Cleveland Cavaliers fans holding out hope that Luke Travers would be back this summer can move on -- the Australian forward has found a new team.
Travers played on a two-way contract for the Cavaliers last season, and unsurprisingly, on a contending team, did not see much playing time. In February, as the Cavaliers made moves at the trade deadline, they waived Travers to briefly take on Emanuel Miller from the Chicago Bulls. Waiving Miller, the Cavaliers chose to replace him with Riley Minix rather than bring Travers back.
There was a very good chance that Travers would be back with the Cavaliers in Las Vegas Summer League this summer, playing for a chance to earn his two-way spot back. Instead, Travers will suit up for the rival Milwaukee Bucks, officially ending his time with Cleveland.
Travers was a tantalizing prospect
As is common with second-round picks, Travers captivated a portion of the Cleveland fan base before he ever stepped foot in Ohio. Playing for the Perth Wildcats in Australia's National Basketball League, Travers was a do-it-all point forward wunderkind, driving and passing and scoring and dunking.
At 6'7", Travers had great size for either forward position, and he moved his feet well enough not to be a disaster defensively. At a lower level like the NBL, he was good enough to be on-the-ball and direct the offense. Think of players like Deni Avdija or Josh Giddey in the NBA right now.
The problem for Travers was his jumpshot. He wasn't Avdija or Giddey, of course, so for him to stick in an NBA rotation he needed to shoot the ball at an above-average level. That never came together for Travers; he shot 32.9 percent for his career in the NBL, and once the Cavaliers brought him over, he shot just 25 percent for the Cleveland Charge in the G League in his 25 appearances.
The Cavs made the decision to move on and give up on the jumpshot coming around. Waiving him in February was the first step, and another team signing him for Summer League is the final blow. They have given up on Luke Travers.
The Cavaliers have given up
Will they regret that decision? Probably not; Travers will be 25 years old before the start of next season, and his shot has shown no signs of improvement. If he can somehow break through and become a 38 percent shooter, the door begins to crack open. That possibility seems faint enough as to not bet a roster spot on.
The Bucks are in a different cycle in their franchise than the Cavaliers, however, and they spent the last dozen years finding success with a much better point forward in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Perhaps the Bucks don't care as much about the shooting and instead want to see if they can maximize everything else Travers offers.
Whatever the reason, the Bucks have made their move for Travers, and the Cavaliers let it happen. Farewell, Luke - Cheers!
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