Cavaliers Saw What They Needed To See In Summer League

The Las Vegas Summer League has come and gone already, and now we head to the dog days of summer. There are still a few free agents left that need to be signed, and there will still probably be a few more trades completed, but for the most part, the offseason frenzy is over and we’re about to enter a relative quiet period until training camp.

For the most part, the Cavaliers had a pretty good Summer League experience. They got to take a look at some prospects as well as see the development of some of their own players, all while implementing Byron Scott’s new system and showing some of the ways the system can be successful in putting pressure on opposing teams defenses.

Last week, when I wrote a Summer League preview, I isolated three things I was looking for. Now that Summer League is over we can look back at what we learned.

1) Christian Eyenga’s development: has he developed any skills or is he still just a great athlete with limited basketball ability.

The jury is still out on this one. I’ve been particularly harsh on Eyenga and the Cavaliers’ decision to draft him, but I’ll admit, he impressed me a bit this week. He still looks far from ready to be an NBA player. In many ways, he reminds me a lot of a young Darius Miles, when he was so athletic you couldn’t help but notice him and be impressed with him every time you saw him on the court. If you were to say what Eyenga excels at on the court, I’m not sure you could come up with much other than running and jumping. He’s inconsistent with his shot, inconsistent on defense, sometimes handles the ball well in the open court, other times loses control, etc. However, although he is still inconsistent overall, he has shown a lot of growth from the player we saw last year. I think he’s worth giving a roster spot to and letting him play every day in the D-League. A year ago I never would have felt that way, but things have changed in Cleveland and Eyenga has shown the ability to at least start improving.

2) JJ Hickson’s development: has he been working on anything this summer? What kind of shape is he in? As a 3rd year player, he should be able to dominate the Summer League games. The Cavaliers desperately need JJ to continue to develop and grow as a player and they need him to be a big part of the team this year.

This was a rousing success. JJ certainly dominated the floor in all 4 games he played in. He showed a vast improvement in his jump shot. It’s not all the way there yet, but his form looks much better thanks to the work he’s done with Chris Jent this off season. JJ was in great shape and showed how much he can potentially flourish in Coach Scott’s system. His defense was still sporadic as was his rebounding. His defense is more forgivable as focus isn’t always 100% in Summer League and that’s to be expected, but with his size and athleticism, JJ should have been more dominant on the glass. Losing LeBron’s 8+ rebounds per game is a major loss for the Cavs. When you add in the loss of Z and Shaq, the problem compounds. The Cavs were slipping as a rebounding team all last season, and I expect them to be an absolutely awful team on the glass this season. They will need JJ to focus more on always trying to grab rebounds. But his offensive development was pleasant to see, as was his on floor leadership. I expect big things for JJ this season.

3) Jerome Dyson and Manny Harris: Rashad McCants may be more likely to get a training camp invite, but Dyson and Harris are intriguing players that the Cavaliers may want to give a look at. Both were guys who some thought were worth being drafted in the 2nd round, but went undrafted for different reasons. Of the two, Harris is especially interesting. He left school early only to go undrafted, but he put up a great season for the Wolverines and has a wide arsenal of skills he can use on both sides of the ball.

This one was a bust. McCants never even showed up, Dyson was mostly ineffective in limited minutes, and Harris was still recovering from his sprained ankle and played only 5 minutes total.

There were some other guys who stood out, though. I didn’t mention Danny Green, but he played ok in the 4 games he played in. I was hoping he would play a little better than he did, as he could see some meaningful minutes this season, but he’s still a work in progress as well.

Aaron Jackson had some flashes of solid play and looks like a guy who could hold a bench spot somewhere if given the right opportunity. He ran pretty well in the open floor and though he lacks range on his shot, he still is fairly effective at getting to the rim. Tasmin Mitchell and David Monds looked good crashing the boards at times and both had their moments where they looked decent enough.

The standout player, though, was Pooh Jeter of course. Jeter did an incredible job pushing the tempo at the point for the Cavs in their new system. He was able to score, finishing 2nd to Hickson in PPG, and he was able to distribute as well, finishing 4th in Summer League in assists per game behind only John Wall, Darren Collison, and Dominic James. Jeter was also able to a great job taking care of the basketball, averaging just 2.4 turnovers in 31 minutes per game. He lacks 3 point range on his shot, but he still shot 48% from the field and 80% from the FT line. He has an efficient 2 point jumper and can create while getting to the rim.

Defensively, he was somewhat lackluster at times in transition D, but he held his own in half court defense, although admittedly he wasn’t going up against any NBA ready PGs. The question was posed to Daniel Gibson, who was a guest on the TV broadcast Sunday, why Jeter can’t get an NBA contract. I think the biggest reason is probably his size. Listed at perhaps a generous 5’11”, Jeter may not have the height of a prototypical NBA point guard, but his skill set is there. I would really to see him get a shot to get a contract with the Cavaliers, but the question will be if there’s a spot for him.

Currently, the Cavaliers roster is such:

1. Mo Williams
2. Anthony Parker
3. Antawn Jamison
4. JJ Hickson
5. Anderson Varejao
6. Delonte West
7. Jamario Moon
8. Daniel Gibson
9. Leon Powe
10. Sebastian Telfair
11. Jawad Williams (still a RFA, but likely to be on the team)
12. Danny Green

If Christian Eyenga does indeed get a spot, that makes 13. Then, if the Cavaliers rumors are true and they trade West for Ramon Sessions and Kosta Koufos and also sign Matt Barnes, that would put them at 15, leaving no room for Jeter.

If the Cavaliers do feel, though, that they want Jeter on the team moving forward, they have a couple options. They could leave Eyenga in Europe and let him continue his development there while giving his roster spot to Jeter. Then, next year when a couple guys come off the books (Telfair, Parker, Powe) they could re-evaluate and decide who to bring back and find a spot for Eyenga.

I don’t know how the Cavaliers themselves feel about Pooh Jeter and his chances of actually making the team, and we can’t count on any trades or signings until they happen, so for now, the roster is wide open and Jeter at least has a fighting chance of coming into camp and having a chance to earn a roster spot. And that’s what Summer League basketball is all about, giving guys a chance to impress you and get an all important NBA contract.