**NOTE: The news clips and articles listed don't necessarily reflect the views or beliefs of the Cleveland Cavaliers or their Basketball Operations staff, partners, or sponsors.**
Summer league notebook: Collin Sexton flashes his upside as Cedi Osman looks much improved
Author: Mike O'Connor
Publication: The Athletic
The Collin Sexton summer league experience was everything that Cavs fans could’ve hoped for — Sexton’s borderline insane competitiveness made summer league games watchable. He threw his body around, pushed the pace relentlessly and did whatever this is:
But this is nothing new — we knew about Sexton’s tenacity long before summer league. What’s more intriguing about Sexton’s summer league is the skill development that he flashed at times throughout his seven games.
The most positive flashes came in Sexton’s passing, which bodes well for a player whose vision and general feel have been some of his biggest question marks throughout his playing career.
Sexton’s ability to read and react to defenses looked a tick faster than it did at Alabama. He made sound, quick reads in a variety of settings, often leading big men in stride with his passes. - CLICK HERE to read full story.
Cleveland Cavaliers Scribbles: Thinking about Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James
Author: Terry Pluto
Publication: Cleveland.com
Scribbles in my Cavaliers notebook while thinking about the Kawhi Leonard deal:
1. When the Cavaliers made the mid-season trade with the Lakers sending Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and their 2018 first-round draft pick to Los Angeles, they received Larry Nance Jr. and a big contract belonging to Jordan Clarkson.
2. The Lakers were looking to dump Clarkson, who will be paid $12.5 million in 2018-19 and $13.5 million in 2019-2020. It's not that the Lakers believed Clarkson was a poor player. He was averaging 14 points at the time of the trade. Rather, they were clearing salary cap room. Their main goal was to sign LeBron James and add another star such as Paul George via free agency.
3. More than a few NBA people have said something like this to me: "The Cavs just set up LeBron to go to L.A. and he can be on an instant contender." - CLICK HERE to read full story.
By the Numbers: A Fountain of Youth
Author: Staff Report
Publication: Cavs.com
5-2 … Wine & Gold's record from the 2018 MGM Resorts Summer League.
82 … total number of games played throughout the summer in Las Vegas with all 30 teams competing for the first time.
3 … tournament wins (vs. Sacramento, Houston and Toronto) for the Cavs following their group stage.
2 … overtime periods it took to decide the Cavaliers' semifinals bout with the Los Angeles Lakers on July 16, 2018. - CLICK HERE to read full story.
2018 Summer League Wrap-Up
Author: Joe Gabriele
Publication: Cavs.com
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 … - CLICK HERE to read full story.