For the Cleveland Cavaliers, they won’t receive much attention really going into next season, but Cleveland’s three two-way signings in Isaiah Mobley, Emoni Bates and Craig Porter Jr. all could be developmental success stories in the near future.
All three of those players made their share of contributions in Cleveland’s Las Vegas Summer League title run, and in time, they could prove to be steals for the Cavaliers.
Now, it will take time, particularly for Bates and Porter, to likely have their chances with the Cavaliers, in that sense. In the 2023-24 campaign, it’s not realistic to project these two-way guys to be slated for a bunch of minutes with the Cavs; Cleveland is on the verge of contender status in the Eastern Conference, and there’s a ton of players involved.
Even with those caveats, though, it’s intriguing to look into how these players could possibly factor into the Cavs’ rotation, theoretically, with next season around the corner, beginning next month.
On that subject, here, we’ll dive into how much each Cavs’ two-way guy could potentially play with them this coming season.
To that point, we’ll begin with Mobley.
Isaiah Mobley’s outlook
Isaiah Mobley is set to enter next season on a two-way contract once again, similarly to last season, when he was going into his rookie year.
Mobley didn’t play much last season with the Cavaliers, as he appeared in 12 games with them, in which he had 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per contest. The opportunities just come for him with the Cavaliers in his first year.
Mobley was one of the Charge’s standout players last season, though, as he had 21.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 blocks per game in 22 outings. For his efforts, he was named All-NBA G League Third Team.
Additionally, Mobley was great for the Cavaliers in Vegas, and was the MVP of the Vegas Summer League Championship Game over the Houston Rockets. In Cleveland’s exhibitions, Mobley had 17.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per contest, and was a driving force in the Cavs’ undefeated run in Vegas.
Mobley is probably on the outside looking in as it pertains to Cleveland’s big man rotation going into next season, objectively, but based on his Charge output last season, this past Summer League and his basketball intellect, he could help the Cavs.
Mobley’s two-way play, feel, passing skill set and catch-and-shoot flashes could aid his case for minutes off the bench at the 4 and 5, and his 7-foot-3 wingspan could make a difference for the Cavaliers defensively in spurts.
All things considered, it’ll likely take time into next season for possible minutes for him in meaningful action with the Cavaliers, however, Mobley could be a sensible candidate for his deal to be converted to a standard one at some point. If that occurs, he could have more looks with his brother Evan Mobley and others, and maybe as the season moves along, Isaiah could be in the rotation fairly regularly.
In fairness, for now, this projection below seems pretty reasonable.
Isaiah Mobley’s minutes-share with the Cavs: 11.5 minutes per game, in 40 appearances
Emoni Bates’ outlook
Emoni Bates fell to the Cavaliers in the 2023 NBA Draft, with them selecting him 49th overall in the second round. After a collegiate career that did not go as planned, Bates was available for Cleveland as a prospect that is going to take some fine-tuning before he can be a rotational contributor.
Bates did have a much more productive sophomore season in the 2022-23 collegiate campaign, after he transferred to Eastern Michigan, and had 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. He fared better then as opposed to his freshman year at Memphis, after he reclassified to graduate high school early; Bates had 9.7 points per contest then, and was active in only 18 games because of injury.
Inconsistencies in college aside, Bates is a gifted shot creator on the wing, and if given the opportunities, he has the potential to be a quality off-ball scorer, even early on, for the Cavaliers. He averaged 17.2 points and connected on 40.0 percent of his Summer League deep ball attempts, and if he can fill out more over the course of the year, that could help his case, provided he gradually gets stronger and is bought in defensively with the Charge.
All of that said, Bates is really thin, and defensively against NBA players, could have a ton of trouble matchup-wise. So with in mind, and his shot selection still being a concern, it’s probably going to take some time before he has regular chances with the Cavs.
Maybe there’s several encouraging flashes early on from him, but realistically, he might be on the outside looking in rotationally as it pertains to the Cavaliers in his rookie year. Perhaps a standard deal comes for him at some point, with his offensive abilities.
But for now, it’s difficult to project him getting a bunch of meaningful time with the Cavaliers in his first year; he has to develop physically and mentally, and the expectations should not be high for him.
Bates’ minutes-share with the Cavs: 10.1 minutes per game, in 30 appearances
Craig Porter Jr.’s outlook
Craig Porter Jr., similarly to Mobley and Bates, had his moments in Cleveland’s run to a Las Vegas Summer League title.
Porter contributed in a number of ways in those six wins for the Cavaliers in Vegas, and his two-way play was on display throughout this past collegiate season for Wichita State. With the Shockers, he had 13.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.5 steals and a whopping 1.5 blocks per game in the 2022-23 campaign.
Porter’s defensive splits for a 6-foot-2 guard were otherworldly in college, and those could be a key part of the rationale for him receiving meaningful minutes this coming season with the Cavaliers. Porter’s ball pressure, basketball IQ/team instincts and his attention to detail on that end could lead to him playing either guard spot for spurts as a rookie.
On offense, Porter could potentially provide some supplemental shot creation, pick-and-roll playmaking and rim pressure for spurts as well. He could feasibly give Darius Garland and/or others a breather at times, and over his time in college, Porter got better as a passer and decision-maker.
This coming season, though, with Garland, Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome/Ricky Rubio in the fold, it wouldn’t appear that Porter is destined for much playing time with the Cavs.
The vast majority of meaningful minutes for Porter will likely come with the Charge in the G League, and that leads me to predicting the following minutes-share for Porter with the Cavaliers in 2023-24.
Porter’s minutes-share with the Cavs: 6.6 minutes per game, in 14 appearances
Maybe Porter proves that prediction wrong, but for now, he just seems to be a ways away from being a regular player for the Cavs, really to no fault of his own.