How Travers is Impressing Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager Mike Gansey has explained how Perth Wildcats youngster Luke Travers is impressing the Cavs.

Travers was selected by Cleveland with pick 56 in this year’s NBA draft, with the Cavaliers monitoring and tracking his development with the Wildcats.

Cleveland is taking a larger interest in Travers though, with Gansey arriving in Perth on Tuesday morning to spend time with the 21-year-old.

Travers has continued to impress the Cavaliers this year and Gansey is the second key staff member to fly in and spend time with the youngster, after Brendon Yu from the G-League team attended the NBL Blitz in Darwin.

“I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t like him. So obviously we drafted him and had him for Summer League so we got to know him pretty well last summer,” Gansey told The West Australian’s The Dribble podcast.

“It’s my first time in Perth but I’ve watched a lot of Luke this year already. Now to see him live and get to go to dinner with him and talk with him is really important for us.

“But coming out here and showing some love to him and following his progress as we have been all year and seeing how he’s doing and just checking in on him (is important).”

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It was all positive on Travers’ end when asked about the arrival of Gansey and what it meant having a Cavs face in Perth.

“It’s good to finally catch up with Mike now and talk about some feedback and hopefully some future plans,” Travers said.

“Anytime you can get some feedback from a high organisation like that, it’s a good thing.

“What they (the Cavs) want me to work on is the same as what the Wildcats want me to work on to help this team win so it’s all been a smooth transition.”

Travers starred in his minutes on Monday night with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, a performance that caught the eye of Cleveland.

“He’s just a really good basketball player,” Gansey said.

“He does a little bit of everything. He impacts the game without scoring. You see his stats and he’s averaging eight, five and four, a couple of steals and a block. He just does a lot of good things even though he’s not a 20-point scorer.

“He does a lot of good things that help teams win. Playing with Perth, he’s got a lot of experience to grow at a high level.”