Travers: "No excuses" in NBA journey

It’s been a whirlwind few months, but also a long time coming for Luke Travers.

After finishing his NBL24 campaign with Melbourne United, the 2022 second round draft pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers was focused on trying to finally reach his goal of signing an NBA contract.

But first, he would need to head back to Las Vegas for his third NBA Summer League experience with the Cavs. With little left to prove at that level, Travers and his agent had an inkling that this time it may be different.

Travers had performed consistently well at each of his Vegas stints, so he made the effort to focus on some off-court development this time around.

Speaking with NBL Media, Travers explained how he’s evolved from year-to-year at Summer League.

His first year in 2022, he was trying to show out and show everyone what he could do. In 2023, his goal was to win every game and make the most of the improved roster he was playing with. But this year, it was a different focus altogether.

“Going into it, it was kind of what else more could they learn about me? It was really just about continuing to build those relationships,” Travers explained.

“I sort of had an idea that I might be hanging around this year, so it was really just to get to know them a little bit more. At the same time, I’ve still got to go out there and show my development and that I’m continuing to get better every year.”

When Travers came back from Summer League, he took about two weeks off to recover from an injury that he was dealing with at that point, and then got right back to working out.

As his training ramped up, it became clear that Cleveland was going to sign him to the two-way contract many had suspected could be on offer.

“The chats with them (the Cavaliers) were a little more clear on what I needed to do, sorted the visa out and then obviously signed the contract as well, which was super cool. And also, [I was able] to do that at home with family around, so I was able to celebrate with them,” Travers said.

“But then, straight from there was out on a plane a couple days later. It all happened very quickly, but it’s just a sense of pride at the same time.”

Travers at the Cleveland Cavaliers media day.

Securing that deal was something Travers wasn’t sure would ever happen given he was drafted back in 2022, so it was certainly a special moment.

“It meant a lot. Obviously, I was drafted three years ago and it’s not very often that when you’re drafted and stashed that you actually end up signing a deal. So, it was a real sense of pride, having worked so hard for it, but there’s still such a long way to go.”

Luke Travers’ agent @AgentMoldovan confirmed the news of the @melbunited star's signing with Cleveland with NBL Media.

Read more: https://t.co/Azr1BsNPIb pic.twitter.com/N4WqJ1IEWU

— NBL (@NBL) August 28, 2024

Of course, Cleveland’s gain was Melbourne United’s loss. Travers still had two years left to run on the deal he signed in 2023 when he came over from Perth, but he came to Melbourne with the hopes of achieving his NBA dream.

Working with Dean Vickerman – who has a track record of developing NBA ready talent the past four years – was the reason why Travers left the comforts and familiarity of living and playing in his home state of Western Australia.

And when it was clear that Travers was likely to sign an NBA deal, United granted Travers a release from his NBL contract with their full support. They were expecting it and were excited for him.

“Yeah, they were so good about it,” Travers said.

“My agent quickly reached out to them saying that this is what was going to happen. And to release a player, obviously it comes with a bit of trouble at the same time, but with them it was so smooth, and I feel like that’s why they have so many players that are making that jump.”

Travers becomes the fourth player to sign their first NBA contract directly from Melbourne after Jock Landale, Jack White and Next Star Ariel Hukporti. If you count Matthew Dellavedova who got back to the NBA for the 2022/23 season after being with United in NBL22, that is then five players to have made the NBA after playing under Vickerman at Melbourne.

“It just shows the organisation that they have there and all the people behind the scenes, it’s unreal,” Travers said.

“And then obviously the coaches do an unbelievable job. They still hit me up to this day, just checking on me, seeing how I’m going. The support from them throughout the year and then getting into this process has been unreal.”

Travers played one season with Melbourne United.

Travers had his chance and was prepared for what that meant. He knew he was going from being at the top of the food chain in the NBL to starting again at the very bottom. And he also knew that if he was going to begin to climb that food chain with the Cavs, he needed to take it step by step.

“Having goals is so important,” he explained.

“Coming in with a mindset of just being a sponge is the biggest part of it. But also having those goals of you want to play a certain amount of NBA games or you want to average this in the G League. That stuff has been super important and the coaches have been really good about that, having meetings with all the players, and you just put those goals in stone as well.

“But, going from the top to the bottom, it’s not always easy, but you’ve just got to stay ready. Know that your opportunity will come at some point.”

“So, trying to learn as much as possible from these guys. I’ve gotten pretty lucky with this group as well, it’s a really tight-knit group. So, I’m really enjoying it so far and looking forward to the year ahead.”

First bucket for Luke! 🇦🇺@luke_travers | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/ivARpjuBKR

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 9, 2024

Staying ready is something that Travers has had several conversations about. Two of his NBL24 teammates from Melbourne have played in the NBA in Dellavedova and Ian Clark. Both were largely bench players in the NBA, so used to waiting for their opportunity.

And then White, who came back to Melbourne this season and briefly crossed paths with Travers, has been through exactly what Travers is doing now in signing a two-way deal and trying to make his mark.

So, Travers rightly hit each of them up for some advice and that largely centred around being ready for when your name is called; something he already has experience in after just a handful of pre-season games.

“Yeah. The ability to stay ready is not easy,” he acknowledged.

“I mean, even last night playing that game [in Detroit], you sit the whole game and then you get your name called in the fourth quarter. So, your ability to stay ready and stay locked in is the big one. That’s the big conversations I had with them.

“Just with Delly, he’s trying to help out in any way. He’s obviously lived out in Cleveland for years, so anything to help me out has been really good. To have those guys in my corner, it’s definitely helped a lot.”

Travers has also been able to chat with Hukporti, who is similarly trying to make an impact as a rookie on a two-way deal. Travers and Hukporti, who is with the New York Knicks, spent time together during the rookie transition program in New York and earlier in Las Vegas at Summer League.

The two have stayed in touch and shared their experiences.

“Just to hear his experiences with it all at the same time, it’s been really cool. He was probably one of the guys I got closer with last year as well, and to hear his stories about how he’s tracking, obviously he’s killing it now as well. So, it’s really cool to see and to share those experiences with someone that you call a friend now,” said Travers of Hukporti.

As good as it’s been for Travers to have that advice and support, once he stepped into the Cavs’ training facility for the start of pre-season, he had to figure things out for himself. Adjusting to the difference between the NBL and the NBA, both on and off the court, was admittedly, a little surprising at first.

“I think the level of talent over here is unbelievable,” Travers acknowledged.

“You go from Bryce Cotton who’s still an NBA-level talent, but then you go up against Donovan Mitchell and it’s just a whole 'nother level. His ability to change speed and also the strength as well. And then you’ve got Evan Mobley who I think could be just as good as Giannis one day, with the length and athleticism.

“So, being able to switch up your game a little bit – obviously in Australia I’m a little bit more athletic than people, but over here it’s another ball game. So, being able to find my spots and work around that as well has been challenging, but it’s also exciting at the same time.

“I think that’s a big surprise and then also just the lifestyle as well. Like, it’s finish the game last night and you’re on a plane a couple hours later to the next city, and you get in at 2am and you’ve got training the next day. You go anywhere, you’ve got police escorts, security.

“So, the lifestyle is definitely a bit of a change, especially for someone coming from Rockingham. It’s been cool though, I’ve really enjoyed it and I’d say it’s only going to get a little bit more hectic from here as well, so it should be good.”

Travers believes he’s well-prepared though and credits his time in the NBL for that. He signed his first pro contract as a development player with Perth a month shy of his 18th birthday, so competing against grown men for the last five years has definitely helped Travers to deal with the adjustment to the new level of physicality he’s now facing.

Travers first played with Perth in 2019.

He credits taking that route through the NBL for teaching him what it takes to prepare and compete as a professional. And after just a few games in this, his first NBA pre-season, he’s been realising those benefits and making the most of his opportunities.

Travers saw the floor in all four of the Cavs’ pre-season games, but his most meaningful minutes came in their second game versus Indiana. He was part of the second unit in that game, playing nearly 21 minutes and contributed six points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Travers scored on his first offensive touch that night with a strong drive and spin against Jarace Walker. That got him settled. 

Throwing it down under. 😉@luke_travers | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/hgcukOu4I6

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 11, 2024

He played sparingly in their other games, but that time versus the Pacers was big in Travers learning how he can perform at the NBA level.

“I feel that I belong at this level for sure,” he said.

“It’s my first real taste of it and going into this year, I’ve got no excuse really. There’s so many coaches and people to help you out. We’ve got like 20 coaches and there’s also nutritionists, performance programs, so you really have no excuse out here. So really for this year, you kind of want to just leave it all out there and not leave anything unknown. 

“It’s just about developing, continuing to work on my body and also continue to work on the shot. And I feel like those two things – the defence will keep me around here, but the shooting and my body are the things that are going to make me successful over here.

“So, I feel like I belong, but can also make a real mark in this league as well, so confidence is pretty high.”

Travers is also happy that he’s not really faced much rookie hazing or been embarrassed by anything off the court so far.

He’s had to manage the odd donut delivery to the locker room and has been subjected to some Tristan Thompson stories, but thinks he’s pretty lucky with this Cavs group in that there aren’t many rookie duties and they seem “pretty chilled”.

One teammate that he’s really connected with already is sixth-year player, Dean Wade. Like Travers will have to do, Wade worked his way up via the G League before making that jump. Travers hopes to emulate that path towards his own NBA success and is enjoying learning from Wade.

“I feel like that’s a similar spot that I could be in,” Travers explained.

“He was a similar type of player, really needed to work on some things and he did, and eventually he’s making millions and on a pretty solidified role here. So, that’s someone that I can really learn a lot from and it’s really relatable, which helps.”

Despite being less than a month into preparation for his first season, Travers was already locked into what he needs to do.

He’s taking advantage of all the support at his disposal, is setting goals for himself to be ticked off and is grateful to be part of such a tight-knit group in Cleveland.

He knows he still has an uphill battle to make it in the NBA full-time. He knows the G League, two-way path is no guarantee of sticking in the NBA, but he also knows that he has a great opportunity in front of him that he wants to make the most of.

“Going into it, like I said, there’s no excuse and you don’t want to leave anything unknown. You want to give this year everything that you’ve got and if you don’t get another contract, you want to be able to look back on it and not have the feeling like, ‘I could have done this more or I could have done this.’

“So, a successful year is helping the G League team go to the playoffs and maybe averaging like 16, 10 and five, and then playing at least 15 NBA games and having a positive plus-minus every game as well.

“I think those things will go a long way for me to be able to solidify my spot on an NBA team, but also continue to get better as well. So, those are the big ones that I’m looking forward to.”

It’s been a whirlwind few months and may only get crazier for Travers, and while he’s yet to play for the Cavs early in this new season, the kid from Rockingham is on the right path and he knows he is where he’s supposed to be.

Travers during the NBA pre-season.