The Cavaliers have a few fresh faces this season, and not all of them are expected to make noise in the same way. Some are rookies, some are veterans, and Cleveland’s front office clearly made a major push to improve after last season’s finish.
One of the most intriguing additions is Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas. After one season under John Calipari with the Razorbacks, he entered the league and landed in Cleveland. He wasn’t a first-round pick, but he looks like the kind of player who can matter right away.
Thomas turned heads fast in the Vegas Summer League. He put up multiple 30-point games and showed exactly why the Cavaliers took him where they did. It was also the second straight season that a Day 2 Cleveland rookie made a splash in Vegas, following Tyrese Proctor’s 35-point outing there in 2025.
For now, Thomas is set to battle Proctor and Craig Porter Jr. for minutes heading into 2026-27. Even if he isn’t in the rotation on opening night, that doesn’t change the bigger picture. By the end of the year, he looks like a player who should have earned a rotation role and enough run to show up on the scoreboard.
What makes him so appealing is the way he can score. Thomas can create his own shot, but he’s also effective as a catch-and-shoot option. That kind of versatility gives Cleveland something it can use.
His one season playing off the ball next to Darius Acuff Jr. should help too. Acuff Jr. is headed to the Kings as their new point guard, while Thomas gives the Cavs a guard who can work either backcourt spot. There’s even a chance he gets some small-ball SF minutes along the way.
And when he gets rolling, he can change a game in a hurry.
That matters for a Cavaliers team that had stretches in last year’s playoffs where no one seemed able to consistently get a bucket. Dennis Schröder struggled in the postseason, and Jaylon Tyson didn’t make much of an impact in his minutes. If Thomas gets the opportunity, he could step into that missing role.
Rookies can arrive with plenty of confidence, whether they’re lottery picks or second-rounders, and Thomas fits that mold. His dominance in Vegas was an encouraging first look, and he’ll be one of the most important players to watch in preseason.
At Arkansas, Thomas hit nearly 42% of his threes as a high-volume shooter, so the Cavaliers should give him a green light once the regular season begins.
In Other News...
Cavs Fans Have More Ways To Avoid Full DAZN Cost This Season
Cavaliers fans heading into this season have a little more flexibility than they might expect when it comes to watching the teams non-nationally televised games. Cleveland partnered with DAZN for local broadcasts this year, with Rock Entertainment Group handling the production, but the setup is not an all-or-nothing proposition for viewers trying to keep costs down.
DAZNs multi-device plan now runs $25, yet 31 of the Cavs 82 games will be available without that full subscription, either for free or through cheaper options such as Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. In practical terms, nearly 40% of the schedule should be reachable through cable TV or other streaming services, a sign that more NBA teams are looking for ways to widen local access without forcing fans into one pricey platform. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Brought Back A Familiar Shooter For A Reason
The Cavaliers have spent the offseason sorting through the margins of the roster, and Sean McNeil now fits right into that broader camp picture. Cleveland signed the guard to a non-guaranteed training camp contract, a move that gives the organization a closer look at a familiar shooter while keeping the financial commitment light as the roster gets closer to opening night.
For teams building out the back end of the roster, these deals are as much about rights and development as they are about immediate NBA help. The Pelicans handling of Johnny ONeil and the Warriors Exhibit 10 signings of Chance McMillian and Deivon Smith are reminders of how often clubs use these transactions to steer players toward their G League affiliates, and McNeils situation suggests Cleveland sees value in keeping that pipeline open as camp approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Iman Shumpert Just Reopened A Painful Cavaliers What-If
Iman Shumpert has never sounded like a man eager to let the 2016 NBA Finals fade quietly into history. In revisiting Kevin Durants decision to join the Warriors, Shumpert went straight at the move that helped turn the leagues next few years into a Cavs-Rangers of the West saga, framing it as the kind of choice that cost Cleveland a chance at adding more hardware after its title run.
For Cavaliers fans, it is the sort of reminder that still stings because the alternate path always felt close enough to imagine. The championships that followed, the head-to-head stakes and the lasting debate over what might have happened if Durant had gone elsewhere have kept that era alive far beyond the final buzzer, and LeBron James recent move to Philadelphia with his declaration that it will be his final NBA stop only adds another layer to how that stretch of Cavs history gets remembered. [Read more 🡒]