The Cleveland Cavaliers will open up training camp at IMG Academy in Sarasota, Florida, next week. We now know who will be joining their group of 14 players under contract and two two-way players.
Chris Fedor of cleveland.com reported on Tuesday that the Cavs will be adding five players to their training camp roster, which includes former Detroit Pistons lottery pick Killian Hayes. Cleveland will also be bringing along Norchad Omier, Tristan Enaruna, Chaney Johnson, and Jaxson Robinson.
Hayes highlights this list. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but never lived up to that draft position. He struggled during his four seasons in Detroit despite getting ample playing time for what was then a rebuilding team. Hayes’s lack of a jumper has been an issue as he’s shot 38.3% from the floor and 28.1% from three in 216 career games.
Hayes spent most of last season with the Long Island Nets in the G League. There, he averaged 17.3 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.4 rebounds in 33 games on .463/.371/.689 shooting splits. This was good enough to earn him a brief ten-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets.
As part of the training camp invite, the Cleveland Charge, G League affiliate of the Cavs, traded for Hayes’s rights. He’s expected to spend the season with the Charge. Because Hayes has more than four years of service time, he can’t sign a two-way deal with the Cavs or any other NBA team.
Tristan Enaruna is the other name that jumps out on this list. He had a solid Summer League for the Cavs. The former Cleveland State Viking spent a portion of last season with the Maine Celtics. He averaged 11 points on .466/.182/.857 shooting splits to go along with 3.3 rebounds and two assists per contest in three appearances last season.
The Cavs have one remaining roster spot and one open two-way spot heading into camp. Given how they’ve handled the last few seasons, the Cavaliers will likely keep that roster spot open heading into the season so that they have flexibility for in-season moves. They would be expected to fill their open two-way slots based on recent history. We’ll see if any of the camp invites claim that spot.
