Why Luke Travers’ return is tangible evidence the NBL has hit a new level of trust for NBA teams

Travers, the 21-year-old Perth basketball prodigy who was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 56th pick in last year’s NBA draft, made a high profile switch to United this off-season after four years with the Wildcats.

The 200cm multi-positional talent gave his new club a taste for what it can expect in NBL24 with an eye-catching performance at NBA Summer League that had some worried he might never wear a United jersey.

Cleveland owns Travers’ draft rights and could have potentially signed him to a contract, most likely a two-way deal that would have had him spending the majority of his time with the Cavs’ G League affiliate the Charge, amid stints stuck on the end of their NBA bench.

But, such is the trust in the NBL as a development pathway to the big league, Travers revealed Cavs executives made the joint decision for him to continue to hone his craft in the Aussie league in the belief their club would reap the benefits down the track.

“I feel like it was more there was no point signing for a two-way (NBA contract) because the NBL’s just as good (as the G League) so they were happy to keep me over here (in Australia),” Travers said.

“The talk is just one more year (in the NBL) and hopefully it’s a good one.

“To be able to come back, it’s what I wanted to do to continue to develop my game in Melbourne and I’m coming here to win.

“Coming over here, there’s a lot of clarity. They (Cleveland and United) have been awesome about it, so getting that (uncertainty) out of the way makes everything else easier.”

United coach Dean Vickerman said the Cavs’ confidence in his club and the level of competition in the NBL to develop Travers into an NBA product was a big tick on multiple fronts.

“It’s great for the respect of our league, right?” Vickerman said.

“For NBA GMs (general managers) and assistant GMs to weigh it up and say, ‘no, actually, you could play in the G League here but going and playing over (in the NBL) is going to prepare you just as well’.

“I’m glad that executives are seeing our league for the quality that it has.”

NEW SWAGGER

One of the factors in Travers’ decision to leave his home state for United was the hope it would force the quiet kid from Rockingham to come out of his shell.

The realisation he belonged at Summer League and the silverware that came with it have already had an impact.

“One of the things we talked about with Luke is ‘I’ve just got to come out and be confident’ and I thought he was probably a little quiet when he first visited,” Vickerman said of Travers, who had his first run at Hoops City late last week.

“Now I think, for Luke, it’s like ‘hey, this is home now, I’ve got my apartment, I can see what’s going on and I just won a championship’.

“He’s walked through the door this time with a different level of swagger and I think that’s the part we’ve just got to keep encouraging with him — don’t go internal, just keep spruiking it and celebrating success.”

Travers might one day look back on that Summer League and see it as a turning point.

“I’ve definitely gained a lot of confidence from that experience,” Travers said.

“It’s a whole other ball game over there, so playing in the NBL has definitely helped me and I want to be able to continue to do what I did over there back here.

“That’s the main part of it and hopefully I can do that to the best of my ability and I think the result will take care of itself.”

OFF-SEASON BATTLES

As Travers was busy in Las Vegas stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of 7.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.2 blocks in helping the Cavs claim the Summer League title, Aussie NBA guns Josh Giddey, Jack White, Jock Landale and Dyson Daniels were blowing up social media at Cheltenham’s Hoops City.

Their star-studded scrimmage involving United guns including Matthew Dellavedova and Chris Goulding went viral for all the right reasons.

Daniels said it was a rare opportunity on Aussie shores to get an off-season run against elite talent that he hopes will happen more and more in the coming years.

“To have a run of that calibre and people out there competing, it was fun and I think Australia needs a lot more of that, hopefully that will kickstart something, It’s cool,” Daniels said.

For the likes of United youngsters Flynn Cameron and Kyle Bowen, it’s an up-close look at the level they need to strive to reach if they want to follow in their footsteps.

Even Jensen Bradtke, the giant son of Boomers legend Mark Bradtke who trains with United from time-to-time, had the chance to face off against Denver Nuggets NBA champion Jack White — that’s a money-can’t-buy opportunity for a 19-year-old.

As more and more Australians make their way into the NBA, they’ll be looking to test their mettle against the best available talent when they return home in the off-season — the videographers will be lining up behind United’s Lochie Gay and twin gurus Darren and Michael Barker to capture the insane talent on show.

DEANO’S SWISS ARMY KNIFE

Watching a bunch of Aussie Boomers squad members battle it out on his floor, Vickerman’s mind couldn’t help but wander — there’s the potential for Travers to impact in a similar way to the NBA men.

“What I saw with Giddey and Dyson, they can do everything, they can rebound, they can play point guard, they can guard multiple people,” Vickerman said.

“We’re all searching for that as coaches, right? Guys who can do everything well. So having someone on our roster like that is fantastic.

“Luke may be one of the only people in the league who can actually play one-through-five, whatever position’s needed.

“We want to specialise him at the four to start with and then adjust and move around and do things that we see an advantage with him on the floor.”

That’s music to the ears of Travers, whose versatility allowed the Perth Wildcats to use him as an initiator for the likes of Bryce Cotton, Corey Webster and Brady Manek, last season.

“I think that’s how I’ve grown up playing basketball, whether it’s playing the one and getting guys open or it’s crashing the boards, boxing big guys out, a little bit of everything,” Travers said.

“I feel like that’s just how the game is now.

“It’s very free flowing and a lot of positionless basketball so anytime anyone gets a rebound, they are just taking it and going.

“To be able to do that as much as possible, it’s exciting.”

MANY NBL PATHS LEAD TO NBA

The NBL’s Next Stars program has churned out countless NBA players — many drafted in the lottery, including Giddey and Charlotte’s US$260 million man LaMelo Ball.

Seven of the 10 NBL clubs have taken on a talented, draft eligible youngster this season as part of the program — and rising executive Liam Santamaria might not be done, yet — but it’s not just the young, up-and-coming Aussie ballers benefiting from the ever-growing stature of the NBL.

Take decorated former Sydney King Xavier Cooks.

The combative, do-it-all forward won back-to-back NBL titles and a league and finals MVP in the ‘Hoops Capital’ and rode that success into a contract with the Washington Wizards which made him an NBA rookie at the ripe age of 27.

“It’s been pretty cool to ride the journey,” Cooks, who hopped on a plane bound for Washington a day after the Kings won the NBL23 championship, said.

“I was only there (at the Wizards) for six weeks, really just to get a taste for it, get adjusted, learn the system.

“This season is my time to really try to make an impact in the game.”

He goes into year two as one of the most successful players on the roster. Perhaps only new arrival Jordan Poole, who has an NBA championship with Golden State, has had matching success at the pro level.

He’s ready to embrace a leadership role with the Wizards.

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“We’ve got a young group and I think I can bring some experience and some winning habits over there,” he said.

“People will know that I’ve won in the past, so I can really bring the small things.”

The late NBA call up is a testament to Cooks’ perseverance, as much as the quality of the NBL, but it’s also a beacon for other more seasoned Aussie talent who might have previously felt a chance in the big league had passed them over.