The Cleveland Cavaliers have a championship level roster, but they have built it despite inconsistencies in drafting talent the last few seasons. One such draft failure was Emoni Bates, who not only washed out of the Cavaliers' system but probably the NBA entirely.
There was a moment in time when Emoni Bates was considered to be the next great superstar. As a sophomore in high school he was so dominant that some recruiting systems had him as the top player in the nation, even above current juniors and seniors. He reclassified to head to Memphis a year early and make his way toward NBA fame and glory.
Unfortunately for Bates and the Memphis Tigers, Bates was terrible as a 17-year-old freshman. Then he was not all that good as a sophomore after transferring to Eastern Michigan despite the massive talent advantage he had playing in a low-major conference. Instead of being a Top-3 pick, he plummetted down drafted boards and ended up going 49th overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Emoni Bates flopped in the NBA
Cleveland fans were ecstatic, expecting Bates to recover his high school form and be the draft steal of the century. How could the rest of the NBA possibly pass on such a dynamic talent? Yet the other 29 NBA franchises were right on the money, as Bates failed entirely to become an NBA player.
He can shoot, which is a valuable skill and kept him around for a second season in Cleveland's system as a two-way player. He not only is accurate but shoots at an extremely high volume, and there is real value to that skill.
The problem for Bates was literally everything else on a basketball court. He couldn't handle enough to initiate offense; he couldn't gain any separation so he was limited to contested jumpers or wide-open catch-and-shoot actions. Defensively he was rail-thin and didn't seem to care enough to give maximum effort. Passing? Not a chance.
After two mediocre seasons in the G League and a complete failure to show anything in the NBA -- he shot 29.2 percent from 2-point range in his 25 games -- the Cavaliers moved on this summer, cutting him adrift. Would that be the kick in the pants he needed to improve his game and revive his career? Or would even extra motivation fail to connect the dots for a player whose career was falling apart?
Depressingly, Cavaliers fans have to recognize that it is the latter for Bates. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in late September to try out during Training Camp, and he was summarily waived by the end of preseason. He may catch on in the G League if he wants to stay close to the NBA, but nothing he showed with the 76ers gives any signs of life for his NBA career.
This may be the end of the rope for Emoni Bates, the hyper-talented do-it-all wing whose career disintegrated at every stop until there is nothing left. Now he's a low-efficiency shooting specialist without a job in the NBA -- a devastating fall from the top of the mountain.