The Cavs Went Full Send Last Night By Drafting A Former Top High School Recruit And The Biggest Wild Card In The NBA Draft, Emoni Bates
Depending on where you are selecting in the draft your strategy should shift. At the top you select the obvious choice, like Victor Wembanyama. Towards the end of the first round you select guys who might be a safer pick with less upside but can contribute something right away, like Kris Murray from Iowa.
In the second round, however, this is where you can take a David Ortiz style swing out of your shoes. Just an absolute rip at a pitch trying to put it out of the stadium. And that's what the Cavs did at 49 last night when they selected the former #1 high school recruit in the country, 19 year-old Emoni Bates.
To say this kid had a slightly disappointing college career would be like me saying I slightly underperformed my new years resolution to get in the gym five days a week. Now I'm sitting here with a beer belly in the middle of summer and Bates is heading to the Cavs with some scathing scouting reports and an uphill climb for playing time. But unlike my fat lazy ass, the path towards success for Bates is obvious. He just has to apply himself finally.
SI.com - It wasn’t long ago that Bates was viewed by most as a generational talent. He was the first sophomore to ever win Gatorade National Player of the Year and legitimately looked like one of the best high schoolers in the world at 16 years old.
Since then, the hype has only shrunk. While he had a spectacular finish to his high school career, some red flags did begin to appear with Bates, most notably with shot selection and decision making.
In what was a unique situation, Bates headed to college at 17 years old to play for Memphis. He was slated to have to play two college seasons due to being ineligible for the 2022 NBA Draft because of his age.
Bates has always been an elite scorer, having no problem getting buckets from all three levels. He doesn’t have elite speed or quickness with the ball in his hands, but is extremely tall with a wide variety of dribble moves. The 6-foot-9 wing is a mismatch for opposing defenses and great in isolation.
There’s rarely a shot Bates takes that he doesn’t like. He’s proven to be willing and able to take shots of high difficulty, making stepbacks and fadeaways from everywhere on the court. Additionally, he’s got deep range and has no hesitation in shooting from 25 feet.
While he’s a gifted scorer that can generate a shot anytime he wants it, this often gets Bates in trouble. He’s known for sometimes shooting more than he should and being a ball stopper on offense. Can he develop into a player that can be effective within the flow of an offense and make the team around him better?
When Bates’ shot is falling, he looks like an elite NBA scorer that would thrive in the isolation style of the league. When it’s not, he looks lost and in over his head. This is why Memphis’ numbers looked much worse for most of his freshman season when Bates was on the floor than off. While his efficiency increased at Eastern Michigan as a sophomore, there's still questions.
That's a long excerpt from Bates' draft profile on SI.com but it's an accurate one. The kid can flat out fill it up but will he ever decide to play within an offense...or play defense...or have better shot selection? The raw talent is obvious but he also has more red flags than your sister's new boyfriend. You mean he rides a crotch rocket and doesn't believe in 9 to 5s? Sounds like a keeper, sis.
Bates went to Memphis at just 17 years old and was one of the most hyped players in the country. He ended his college career at Eastern Michigan with very little hype and on one of the worst teams in the country. So the Cavs are playing the role of every dude who meets a hot chick that's bat shit crazy and saying, "I can fix him."
You could say the Cavs made a mistake when they didn't trade up into the 20's and grab someone who can contribute right away. You could also call this is a flyer pick that probably won't pan out. And both might be true. But as soon as you see Bates out on the floor and in a rhythm you understand why he was worth that big ol' home run swing.
The Cavs desperately need scoring from the wing. A guy who creates a mismatch and can shoot over defenders. At 6'9" Bates provides that in theory. But now it will be up to the Cavs organization to make sure he develops and stays on the straight and narrow.
Bates was arrested on weapons charges last year shortly after he transferred to Eastern Michigan. The Cavs definitely have the type of "good guy" culture that should help him mature. But then again they have a track record of shipping troubled players out of town and not wanting to deal with their bullshit too. Kevin Porter Jr. and Kevin Love last season are two examples.
So good luck to Cavs GM Koby Altman on trying to convince the kid who was caught with a gun with the serial numbers scraped off just 9 months ago to chill out and play some Pokemon Go with Jarrett Allen. It would be one of his greatest feats as a front office exec yet.
How this plays out will be interesting, but I like Altman swinging for the fences instead of trying to slap a single through the infield. The odds this works out are probably slim but the upside is there. And that's all you can ask for with the 49th pick in the draft.
Follow me @WillBurge for more tweets where I pretend like I know what the fuck I'm talking about. And let's watch those INSANE sophomore year highlights from Bates while we're at it.