2018 Summer League Wrap-Up



Wine & Gold's Young Guns Make a Statement in Vegas



On Tuesday night in Vegas, one night after dropping Cleveland in a double-overtime thriller, the Lakers were defeated by Portland in the NBA Summer League Championship, flipping the title game results from one season ago. But let’s be honest – (and not even homers): Had Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic played in the final two games, it’d be the Wine & Gold lugging that bulbous golden dome back to Cleveland. Either way, James Posey’s squad returns home with a 5-2 mark and, much more importantly, the Cavaliers come home knowing that they have the right pieces moving forward. In at least three different games, Cleveland had the best player on the floor – and it was three different players: Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic. With that in mind, let’s wrap up the Cavaliers’ two-week run in the desert as the NBA essentially goes into mini-hibernation mode until guys start trickling into the gym around mid-August …

Ante Zizic averaged 20.5 points and 12.5 boards in two Summer League showings.

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

1. Bullish Market -- Look, nobody’s complaining about the last four years. But it’s been awhile since Cavalier fans have been excited about a high first round pick. Andrew Wiggins wasn’t around long enough to get attached in 2014, Dion Waiters was kind of an unknown in 2012 and Anthony Bennett in 2013, well …

This summer, Collin Sexton – the No. 8 overall pick – almost stole the show in Vegas and was named to the All-NBA Summer League First Team, joining the Bulls’ Wendell Carter Jr., Bucks’ Christian Wood, Lakers’ Josh Hart and Knicks’ Kevin Knox. The only undrafted guy on that list is Wood (although the former Runnin’ Rebel got some juice from the home crowd). Hart, who played three seasons at Villanova, dropped 37 points on Cleveland in their Semifinal matchup.

The Young Bull played in all seven contests and gained confidence with each passing one – averaging 19.6 points on 43 percent shooting, adding 3.6 boards and 3.3 assists per.

Sexton looked comfortable running the team, played well off the ball with Scoochie Smith, was fearless getting to the rim and finished well with both hands when he did. The moment never seemed too big for him. In fact, one of the most memorable images from his Summer League run was when he squared off against Josh Hart in the closing moments of Monday’s wild Semifinal.

In the opener against Washington, Sexton – who was able to face off against true NBA competition like Hart and fellow rook, Aaron Holiday – looked like he was lost in traffic. By Monday’s meeting with the Lakers, he was already in the fast lane. He wanted the ball and the Cavs wanted him to have it. The competition’s about to get stiffer for the 19-year-old, but it’s hard to imagine him backing down for any of it.

2. Return of the Cedi -- While most of the Summer League squad was busy shaking off some rust to start the two-week run – (some more than others) – Cedi Osman had already been playing high-level competitive ball between the Finals and Las Vegas.

Osman had a strong two-game run with Turkey in the FIBA European Qualifiers, topping the 20-point mark in both wins and doubling up with 20 points and 11 boards in a blowout over Sweden. Osman got some decent run as a rookie last year, getting 61 appearances and 12 starts before getting squeezed out of the rotation in the Playoffs.

Cedi looks determined to take the reigns as a sophomore. He was confident and aggressive. He doubled-up with 15 points and 10 boards in Cleveland’s opening night win over Washington, adding three assists, a game-high four steals and a blocked shot. In a win over Indian two games later, Osman was easily the best player on the floor – finishing with a game-high 25 points, going 9-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the stripe, adding six boards, six assists and a block.

Summer League is a perfect proving ground for guys like Osman who are looking to make the next step. With his four performances over the offseason, Cedi should come to Camp ready to roll.

3. From A to Z -- On and off the floor, nobody on the Wine & Gold had a more interesting Summer League run than Ante Zizic. Successful and short – and interesting.

Off the floor, Zizic went right from dropping 25 points and 11 boards (on 11-for-14 shooting) against the Bulls to see his friend and fellow Croat, Stipe Miocic, attempt to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier at the T-Mobile Arena. Two days later, as the Croatian National Team advanced over Russia in the 2018 World Cup, Big Z was on a plane back to Europe to watch them take on France in the Championship.

And while Zizic went 0-for-Croatia in his two off-the-court endeavors, he was a beast on the floor – averaging 20.5 points and 12.5 boards in his two appearances, going 19-of-30 from the floor in the process.

Like Osman, Big Z expects an uptick in playing time this season, and there’s nothing about his performance last year – connecting on 73 percent of his shots in 32 appearances – or over the summer that should stand in the former No. 23 overall pick’s way.

If the Cavaliers went into Summer League hoping for some of their future building blocks to assert themselves – they just hit the jackpot in Las Vegas. Cavs.com

4. The Contenders -- Easily the most intriguing player from Cleveland’s Summer League squad is Billy Preston – who the Wine & Gold wisely inked to a two-way deal at the invitational’s outset. One look at the former McDonald’s All-American is all one needs to see that he’s oozing with NBA potential – and he’ll have plenty of time to develop in Canton.

Preston played three games with BC Igokea of the Adriatic League between high school and his first Summer League appearance in the opener against Washington – and it showed. At times he looked rushed. At others, he was plodding in the post. But he improved throughout the week – gradually getting used to the speed of the game.

Preston notched double-figures in each of Cleveland’s last four games and showed glimpses of his untapped potential.

John Holland, the Wine & Gold’s two-way player from last season, bounced back from a rough start to Vegas League – averaging 20.0 points per over his last two, including a 23-point performance against Toronto in the Quarterfinals.

Holland has been a solid player for the Charge and made 24 appearances with the Cavaliers last season. Holland’s situation is almost the exact opposite of Preston’s, however, as he turns 30 years old at the beginning of November.

In terms of representing the Canton Charge, guard Scoochie Smith acquitted himself very well during his Summer League run – averaging 8.3 points, 3.0 boards and 2.3 assists, proving to be a nice one-two punch with Collin Sexton. And like Sexton, Smith was on the floor at crunch time for Coach Posey.

5. What It Means -- Everyone knows to take Summer League performances with a grain of salt. Going up against Jack Cooley isn’t the same thing as going up against DeAndre Jordan. But there’s a reason coaches, GMs, scouts and fans packed the dual gyms all week in Vegas. Because in many ways, this is where it all begins.

The Wine & Gold will likely be a different type of squad than the one we’ve seen over the past four years. But if the Cavaliers went into Summer League hoping for some of their future building blocks to assert themselves – they just hit the jackpot in Las Vegas.

Training Camp will be rolling around after about a 10-week layoff and the kids that just proved themselves in the desert will have to do it all over again with the big boys. But if the Wine & Gold’s young Big 3 – Sexton, Osman and Zizic – proved anything at this year’s Summer League, it’s that they won’t shy away from it.