hope over the offseason, that improving his passing feel and awareness, at least as a driver/slasher, has been something the Cavs have been working on a good amount with Okoro.
The potential as a pick-and-roll playmaker was shown at Auburn from him from a secondary sense, so perhaps he can show further progression in Summer League in that realm. Although the volume wasn’t high, spot-up shooters did place in the 95rd percentile off his passes operating out of the PnR then, per Synergy and as h/t The Stepien’s Spencer Pearlman.
Okoro will likely get his share of on-ball scoring reps too, and look to build on his late-season run, and I get that. But we should be looking out for how he does in a significant playmaking role as well, even if that’s for two or so games (each team is guaranteed to have five in Vegas).
#2: Evan Mobley showing flashes of his star potential for the Cavs
It’s clear that Evan Mobley has star potential, with his abilities on both ends of the floor, and skill level/guard-like handle for a 7-footer.
He had 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.4 assists per contest in his lone collegiate season at USC, and was a huge reason why the Trojans made a run to the Elite Eight. Mobley, projecting onward, could form a Twin Towers-type duo in the frontcourt with the newly-extended Jarrett Allen, and generally speaking, be the player that the Cavs look to build around.
In this edition of Vegas Summer League, the second storyline that I think fans should be looking out for is Mobley showing plenty of flashes of his big-time potential for Cleveland.
I’ll be interested to see if Mobley, while he does need to fill out in coming years at only 215 pounds currently, is fighting to deter entry passes defensively and if he is affecting shots as a rotator in the team sense, for one.
And on the offensive end, does Mobley look aggressive in face-up situations? Do we see him occasionally show grab-and-go abilities, considering he’s a gifted passing big with a guard-like handle?
Overall, with the plan for Mobley to reportedly participate in game action, to some degree feasibly, it will be a key storyline to see if he flashes his two-way potential, and possibly shows why he could be a star in the NBA down the road.
Granted, I know this is Summer League.
#3: Does Chandler Vaudrin get playmaking stretches?
In terms of a few others that could make an impact in minutes in there, Tre Scott, who last played with the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, could be a 6-foot-8 defensive forward that could stands out on that end. That was his calling card at Cincinnati, particularly in a significant role in his last two seasons there.
6-foot-6 wing Trevon Bluiett, who was a star at Xavier, and last played with the Jazz’s G League affiliate in the G League bubble, is another name to look out for. And Cavs two-way Brodric Thomas and reserve wing Lamar Stevens could be others in that realm.
But to me, recent undrafted free agent Exhibit 10 signing Chandler Vaudrin, who starting out playing two seasons at Walsh University in Canton, could be an especially interesting player to watch in this setting.
Vaudrin is a 6-foot-7 point forward-type player, and was a standout in his past two seasons at Winthrop, following a season when he was out due to transfer rules then, and I could foresee him receiving some real playmaking opportunities in stretches.
He’s not a shooter, but Vaudrin is a heady passer that is adept with passes to cutters, and is very creative with how helps get perimeter shooters open with his use of ball reversals and ball fakes to manipulate off-ball defenders.
He had 5.8 and 6.9 assists per outing the past two seasons at Winthrop, and he could be a meaningful long-term project playmaker for the Cavs and really their G League affiliate, the Cleveland (formerly Canton) Charge, to take on. So maybe we’ll see him at the controls some in Vegas.
The Cavaliers 2021 Summer League squad will have games on Sunday against that team for the Rockets, on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic’s at 6 EST, next Friday versus the New Orleans Pelicans’ at 6 EST and for the fourth against the New York Knicks’ on Saturday, the 14 at 8 EST. Their fifth opponent is TBD for now.
Regarding how to watch, the Pels-Cavs game will be on NBA TV, whereas the others will be on ESPN2. And the NBA website’s watch feature, along with WatchESPN/the ESPN app, if viewers have a cable subscription, will be options. FuboTV’s live stream/its free trial should do the trick for those without those.