Luke Travers and the search for his place in the NBA

• Western Australian Luke Travers is on his second two-way deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers
• He averaged 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists with four triple-doubles for the Cleveland Charge in the G League
• Travers played NBL for both Melbourne United and the Perth Wildcats, where he won an NBL championship in 2020
• How to watch every 2025-26 NBA game in Australia

Luke Travers was clearly a level above the G League competition last season but it still wasn't enough to crack a star-studded Cleveland Cavaliers line-up, which claimed the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Travers has four triple-doubles for the Cleveland Charge in the 2024-25 season and averaged 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists per game.

However, the West Australian has been caught between genuine basketball ability and the specific skill set required to stick at the NBA level. Week to week, you have to check whether he's in Cleveland or down in the G League, such is the frequency of movement.

After signing a two-way NBA contract with the Cavaliers in 2024, Travers spent the first year of his NBA life as someone who's yet to find the obvious role that would make him indispensable in the league.

According to Danny Cunningham, a Cleveland Cavaliers beat reporter, an ankle injury significantly interrupted his first season.

"There was an ankle injury that cost him some time in the G League. That's why the games played numbers were low. He played sixteen regular season games with the Charge in addition to the five at the Tip-Off tournament, and he played better at the start of the season than that tournament, which was of course before he was injured," he said.

Still, Cunningham's assessment was measured.

"I do think he's a good glue player. I think he's a hustle guy, like he does a lot of the things that you really want role players to do.

"He has a role player skill set, which is important because you need those kind of guys. I'm just not sure that he is advanced enough in all of those skills to actually be an NBA calibre role player."

Travers does the small things that make winning teams function, but being a necessary glue guy and being good enough to hold onto an NBA roster spot in a deep organisation are two different things.

This year matters and Travers himself has expressed how he wants to earn a bigger role with the Cavs.

It's his second year on a two-way contract with Cleveland, and the Cavaliers' development pattern suggests two years is typically the window.

"I think this year is very big for him. It'll be a second year on a two way. Typically, the Cavs will have guys on two ways for two years, and if it works out great, we've seen the positive developmental stories they have, if not sometimes after two years, it's, hey, maybe you're best off being somewhere else," Cunningham explained.

Emoni Bates is a recent example. He came in as a highly touted prospect and was on a two-way with the Cavs for two years before the fit didn't work out for either side.

With that in mind, this is a crucial season for Travers.

He'll spend most of it in the G League again, he'll have chances with the Cavaliers when injuries strike or when bench rotations open up. The question is whether he uses those opportunities to demonstrate something new.

At the G League level, he dominates. Triple-doubles happen, he looks like someone who belongs higher, but when he steps into an NBA arena with this current Cavs team, expectations are higher than ever. That open three needs to drop and layups can't be missed.

"I don't necessarily know what his NBA calibre skill is, but I do think he's a good glue player," Cunningham said.

"But I do think that the Cavs would like to see a little bit more from him in the G League before they start to think about him as a potential fit as a full time NBA player."

Travers needs to find that elite skill or combination of improved abilities that makes a front office say they can't let him go. It appears this season will determine whether he can.

Whether or not he can make it at the NBA level, Australian basketball fans should look forward to seeing Travers in the green and gold for years to come, according to basketball.com.au's expert Mike Houben.

"Travers is the ultimate connector. With feel for the game and the ability to impact both ends of the floor, Travers is an elite glue guy at a position that is wide open for Boomers selection," says Houben.