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Donovan Mitchell Reacts To Cavs Drafting Emoni Bates
On Thursday evening, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Emoni Bates with the 49th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Bates played two college basketball seasons for Memphis and Eastern Michigan.
This past season, he averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest while shooting 40.5% from the field and 33.0% from the three-point range.
Following the pick, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell sent out a tweet to Bates on Friday.
Mitchell quote tweeted a post from the Cavs of Bates and wrote: "Let’s get it!! @BatesEmoni"
Bates then wrote back to Mitchell and said: "I can’t wait big bro💯"
Coming out of high school, Bates was ranked by ESPN as the third-best player in the class of 2021.
Therefore, the 19-year-old could have a high upside and potentially help the Cavs over the next few seasons.
This past year, the Cavs made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2018 season.
They finished the regular season with a 51-31 record and were the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
However, the Cavs lost to the New York Knicks in the first round of the Playoffs in just five games.
The postseason ended up being a massive disappointment, but the Cavs have a young roster, so they will still be seen as one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference going into the 2024 season.
Mitchell finished his first year on the team with sensational averages of 28.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.5 steals per contest in 68 games.