Summer League Practice | Emoni Bates | 7.10.2024

Summer League Practice | Emoni Bates | 7.10.2024

how do you assess your first season uh it was a grind for sure definitely a learning curve for me but I feel like it was a good year overall just being able to be around the guys the group of guys that we have made to the playoffs so I mean for my first year to go to the playoffs and watch that it’s you know that’s a tremendous experience so I mean it was a great year what do you feel like is the main thing that you took away um really just my routine like just you know everybody got a routine like just all the players F but no good that’s what you’re saying no really just routines and everything just for me my as a rookie like I didn’t really have a routine coming in and just like seeing the guys and how they take care of their bodies and like being on time to the gym just getting up extra shots just all the little stuff I mean I took away from everybody so that thing for me what aspect of theame of your game are you working on most um I mean really just become a more polished and efficient player like just being more efficient I mean I had games where I feel like I was less efficient than others but just going out there competing and playing the right way just offensively defensively just just being efficient on both ends looks like you put on a little bit more muscle this off season how much have you worked on your game in the weight room and trying to BU up for this next season oh a lot I mean since I’ve been here I gained 26 lbs I was 170 when I got here 196 now so I mean that’s that was a huge jump for me and I feel it when I play now so it feels real good so I just can’t wait to show it whatever you may be trying to get the most out of some of your two for you what of personal goals that you have for yourself uh just play uh play a complete game like uh defensively offensively just go out there and play a complete Game make my teammates better and be a vocal leader cuz you know I’ve been here before and I mean a lot of guys are new here on Su League team so just talking to them and helping them out how much are some of the new guys you know rookies guys coming in looking at you as somebody with that experience already and kind of how much are you embracing that leadership um I’m embracing it a lot I mean of course it’s fresh I know last year I asked a lot of questions in my first here no matter like the age group or nothing but I mean it’s a new new game from college so I mean it’s been fun I mean the guys got a good group of guys everybody wants to have fun and just learn so it’s been good what’s the most beneficial part of this time of year manyi camp and many summer league for the whole team not just um really just the guys together we all working I mean everybody’s trying to get better and we pushing each other so I mean everybody coming here with the same mindset to get better and compete so we know it’s not going to be easy but we just come here and compete and you know trying to make each other better every the drill summer say last summer so more specifically um just me or just team over with me uh really just same kind of thing trying to take what I learned from this year and try to implement it in this year like just working on getting to my spots without having to over dribble or like you know what I’m saying getting my shots in the spots I want to instead of forcing certain shots I don’t want so really like I said to him being efficient right making sure that it’s like I’m getting straight to the point and not wasting like my time feel did you feel like you GRE in that aspect just from the start of last year to the end of last year yeah for sure especially just watching film like throughout my whole year just watching my Year good and bad just seeing the things I need to work on things I got better at so I feel like I got way better at it for sure when you when you’re watching film are you watching more so just you or are you watching other players in the league as well no I definitely watch other players in the league I watch myself too just to review like my season just the things I can work on but I watch a lot of players especially in my position like things they do well and trying to implement in my game but I definitely watch The League a lot even the Summer League games that’s been played I’ve been watching them too I just love watching backet who are some of the guys that you pay the most attention to um play guys like Jason um Jaylen Brown those are the two guys I can say off the top just cuz we played them and I just seeing how they got to their spots and made the game easy for them so and um I mean for their size and like you know their wings so but just watching them the guys just get downhill no waste of time I mean it was good it was good so somebody that doesn’t know how do you explain G League life mhm um I mean really It’s a Grind got to go out there I mean everything is not going to be perfect but it’s going it’s a lot of learning curves down there for sure but it’s it’s good for your development cuz I mean you got people out there that’s all trying to fight for a spot so I mean it’s real good for sure what is your mentality coming into here to do you expect to be League again do you expect to Cavs this season how are you approaching now um to be honest I’m really letting them you know handle that part but uh to for me it’s just going out there to play go out there to be the best version of myself whatever they do however we got to do it I mean that’s what my agent for I really can’t go into that but really just going out there and just trying to play the best basetball win basketball games that’s my main do you feel like you’re one of those guys that is not as a compe not trying to prove other people wrong but trying to prove yourself right uh I really want to say even prove anything to anybody I just feel like going out there and playing the game I love is I mean that’s me just having for for real being at peace doing what I let him do so I really don’t do it for nobody but myself for real and then the people I love but it’s all about just me playing the game that I’ve been playing since I was a kid that’s all what’s something that surprised you the most last year whether it was the schedule the routine the way of life in your league what was the most surprising thing the up and down part it was it was hard to adjust at first like just being with them then coming up maybe for like two weeks I mean being a away from the team is kind of hard especially when I was playing and then like if they got a flow and then I had to come back down so just really adjusting that was the main part for me just adjusting to that what advice would you get someone that is going to be in that position um really just got to stay levelheaded no matter how it goes like you never know when your name can get called even if you’re up just cheering like I mean just always just being prepared for for whatever and um like I just being prepared really that’s the main thing just be ready for whatever during your film study what what are some aspects of your game that that you think that you can get better at what what ways can you do that um I feel like really like defensively is one of my biggest ones cuz offensively I really know what I can do right so defensively just being in my spots early help with my teammates um offensively like I said being more efficient getting to my spots without wasting dribbles TR driers I don’t need to use but um really just being an overall player like just trying to be better in all the aspects I can that I wasn’t that’s good in last year for all right

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Emoni Bates spoke with the media following practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts on July 8, 2024.