CLEVELAND, Ohio -- What if Ante Zizic turns out to be a good player?



I have been thinking about that since watching the young Cavaliers center have some very nice (albeit brief) moments in the regular season.



At the age of 21 and a rookie, he played at least 20 minutes in game only three times last season.



He scored 15 points (7-of-9 shooting) and had seven rebounds vs. the Lakers.



He scored 14 points (also 7-of-9 shooting) and had six rebounds vs. the Bulls.



He scored 20 points (also 7-of-9 shooting) with seven rebounds vs. the Knicks.



The 21-year-old Zizic has been the star of the Cavaliers Summer League team, averaging 20.5 points (shooting 63 percent) and 12.5 rebounds in his first two games.

You don't need to be Hubie Brown to realize the 6-foot-11, 260-pound Zizic is a polished inside scorer.

But it helps when you ask the Hall of Fame coach about Zizic, and Brown says, "I think that young man can play."



That was part of a conversation I had with Brown before a Cavs game this season.



It was nearly a year ago (July 24, 2017) when reports came out of Kyrie Irving demanding the Cavaliers trade him. Irving didn't want to play with LeBron James, among other issues.



A deal was eventually worked out, sending Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Zizic, a 2018 first-round pick and a 2020 second round pick.



Not long after the trade was made, Cavs General Manager Koby Altman told me, "We really like Zizic."



But the Cavs were in the Win Now Era with James. Rookies from Europe received little playing time.



Coming to Cleveland



Zizic played in 2016-17 for Darussafaka in Turkey, where his coach was David Blatt. That's right, THE David Blatt who coached the Cavs for the first 1 1/2 seasons of James' return.



In 20 Euroleague games for Blatt, Zizic averaged 9.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 22 minutes a game. He was only 20 years old, one of the youngest players in the Euroleague. That's considered the second-best league in the World behind the NBA.



Zizic was the 23rd pick in the 2016 draft by Boston. He played that 2016-17 season in Turkey. After that, he was shipped to the Cavs.



Zizic played 18 games in the G-League for the Canton Charge last season, averaging 16.3 points and 9.4 rebounds in 25 minutes a night.



When he's played, he's been productive.



During the regular season, Zinc scored 119 points in 214 minutes, shooting .731 from field. He also had 60 rebounds.



It's about a point every two minutes, a rebound every four minutes. With an extremely high shooting percentage.



And remember, he's only 21.



The trade continues



Two of the players from the Irving deal are with the Cavs Summer League team -- Zizic and Collin Sexton.



The Cavs used that draft pick on Sexton, and the Alabama point guard has real promise.



It's easy to project Sexton and Zizic playing significant roles with the rebuilding Cavs this season.



Sexton is only 19. He played one year of college. He is extremely quick and sometimes out-of-control as he roars to the rim as if on jet-skies.



The 6-foot-2 Sexton is averaging 16.5points and 3.0 rebounds in his first two summer league games. He's shooting 44 percent from the field. He's made some superb drives to the rim, then missed easy layups.



Sexton has only five assists in three games. He needs to learn to throw the ball into the low post, where Zizic will catch it and find different ways to score.

But the talent is obvious, Sexton has real promise.



As for the rest of the Irving deal, the Cavs used Thomas and Crowder as parts of other trades bringing Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood to Cleveland.



That's why it's hard to deliver any type of quick verdict of what the Cavs did with Irving.



But so far, Zizic could be the most pleasant surprise.











