Photo: Eastern Michigan Athletics
Brooklyn, New York-- Barclays Center was the scene for the NBA draft as many promising young talents awaited for their dreams to be made reality.
The Cavaliers would eventually pick Emoni Bates out of Eastern Michigan with their second round pick. Emoni Bates could be the biggest steal of this draft class.
A lot of Cavs fans have expressed their concerns with the small forward position and last night, their long term call was possibly answered. In 30 games for Eastern Michigan University this pass season Bates averaged 19 points and 6 rebounds per game. Emoni has all the tools to become a special perimeter scorer in this league.
When you take his 6'10 frame and pair it with his shot making ability, with the right development he can be very useful. He can come into a role similar to Michael Porter for the Nuggets. A spot up guy on the wing who can play off of stars and create shot opportunities of their own when needed.
There are several concerns that come with Emoni. The main ones being his not so ready NBA frame, whether or not his playstyle can contribute to wins and his one dimensional playstyle. My answer to the first concern would be he’s a 19 year old kid, he will have more than enough time to build his body. As for him being one dimensional, him getting drafted to the Cavs will allow him to be one dimensional if he has to be.
The Cavs aren’t necessarily in desperate need for a well rounded guy who can do it all. A good amount of playmaking is coming from Garland, Rubio and Mitchell. And if you wanna talk about his defensive issues, the Cavs were literally the best defensive team in the league last season. Drafting one player with possible defensive issues won’t break Cleveland defensively.
Some people feel his isolation play style can be disruptive to offenses, this is where I think the developmental staff will be huge with Emoni. He has the ability to hit shots that can change the tide of big games. Not to mention that our offense coming for our big men can help open up things for him as well. Good habits like good shot selection and learning how to play off of the ball need to be instilled in him early. Doing so will help him become more efficient as he will likely have to play off of a few touches.
Bringing more dribble handoff actions into play or even using him on pin downs could help him to become dangerous. If Bates can reach his potential he will be able to take even more pressure off of Mitchell and Garland with his shot creation. Him coming to Cleveland would also help his development and allow him to ease into things and get comfortable. Coming in the amount of pressure he will have to score the ball will be very, very little. He wouldn't even be the 3rd or 4th scoring.
The Cleveland Cavaliers might have just gotten the steal of the draft.