At the NBL Blitz event held in Tazmania, 27 NBA teams sent scouts to recruit both LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton as well as lesser-touted prospect Terry Armstrong, as previously noted. While most teams sent some sort of representation, the Cleveland Cavaliers, specifically, appear to be one of the teams to have sent high-ranking members of their front office to Australia.
From Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com:
Assistant general manager Mike Gansey spent time recently in Tasmania watching LaMelo Ball, R.J. Hampton and Terry Armstrong. Ball and Hampton are both getting plenty of exposure and could be lottery picks.
From a fit standpoint, Ball doesn’t make much sense in Cleveland as the team has drafted lead guards in each of the last two drafts in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. However, the NBA is always unpredictable and teams can change in a heartbeat. Moreover, this is currently one of the few times teams can get a virtually unsanctioned look at a player without running into tampering fines.
The Cavaliers would be an interesting landing spot for Ball, who has already spent a year in the area with SPIRE Institute, located in the suburbs of Cleveland. While the Ball family doesn’t have much more of a connection to the area than that, it would be a return to a city already familiar with him.
