Vegas Vocation

No one should read too much into the fact that the Cavaliers Summer League squad took the collar (0-5) last week in Las Vegas. What was most noteworthy about the Wine and Gold’s week in the desert was J.J. Hickson’s extremely impressive performance.

In five contests, the No. 19 overall pick led the team – netting 19.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He shot .534 from the floor (39-for-73) and grabbed more offensive rebounds (20) than defensive (19). The Atlanta native turned the ball over a bit much (18) and shot just 50 percent from the line (19-for-38), but if those are problems, Danny Ferry leaves Sin City as a very happy man.

Of course, it’s only Summer League and the competition gets really fierce in about three months. But if anyone was wondering what the rookie would look like when he hit the hardwood – last week was a pretty encouraging preview.

Hickson is aggressive, has a plethora of post moves and is more than comfortable playing with his back to the basket. He may not be able to contribute right away, but this 19-year-old doesn’t have any shame in his game on the offensive end – something the Cavaliers are seeking considering Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace’s limitations on that end of the floor.

Hickson’s rookie teammate, Darnell Jackson, turned in a solid showing – averaging 5.8 points and 5.4 boards per contest. Though nowhere near as skilled as Hickson, the former Jayhawk could shape up into a nice “rotational” player for Mike Brown.

In an interview with cavs.com, Jackson said that he plays with a bit of a “mean streak.” And that’s as welcome in the Cavaliers’ frontcourt as Hickson’s offensive presence in the post. It’ll be interesting to see how both fare when Training Camp tips off in October.

Robert Traylor, maybe the best story from Vegas, didn’t set the League on fire in the Cavaliers five games. He was active and apparently was impressive in practice. But he averaged just 5.3 points and 5.0 boards – playing around 17 minutes per outing.

Tractor might still be invited to Training Camp and, even if he isn’t, breathed a little life into an NBA career that was all but extinguished after he left the Cavaliers. Plenty of players have parlayed 10-day contracts into nice runs in the Association. (see: Ehlo, Craig)

Aside from the rookie duo and Traylor, it was Lima, Ohio’s own Clay Tucker who was most impressive. The one-time MVP of the Horizon League and UW-Milwaukee’s all-time leading scorer averaged 15.0 ppg, including a 23-point outing off the bench in Saturday night’s loss to the Hornets.

Lance Allred and Billy Thomas – the Cavaliers two major D-League call-ups from last season, each of whom made Cleveland’s playoff roster – didn’t do much to help their cause last week in Las Vegas. Allred averaged 2.3 ppg; Thomas clocked in at 5.0 ppg – but shot just .267 (4-for-15) from the floor.

Summer League is what it is. Some players will go on to be NBA stars, some will hit the D-League in the hopes of a shot at the Show, and some will prepare their passport for a trip overseas to play ball.

This year’s Cavaliers’ roster likely had a little from each category – and hopefully more of the former than the latter.