Guard/forward Caris LeVert revamped his diet and conditioning during the summer — all in an effort to bounce back from an uneven run after being traded from the Pacers to the Cavs in January.
LeVert spoke to Cavs beat reporter Kelsey Russo of The Athletic on the matter.
“After the season, honestly, I was disappointed,” LeVert said, via Russo. “It was like, I had never really felt like that about basketball before. I didn’t lose any confidence. I was just disappointed in how the season ended and how I was playing.
“So it was like, I don’t know, I really felt like, not even something to prove to other people, it was kind of something I wanted to just prove to myself that I could still be myself or I could still get better because I feel like I’ve gotten better every year. And I just felt like last year I kind of took a step back.”
LeVert is entering the final year of his contract, and as we relayed, neither LeVert nor the Cavs are in any sort of rush on an extension.
Last season, LeVert appeared in just 19 games with the Cavs after the trade. That’s a very small sample size, not even a quarter of a season. He averaged 13.6 points and 3.9 assists in that span. If there’s one thing he proved, it’s that he’s capable of breaking down defenders off the dribble. Fitting in entirely with the rest of the offense remained a bit of a question mark.
“For me, it was just trying to just show them that last year was really just a fluke,” LeVert told Russo. “So I really was just trying to come in here five steps ahead of everything, make sure my conditioning was steps ahead and make sure my skill set was steps ahead. So but no, the conversation has been pretty consistent with J.B. Bickerstaff, kind of just do what you do, do it well, make sure you’re defending and stay aggressive offensively.”
Coach Nate McMillan likes what he has seen from newcomer Vit Krejci, acquired in a trade with the Thunder.
“He knows how to play,” McMillan said, via Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think he has a high basketball IQ. We put him right out there. It was good to see him be available to play and practice with our guys today. So that was exciting.”
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