Anthony Bennett

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anthony Bennett, losing a rebound to Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Gorgui Dieng earlier this season, has struggled in his rookie season.

(Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)

PORTLAND, Oregon -- Even before he didn't play a minute in a 120-118 victory over the Lakers on Tuesday night, rookie Anthony Bennett was being asked whether he'd be interested in going down to play with the Cavaliers' owned-and-operated NBA Development League franchise in Canton.

"It's something I'd think about, for sure," Bennett said before Tuesday's game. "It's not a bad thing, especially going down there, hopefully playing a lot, going out there, building my confidence."

Of course, it's not really up to Bennett. A few young players have asked to be sent down so they could get some playing time, but no No. 1 overall pick has ever been sent to the D-League. Hasheem Thabeet, the No. 2 pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009, did spend time there, as did Minnesota's Shabazz Muhammad, the No. 14 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, this season.

For now, Bennett says he's just trying to make up for a lost summer after shoulder surgery. As recently as three weeks ago in Boston, he referred to himself as ''clueless.''

"It's a learning process, and all I can do is just work hard, you know?'' he said. "I'm just patient. I missed the whole summer due to the surgery, so I'm kind of behind in everything, trying to catch up on everything. Like I said before, the only thing I can really do is work hard. It doesn't show much in the games, but in practice I've been going hard. My conditioning is a lot better. I lost weight and everything. So it's coming along slowly.''

Bennett is averaging 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in about 10 minutes a game. He's shooting just 26.9 percent (29 of 108). Much like Dion Waiters last year as a rookie, he relies too much on jumpers instead of driving to the basket. About a quarter of his shots have been 3-pointers. He has made just four, or 14.3 percent.

To this point, the Cavs have resisted a Canton assignment, believing they can monitor his progress and development more carefully if he remains with the team.

"We've been able to find minutes for AB, from time to time, whether it's at the small forward or power forward," coach Mike Brown said on Tuesday. "That hasn't been a bridge we've crossed yet."

Bennett was asked what he thought had to happen for him to gain more confidence.

"To be honest, I don't really know,'' he said. "In practice, I'm going hard. I'm making shots, getting a little work done after practice, before practice, in the weight room, doing all that, building a routine.''

Felix to Canton: While Bennett remains with the Cavs, rookie guard/forward Carrick Felix was assigned to Canton on Wednesday. Felix has played a total of 26 minutes in six games, scoring a total of nine points. He already has played in three games for the Charge, averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.3 minutes.

Deng confirms commitment: Cavs forward Luol Deng confirmed a report from British basketball on Wednesday afternoon that he plans to play for the British national team this summer -- if he has signed a new contract with a team. He can become a free agent on July 1.

"It's an honor,'' said Deng, who moved to London when he was 9 after his family left what is now South Sudan and whose family still lives there. "I've always taken pride in playing for the national team. It's guys I've grew up with. It's more than just a game to us. If everything goes well and I'm healthy, I'll definitely play. If I haven't signed, I'll probably be with the team. I don't know how much activity I would do. But I would definitely like to be a part of the team.''

The team is coached by former Cavs assistant Joe Prunty, now an assistant in Brooklyn.

"I've heard a lot of great things about him,'' Deng said. "Then I had a chance to meet him in Brooklyn when we played the Nets and I had a chance to sit down with him and talk.''

The FIBA World Cup will be held in Spain Aug. 30 to Sept. 14, and the EuroBasket qualifying will precede that.

Though the field is far from set, a number of Cavs players besides Deng could be involved in the World Cup, including Kyrie Irving (U.S), Sergey Karasev (Russia), Anderson Varejao (Brazil), Matthew Dellavedova (Australia) and Tristan Thompson and Bennett (Canada).

Ticket renewal: If it seemed the Cavs sent out ticket renewal forms a little earlier this season, they did. According to a Cavs spokesman, the renewals went out about two weeks earlier than they have in the past. The spokesman said it's a trend league-wide in response to fan feedback.