3 studs, 2 duds from Cavaliers Summer League win over Rockets

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Luke Travers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cam Whitmore, Houston Rockets. Photo by Louis Grasse/Getty Images /

Dud No. 2: Luke Travers

One of the more intriguing players on the Cavaliers’ Summer League squad was Luke Travers, one of two draft-and-stash players for the Cavs last year who played this past season in Australia’s NBL with the Perth Wildcats and will play next year with Melbourne United.

The question for the Cavs was whether Travers is on track to potentially join the team next summer for the 2024-25 season. Throughout Summer League Travers showed off plenty of reasons why he will be a contributor in the NBA…and a few reasons he will not.

The up-and-down nature of his game was on display in the title game on Monday night as well. Travers was a dominant +22 for the game, and he had his moments defensively as the primary option on Cam Whitmore, holding the high-scoring forward to 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting.

At the same time, Travers was at times way too active on the court. He was called for multiple goal-tendings, he had some bewildering turnovers, and he was beaten consistently for rebounds; for all that the Cavs walloped the Rockets, Houston did secure nine offensive rebounds. He scored only six points on the night, a disappointing endcap to an enticing summer session.