Cavs: Previewing all of their Summer League games

Previewing Cavs’ Summer League: Game 2 – Orlando Magic

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic: Aug 11, 6:00 pm ET, ESPN2

The Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans knew with a high degree of confidence that they were going to be able to draft Evan Mobley at the third pick, and overall the first five picks contained the five players everyone expected at the top. Things got surprising from there, as the Oklahoma City Thunder took Australian wing Josh Giddey with pick No. 6.

Giddey is 6’8″ but handles the ball like a guard, and his passing should be a delight to watch in Las Vegas. He was the kind of player the Cavs could have considered trading back into the lottery to draft, although in the end he went higher than anyone expected.

The Thunder, in all-out rebuilding mode, will play a number of young prospects while at Summer League. Tre Mann, a 6’5″ guard out of Florida, was their other first round pick. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is a rookie out of Villanova who went in the second young, a do-it-all 6’9″ forward who was one of college basketball’s better players last season.

Theo Maledon is one other player to keep an eye on. The French point guard was at one time considered a lottery prospect, but he fell into the second round in the 202 NBA Draft. Last year with the Thunder he was inefficient and struggled with turnovers, but he also had a number of highlight plays and his upside is still high.

The Thunder Summer League roster is on the smaller side, and they should all have a tough time scoring inside on Mobley. The fun thing to watch for will be the passing of Giddey and Maledon as they get acclimated to their teammates.