In Manny Harris, Samardo Samuels, Jamario Moon and Jawad Williams, the Cavs have four players who earned their way into the league the hard way.
Samardo Samuels is one of two Cavaliers -- along with Manny Harris -- to earn a roster spot despite not being drafted last spring. "It doesn't really matter (whether a player is drafted)," said Byron Scott. "It's just a matter of whether they can play the game."INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- How big an upset was it that two undrafted rookies -- Manny Harris and Samardo Samuels -- made the Cavaliers' final roster?
OK, maybe not as big as the Browns upsetting the New Orleans Saints. But it's still pretty big.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there were just 12 undrafted rookies playing in the league last season. There were 12 such rookies in 2008-09 and 14 in 2007-08. Those are considerable drops from the 26 who played in the league in 2006-07 and the 34 in 2005-06.
Add that neither Jamario Moon nor Jawad Williams was drafted, and the Cavs have four players who earned their way into the league the hard way.
"How about that?" said General Manager Chris Grant with a smile.
So what's the secret to their success? Is there an art to finding these diamonds in the rough, which seems to be getting harder and harder to do? Not really, according to Grant. But he does take the opportunity to praise director of player personnel Wes Wilcox and his scouting staff.
"We give our scouts a lot of credit for being open-minded and continuing to evaluate and watch players and trusting their gut instincts," he said.
Part of the reason the Cavs had to dig a little deeper is that they didn't have a draft pick in 2010. Barring a trade, they knew they weren't going to have a shot at the so-called top 60 players chosen last summer. That meant they had to be ready in case any prospects slipped through the cracks -- like Harris and Samuels. How much they end up contributing is anyone's guess, but at least they have a chance to do so.
"All the credit goes to Wes Wilcox and Chris Grant and those guys for finding them," coach Byron Scott said. "They had both of those guys pretty high on the list of guys who could potentially be very, very good basketball players, and that's what this league is based on -- potential.
"Both of them have had their moments, but they both have big-time upsides. It's just a matter of them getting better. They're young, too. So they've got to come to work every day as well."
It's not as if either player just appeared on the Cavs' radar last June. They start tracking players in high school and have scouts assigned to every collegiate conference in the country. Each scout is responsible for knowing every player in that conference so that if someone becomes available, the Cavs can make a reasonable decision on whether to pursue him.
"Just because a guy's not drafted doesn't mean he can't offer something," Grant said. "Our guys have done a nice job with that."
The last thing Scott cares about is where -- or whether -- a particular player was drafted.
"No, you try to find guys who can play basketball," he said. "Undrafted or first round doesn't matter. There's a lot of success stories of guys in this league who were late second round or guys who weren't drafted but got invitations to training camp and made the team.
"It doesn't really matter. It's just a matter of whether they can play the game."
Hickson will start: Scott declared J.J. Hickson the starter at power forward on Sunday, meaning veteran Antawn Jamison will come off the bench. Scott has been pleased with how Hickson responded after the coach criticized his focus after the final preseason game. The coach also thinks a bench anchored by Jamison and Daniel Gibson can be a strength.