The Cavaliers won the NBA Summer League championship on July 17 with what coach Mike Gerrity described as "unselfish" play at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Isaiah Mobley , Sam Merrill , Emoni Bates , Luke Travers and Craig Porter Jr. emerged as the starters as the Cavs cruised to a 6-0 record on the campus of UNLV.
Pete Nance , Fabian White, Mike Bothwell, Sharife Cooper and Khalifa Diop also made an impact.
The Cavs earned wins over the Brooklyn Nets , Toronto Raptors , Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls in preliminary play, and then topped the Nets in a semifinal and the Houston Rockets in the final.
The Summer League players will be fighting for roster spots when training camp opens Oct. 3.
The Cavs roster features Donovan Mitchell , Darius Garland , Jarrett Allen , Evan Mobley , Caris LeVert , Isaac Okoro , Ricky Rubio and free agent acquisitions Max Strus , Georges Niang , Damian Jones and Ty Jerome .
Here is what Gerrity thought about the play of each Summer League starter:
"I am super proud of Isaiah because the guy works so hard. He puts all the time and effort into it," Gerrity said of Mobley, the older brother of Cavs star Evan Mobley. "The best thing about him is he cares so much. He is so competitive and he wants to win every time he steps on the floor.
"I think in the Summer League, he showed his abilities and his versatility. He showed his ability to shoot the ball, his ability to play down on the block in the low post and I thought defensively he did a great job of defending pick rolls. protecting the paint and being a leader out on the floor that we needed."
Mobley earned Summer League Championship Game MVP honors with 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in 27 minutes in a 99-78 win over the Rockets.
Mobley played in all six games and averaged 17.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 28.3 minutes.
"Sam is the ultimate competitor and that gets lost, I think, sometimes because of how great of a shooter he is," Gerrity said of Merrill. "He contributes in so many ways from his shot to his defense to his basketball IQ to his toughness. I think he is going to come into camp with a lot of confidence after his performance in the Summer League.
"We definitely have added shooting, and he is a great piece to go along with that. I am very excited for him to return to camp with the guys."
Merrill made eight 3-pointers in the win over the Grizzlies and was selected to the All-Summer League first team. He played in five games and averaged 20.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 27.9 minutes.
"Emoni was great. I thought he was very efficient getting to his spots and getting to his shots," Gerrity said of Bates, a second-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. "We all knew that he could shot and he could score, but I was so impressed with his unselfishness and his selflessness as far as playing for his teammates, defending and making the right plays. I thought he did a great job throughout Summer League."
Bates was tabbed for the All-Summer League second team. He played in all six games and averaged 17.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 29.8 minutes.
"Craig continued to get better game after game after game," Gerrity said of Porter. "You look at game two and you're like, 'Oh, I really love this.' And then he would take it to another level in game three and game four. You saw this steady progression from him in terms of starting to feel and see the game and understand the physicality and the pace.
"I thought he did an amazing job of running our team, distributing the basketball, scoring and defending on the other end. I am very excited with his progress and will look for him to continue to play that way during the season."
Porter played in all six games and averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists in 26.0 minutes.
"Luke was with us last year for Summer League and he returned this year. He put on weight. His body looked different and his shot had gotten better," Gerrity said of Travers. "He made so many things happen throughout a game, whether it be on defense with steals and blocks or on offense cutting, attacking closeouts and making the right reads. He is a super intelligent player that competes and plays hard. I thought his best defensive performance was [in the final] when we needed it."
Travers played in all six games and averaged 7.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26.8 minutes.
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League coach reflects on Las Vegas
