The Cleveland Cavaliers are heading into next season with a very similar lineup to the one they rolled into the playoffs with last season. They signed Mario Hezonja in free agency after losing out on LeBron James, but outside of that, they didn’t make many additions. Well, except for rookie Meleek Thomas. And according to a Cavs scout who spoke with Keith Smith of Spotrac, they are very excited about him.
“Meleek was pretty unhappy that he was one of the only Early Entry guys that wasn’t picked in the first round,” the scout told Smith. “But we gave him a contract as good as the late first-round guys because we believe in his talent like that. This kid can score from anywhere. He’s also a better passer than I think most realize, and he reads the floor well on defense too. Our guard group is deep, but Meleek clearly loves proving everyone wrong.”
Thomas could have a chance to make a big-time impact in Cleveland from the jump.
The Cavaliers are very high on Meleek Thomas
Coming out of college, Thomas wasn’t even the best player at his school. At Arkansas last year, he shared the floor with Darius Acuff Jr., who was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
Thomas fell all the way into the second round, eventually drafted No. 34 by the Cavaliers. Clearly, based on the scout’s quote, he wasn’t thrilled that he didn’t go in Round 1.
But maybe that will only help motivate him. And if the Cavaliers can get a guy with Thomas’ skills who is also feeding off motivation, they should be thrilled about that.
During Summer League in Las Vegas, Thomas was one of the best players in the entire league. He was an elite scorer, and it seems like he could bring that punch to the NBA right away.
In his four appearances with the Cavaliers in Vegas, Thomas played 29.0 minutes. He averaged 27.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 50.0% from the floor and 43.8% from deep on 8.0 three-point attempts per contest.
Thomas is clearly a sparkplug. And considering how well he shot the ball from deep range, he should be a pretty valuable guy off the ball as well, which is where he’ll mostly play in the NBA.
The Cavs are very high on Thomas, and it’s not hard to see why.
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