Rookie Year Won’t Define Him
Anthony Bennett has been the victim of many jokes and jeers over the past season, and rightfully so. As the number one overall pick last summer, Bennett averaged 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds a night for the Cavaliers. He was first to walk up that Barclay’s Center podium, but dead-last in everyone’s heart.
In his only season at UNLV, Bennett was a star. He averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Rebels. Those are great numbers, showing that AB has proven he can make it happen on the basketball floor. It simply hasn’t translated to the NBA…yet.
In the prior offseason to getting drafted, Bennett underwent shoulder surgery. This gave him very little time to condition before the season. An overweight and out-of-shape rookie is what we saw last year, and his performance wasn’t much better. The former UNLV star scored only one field goal in his first seven games, and it never quite got better from there. He looked lost, intimidated and truly out of his element. Almost like a D-League player getting his first minutes of NBA action, just this lasted a full season.
But for many years to come, AB will be the one laughing at us.
Amazingly, watching Bennett play during these few few summer league contests has been nothing short of a treat. AB has slimmed down considerably, chopping off 20 pounds and looking like a completely different person. He’s quick, too. Running up and down the floor, out of the 2013 sludge he was dragging in. The man can shoot, but he also has the ability to take it to the rack and slam it with some authority. Something a certain King James will definitely approve of.
“It was fun, but all of the things I was going through — the pressure, the injury, the conditioning, not playing — all of that just built up on me,” Bennett said on Saturday. “It was kind of hard.” (National Post)
This finally leads to the conclusion that along with rookie Andrew Wiggins, who has also shown great signs this summer league, the Cavs should take Anthony Bennett off the trade board, specifically referring to a possible deal with Minnesota for Kevin Love.
It’s simple, really. One year should never fully define a player, why is it any different with Anthony Bennett? If he came to summer ball out of shape, unmotivated and still drowning in last year’s struggles, fine. Get him the hell out of here. However, it’s been the exact opposite, and the kid is learning and growing each and every day. That’s something the front office and organization needs to respect.
There’s no question that Kevin Love would help the Cavaliers’ quest for an NBA Title, but at the cost of shredding our young, core nucleus to pieces. No way.
As our returning hero recently said, “In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.”
It’s the same for Anthony Bennett, and he’s been working hard.
-Zach Shafron
Image credited to: Cavs.com
