The Cavaliers are headed somewhere a little different for training camp this year.
After their annual Media Day on Monday, September 28th, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, the team will open camp from September 30th through October 5th. Instead of staying stateside, Cleveland is taking its preseason work to Fuengirola, Malaga, on Spain’s Costa Del Sol, with the sessions set for The Embassy in Andalusia.
The facility itself is a big part of what makes this move stand out. It was built as a high-performance basketball training center, created to give pro athletes a setting built around performance, preparation, recovery, and privacy. It also comes with a Cavs link: former Cleveland Cavalier and Spanish national team player José Calderón helped design it alongside fellow Spanish national teammate Berni Rodríguez.
By the numbers, The Embassy sounds loaded. It spans more than 1500 square meters and includes two FIBA/NBA-standard courts, a high-performance gym, physiotherapy space, rehabilitation and recovery resources, plus audiovisual technology for scouting and tactical work. Cleveland's President of Basketball Operations, Koby Altman spoke glowingly about the facility upon the announcement of this year’s location.
There’s also a practical reason this camp matters beyond the scenery. Cleveland is getting its first real chance to sort through a roster that changed this offseason, and several key jobs are up for grabs.
Among the new faces the Cavaliers will evaluate are prized off-season acquisition Peyton Watson, Mario Hezonja, and 2022 2nd round selection, Khalifa Diop. The most important competition may come at backup point guard, where Craig Porter, Tyrese Proctor, and Meleek Thomas will all be fighting for the spot. That decision could shape the rotation well into the season, with the non-guaranteed contract deadline and the 2027 trade deadline looming.
Another spot to watch is backup power forward, where Hezonja and explosive forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin are battling for position. That fight could also influence how the roster looks when the deadline decisions arrive.
So while the Spain trip is the eye-catching part, the real value of camp will come from the roster battles taking place inside it.
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