Cavs Summer League Preview: Who to watch in Cavs vs Pacers

Summer League is officially on.

The Cleveland Cavaliers begin their stint in Las Vegas today as the 2025 Summer League is officially underway. If you’re wondering what to expect in their first game — we’ve got you covered.

Cleveland’s first opponent will be the Indiana Pacers, though I wouldn’t call this much of a revenge game. The Pacers are in a dramatically different position than they hoped they would be just two weeks ago. A catastrophic Game 7 has altered their course from potential NBA champions to an immediate (partial) rebuild.

Indiana will get a chance to look at a few of their younger prospects, including the 38th pick of this year’s NBA Draft, Kam Jones. Johnny Furphy and Enrique Freeman, two of last year’s selections, will also be with the team this summer.

As for Cleveland, you wouldn’t expect to learn much from Vegas when the team is already slotted as one of the betting favorites to win the title. Yet, a handful of (potential) rotational players will be suiting up for the Cavs this summer.

Let’s go over a few of them.

Who to watch

Tyrese Proctor

First impressions aren’t everything — but they are important.

Cleveland’s latest draft pick, Tyrese Proctor, will want to carry over some momentum from March Madness and bring that with him into the upcoming season. Showcasing his three-point shooting in the Summer League is one way to do that.

Proctor is a 6’4” guard who can play without the ball and defend the point of attack. We’d like to see both of those skills translate to SL, if possible.

Craig Porter

It’s somewhat surprising to see Porter back in the Summer League this year. He’s already competed in this event twice and has been on a standard contract with the Cavaleirs since midway through his rookie year.

Nonetheless, Porter is entering the biggest opportunity of his young career. There’s an opening for him to earn minutes as the de facto backup point guard next season, especially in any scenario where Lonzo Ball is sidelined.

I’d imagine a successful Summer League stint, where Porter quickly proves he’s too talented to be playing in Vegas, would be a solid first step to claiming that backup role. This should be something of a graduation for the 2023 undrafted guard.

Jaylon Tyson

The Cavs selected Tyson 20th overall last year. During his first Summer League, it looked like Tyson was going to be a massive hit for Cleveland. He was a dominant on-ball presence and was stuffing the stat sheet.

Sadly, that didn’t translate to his rookie season with the Cavs. Tyson scarcely played in his first season. But there’s reason to believe he’ll be asked to carry a heavier load this year with Isaac Okoro and Ty Jerome off the roster.

Cleveland could use another 6’5” player who can pass, dribble and shoot. Tyson showed those skills last summer. Can he do it again?

Nae’Qwan Tomlin

Tomlin was a standout last year for the Cleveland Charge. He’s an impressive 6’10” with high athleticism and craftiness. He showed some ball handling and three-point shooting during his time in the G-League before earning a two-way contract with the Cavs at the end of the year.

Cleveland has needed size and athleticism for what feels like forever. Tomlin has a great chance to make a leap into being an NBA-caliber player this year.

Saliou Niang

Cleveland’s other pick from this year’s draft. Niang is expected to be a draft-and-stash player. Meaning, he won’t be with the Cavs this season. Still, this is the first chance we’ll get to see the athletic wing play against NBA-level competition. We’ll see if he stands out in any way.