The Cleveland Cavaliers were seemingly always going to draft Emoni Bates with the No. 49 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. They barely brought anyone in for a workout (and most of those players were likely undrafted players) and the organization behind the scenes apparently fell for his potential as a former top recruit.
That’s exactly what they did on Thursday night, drafting Eastern Michigan forward Emoni Bate at pick No. 49. They didn’t end up trading up nor adding another pick, but instead are likely to place Bates on a two-way contract and look to free agency and the trade market to upgrade the roster.