The Cleveland Cavaliers made some news last week at the 2023 NBA Draft when they picked Emoni Bates out of Eastern Michigan with the No. 49 selection. The former high school phenom was considered, at one point, a future lottery pick but that never happened. Bates went on to play at Memphis for his first year in college but struggled there and then transferred to Eastern Michigan which was close to where he grew up in high school.
He’s also had some issues off the court and the assessment by numerous reporters and outlets suggest that he’s got a lot of baggage to unpack. So the No. 49 selection overall by the Cavs is more of a high reward and low-risk pick. Bates reportedly could be playing next season on a two-way deal, however, if he can benefit from developmental time with the Cleveland Charge, he could definitely make an impact with the Cavaliers.
Of course, it’d be looking more down the road, but if it works out for both Bates and Cleveland then we’re all celebrating the move later on when the Cavs have won another NBA Championship, hopefully.
This is one of those “boom” or “bust” picks. The Cavs have had plenty of these types of picks in the past. As for busts, who can forget the former No. 1 pick of the Cavs, Anthony Bennett in 2013. When the pick was announced it shocked Cavs Nation because he was a relative unknown. The player ended up being a flop as he was awful and eventually was traded away the following summer when LeBron James returned to Cleveland.
As for successful second-round picks, in recent Cleveland draft history, players like Carlos Boozer come to mind. So this pick of Bates could be one of that ilk.
Let’s dig a little bit deeper and look at another past Cavaliers bust that has had some similar traits as Bates but also look at a boom of a pick.
Cavs Bust Pick: Dajuan Wagner
In 2002, the Cavs drafted Dajuan Wagner in the first round with the No. 6 pick. He, like Bates, started his college career at Memphis. He was a guard and loved to put up shots. He never shied away from them and loved to have the ball on offense.
The Cavs were lousy back then and needed players that could score but also play defense and that was never Wagner’s strong suit.
When Wagner did play in that first season in 2002 the other starters for the Cavs included Rickie Davis, Tyrone Hill, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Milt Palacio. At that point, a future NBA star Carlos Booker was getting 10 minutes of playing time off the bench.
In that first game, Wagner scored 17 points. He continued to produce buckets for the team the rest of the season but the team was really bad. By 2003, he was getting injured and missing most games by the time March rolled around.
He continued to be injured and struggled to regain any confidence on the court and was out of the league by 2006. Wagner was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and despite him ultimately having surgery to address that, his NBA comeback effort would fall short.
In Bate’s case, he was drafted much further down the draft board at No. 49, but both Wagner and Bates were considered real legitimate NBA prospects when they were coming out of high school. While the fall for Bates from the height of his fame has probably hit home a bit more because of the recent low draft pick, Wagner’s fall from fame happened in a blink of an eye too and probably wasn’t what Wagner had thought would happen.
Cavs Boom Pick: Ron Harper
Ron Harper was the No. 8 pick of the Cavaliers back in 1986. The team had also drafted Brad Daugherty at No. 1 that season. It was the beginning of an incredible period in Cleveland basketball history as the team made it to multiple playoff appearances that included an Eastern Conference appearance.
Harper was a huge part of this run for the Cavs. Like Bates, Harper came from a Mid-American Conference team Miami of Ohio. He was a four-year starter in college which is different than most stars in the NBA today.
Both Bates and Harper were oozing with talent when they entered the league. The Cavs are certainly banking on Bates taking that talent and making it stick now. Back in Harper’s day, he took his talents and immediately became a star. Plus, he was a good defender, and from the sounds of it, Bates still needs to learn how to do more of playing defense if he wants to last in the league.
Harper went on to play for other NBA teams after he was surprisingly traded in 1989. One of those teams included the Chicago Bulls, where he played for five NBA title teams.
All those that have been following the Bates story will probably say the same things about how he’s a shooter but that’s about it at this stage of his career. His shot percentage was just over 40 percent and 33 percent on three-pointer attempts. When you review Bates’ shooting patterns, you’ll find a kid that kept shooting despite struggles at times. In the last six games of his season with Eastern Michigan he went 11-for-48 for a terrible 22 percent.
Hopefully, Bates will ease his way into the league and not put too much pressure on himself as he adjusts to things. If he can do that, learn to play defense, and be more efficient with his shot, then just maybe 20 years from now we’ll all be talking of what a boom Bates was for the Wine and Gold.