Written By Christopher Dodson
Three teams, three years, two players with one point to prove.
Third-year guard Sam Merrill and rookie Emoni Bates are sending a clear message to
Cleveland Cavaliers decision makers this week, using the Vegas Summer League to
make a case for NBA action next fall.
Bates, one of the most heralded high school prospects of the past five years, is
probably better than what most give him credit for after an underwhelming college
career that passed through Memphis and Eastern Michigan. Merrill, who has suited up
for the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks since entering the NBA, seems too
good for Summer League and perhaps ready for a bigger role behind Darius Garland
and Ricky Rubio going into training camp.
Merrill hit eight three-pointers on Monday, fueling a 100-77 victory over the Memphis
Grizzlies. He finished with 27 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 21
minutes in perhaps his last game leading the summertime squad. There is not much
more the 2019 Mountain West Player of the Year can do to impress the coaching staff,
having posted 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Cavaliers (3-0) opener on Friday and
14 points in his second game.
Merrill may be done, but Bates is on a two-way contract for the 2023-24 season and
should continue to feature heavily on their Summer League squad. Bates boosted his
stock as well, helping secure Monday’s win with 21 points, four rebounds, two steals,
two blocks and an assist, while shooting 7-for-11 from the field, including 5-of-8 from the
three-point line. Surprisingly, Bates has committed only six personal fouls in the first
three games, showing a defensive discipline that was hard to see on the college
scouting tapes.
Every game just keeps getting better for Bates, whose talents might be better suited to
the professional game. He opened Summer League play with 16 points and six
rebounds against the Brooklyn Nets, then posted 12 points and eight rebounds in a
victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The early returns have to be encouraging for Cavs president Koby Altman and his staff.
“We go pretty deep in terms of our background and understood some of the challenges
there,” Altman told reporters recently, “but really excited about the upside of a 19-year-
old 6-foot-9 shooter. In having conversations with him, the last couple years have been
really hard for him, and having that amount of expectation and pressure is hard on
anybody. I think our job is just alleviate that, take that off the table. There’s no
expectation here. Don’t have to come in here and shock the world. Really learn from
this group and have fun again.”
Altman added, “If he blossoms into a rotational player down the road, that can really
help us space the floor and shoot, which I think is one of his best traits, that’d be great.
But no expectation for him and certainly have patience and let him grow.”
The Cavaliers are next scheduled to face the Chicago Bulls at 3:30 p.m. ET on
Thursday. Regardless of the outcome, Cleveland will head home feeling like the risks
taken to acquire Merrill and Bates
