The former top high school recruit will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, while the Aussie sticks with Cleveland.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly declined the qualifying offer for forward Emoni Bates, making the 21-year-old a free agent, according to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com. Bates has spent the last two seasons in Cleveland’s system, mostly with the Charge of the G League. He is now free to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.
#Cavs did not tender a two-way qualifying offer to Emoni Bates, a source tells @clevelanddotcom
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) June 30, 2025
Bates, a very high prospect coming out of high school, ran into issues at the collegiate level. He left Memphis and transferred to Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference, with the Eagles going 8-23 that season.
Last season with the Charge, Bates averaged 18.5 points on 37% shooting, including 33% from deep. All three of those figures are slight downticks from the year prior. In the last game of the regular season, Bates scored 25 points against the backups for the Indiana Pacers, displaying a brief glimpse into what his shooting powers are when he is on.
On the flip side, the Cavs have picked up the qualifying offer for forward Luke Travers, per Keith Smith of Spotrac. The move makes Travers a restricted free agent.
Travers, an Australian player, made his G League debut this past season after coming over from overseas. In 16 games for the Charge last season, Travers averaged 15.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game on 47.3% shooting.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have tendered a two-way qualifying offer to Luke Travers.
Travers will now be a restricted free agent on July 1.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 29, 2025
The decision to move on from Bates and stick with Travers is somewhat puzzling, as neither player really showed enough to warrant remaining on the roster. Travers shot a very poor 26.7% from deep on nearly three attempts per game, but his all-around skillset may have enticed the Cavs to give him another chance this upcoming season.
Bates, after two years in Cleveland’s system, did not progress enough as an efficient scorer, nor did he develop any defensive skills to make up for the poor shooting numbers. The Cavs have been patient with Bates and provided him a plan to be more NBA-ready, but it never materialized. Now he will get an opportunity to play for another organization.