SLCSL2019

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Freshman Swingman Wraps Up His Summer, Readies for Training Camp

by Dylan Windler (@Dylan_Windler23)
8/2/19 | Cavs.com

Hey, Cavs fans! It’s Dylan, just wrapping up the summer with my final Player Blog. It’s been a whirlwind and I’ve still got a lot on my plate before Camp tips off.

The overall Summer League experience was great -- just being able to connect with not only the coaches but the entire staff, people within the front office, being able to hang out with Darius and Kevin and Dean and then the rest of our teammates. I think we all got along really well.

So, starting to build those relationships in Vegas was cool.

And then on the court, just getting that experience. I think Summer League is a great way to transition into Training Camp and then into the regular season. I think it's going to be a completely different change of pace going into the season, so I think that Summer League definitely helps you get your feet wet before that rolls around.

Las Vegas Summer League was much different than Salt Lake’s. It was much more of a fast pace, you've got a lot more media there and a lot more hype. You've got all the NBA vets there for all the games. So, it's a bit of a show along with the games but the experience definitely helps, and I'll take that into the season for sure.

The whole experience was great, but it was a long couple of weeks -- playing back-to-backs, practicing in-between, trying to get some sleep. It's kinda tough to stay on a consistent meal basis out there in Vegas, too.

Dylan Windler has averaged 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists through his first two games in Salt Lake City.
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

So, it's nice to be back into a routine -- getting those five meals in, being able to easily get into the weight room or on the court. The access to the facilities here is great. So, I enjoyed Utah and Vegas, but I'm happy to be back, working out here in Cleveland.

It’s also been great coming into the league with some fellow rookies. I think it's going to be huge.

We all realize that making the transition into your first couple years in the NBA is going to be hard. And it'd be even tougher doing it by yourself. So, I think coming in having two or three guys that you can grow with -- they're going through the same situation as you -- is big. It’ll be good to have someone you can talk to – because you're probably going to go through some of the same ups and downs as they are.

And then I think we have really good veterans on this team too that can guide us. They've been through the same stuff that we're going through. I think we've got a really good mix of vets and younger guys, so I think we're gonna get along really well.

Other than Larry Nance Jr., none of the vets have really been here in Cleveland yet. In Vegas, I met some of the guys, we had a few practices. I met Jon Henson, Cedi, Big Z. Tristan, J.C., they were out there, and I talked to them a little bit.

But Larry's been great about making the transition easier for us. He seems like a really good leader. He's been kind of guiding, taking us into these first few weeks back here. So, I plan to continue to build that relationship with him -- he seems like a really good dude on and off the floor. I think he'll be a good resource for me moving forward.

Larry is like the rest of us. He’s ready to get back on the floor and play some competitive ball. Over the summer, there's a lot of workouts -- one-on-one or non-contact. It's not you’re "going through the motions," but you still don't have that live feel to it. You can't really replicate five-on-five when you're just working out.

We had a couple of rough practices in Utah, for sure. I'm sure it'll a ramp back up once everybody gets back here to Cleveland for Training Camp. But those workouts in Utah were all good; Coach Beilein is just trying to get the best out of us. So, yeah, they're going be tough practices, but I also think it's gonna be better for us overall.

So, I'm looking forward to just getting back out there. And that's why I said Summer League is so good; it's a good change of pace in the middle of the summer. You play some really competitive five-on-five and get used to that. I’m just ready to get back out there.

"Training Camp was just a really cool experience – to see their profession and how they practice, up close. You don't always get a chance to see people in other sports at the pro level do their thing up close. "

Dylan Windler, on catching the Browns practice in Berea.

It hasn’t been all work this summer. Earlier this week, a bunch of us went to Browns Training Camp in Berea. It was a lot of fun.

You know, I grew up a Colts fan my entire life, and nothing against Colts or anything, but obviously there’s a lot of hype around the Browns team this year, some true superstars. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun, you know, go to some games and cheer them on.

But Training Camp was just a really cool experience – to see their profession and how they practice, up close. You don't always get a chance to see people in other sports at the pro level do their thing, up close.

And then to get to interact with them and meet some of those guys was really cool. Myles Garrett came right up to us and shook hands and introduced himself. And we talked to Baker a little bit. So, I think it'll be great to build that relationship with them.

I still love football. I played it right up until high school. I played all the way through middle school, played wide receiver. I really enjoyed it, but once I got to high school, I kind of had to focus on my main two sports.

My next few weeks before Camp are going to be a little crazy, and this whole Summer’s been kind of wild.

After Summer League, I went home for a week. And then I went to Nashville for a week, just to see some friends there and do some working out.

Then, I’m here for in Cleveland for a week. And then from here, I'm going to back to Vegas for Coach Grgurich's camp for four or five days. I think that's gonna be pretty intense -- we'll have two-a-days again.

So, we'll ramp it back up for a week out there and then after that we're off to New Jersey for the Rookie Transition Program for a week. And I heard that's pretty mentally taxing with some long days.

I've got a week there, then I'll go straight back to Nashville, get all my stuff, hopefully I'll have a place in Cleveland by then and just move on up here and get settled in.

After that, it's time to get ready for Training Camp. And I can't wait!

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