While the Cleveland Cavaliers have checked a lot of boxes this offseason, they still have some loose ends to tie up, with one of them being the future of wing Emoni Bates.
Bates remains a restricted free agent after the Cavs extended him a qualifying offer earlier this offseason. As such, some fans may be wondering whether or not the 20-year-old will be back with the team.
The answer, according to Cavs insider Chris Fedor, appears to be yes — but folks probably shouldn’t expect to see Bates play a big role with the NBA squad in his second season.
“All the indications that I have gotten are that this organization still is committed to Emoni Bates and his development, and that’s why they made that qualifying offer to him, that two-way qualifying offer, but he’s going to spend a majority of his second season in the NBA with the Cleveland Charge, and that’s where this organization believes he is best suited, and that’s where this organization believes that he belongs at this point in his development,” said Fedor.
As a rookie, Bates’ opportunities at the NBA level were limited, as he appeared in 15 games with the Cavs. Averaging 8.9 minutes of playing time in those games, he scored 2.7 points per contest.
He got significantly more run in the G League with the Charge, where he had some impressive performances. Across 10 games in the G League’s Showcase Cup, he averaged 24.8 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from deep. He did struggle from an efficiency standpoint during the G League’s regular season, however.
In Summer League action in Las Vegas this offseason, he got his buckets but again struggled to do so in an efficient manner, so the Cavs may feel like he needs more time to polish his game before they seriously consider him for a rotation spot in the NBA.
Of the NBA players who are still restricted free agents at this stage of the offseason, Bates is one of the more recognizable names. Joining him on that list is another player the Cavs could bring back, Isaac Okoro, who has played an important role with the team in recent years.
Bates, for his part, was just drafted last year and remains very young, so there’s reason to believe that he will improve in the coming seasons. The Cavs evidently see something that they like in the youngster given their plans to keep him around.
