Cup of Cavs

Cup of Cavs: Cleveland Cavaliers News and Links for Wednesday, Sept. 21

It’s get mad about rankings season.

By Chris Manning Sep 21, 2022, 6:00am CDT

Philadelphia 76ers v Cleveland Cavaliers

Hope everyone’s week is going well. Let’s get into today’s news and notes.

The first sip

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ training camp roster is set with Mamadi Diakite taking up roster spot No. 20 for training camp. Diakite, Sharife Cooper, Chandler Vaudrin and Jamorko Pickett make up the final spots, players who could be in contention for a two-way deal if a slot opens up and are most likely headed to the G League.

Cooper is his own category of player among those four. He’s a speedy 6’1” point guard who the Cavs liked originally when he came out of Auburn. The other three are all forwards who are all in the 6’7” to 6’9” range and have some upside as shooters.

Diakite hasn’t played a ton since turning pro, but shot 35.4% in his last at Virginia. Vaudrin, who tore his ACL last year in Summer League, shot 35.5% from three his last year at Winthrop and improved as a free throw shooter that year too. Pickett shot 37.6% on 6.1 attempts per game with the Motor City Cruise last year in the G League.

None of these players are perfect. They have warts — that’s why they are training camp invitees who will have to really pop in camp to make noise. But it’s not a mistake that 75% of the Cavs’ training camp invitees are forward who has shooting upside. That’s a clear need on the roster. Why not get longer looks at guys, both in camp and then in the G League?