Cavs agree to summer league contract with March Madness star

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cavs’ summer league roster is taking shape.

Sources told cleveland.com that the team has agreed to a deal with NCAA tournament star DJ Burns Jr. to join their summer league next month.

Burns will be joined by 20th overall pick Jaylon Tyson and former second-rounders Luke Travers and Khalifa Diop – a duo who have played overseas since being selected by the Cavs as draft-and-stash prospects in 2022. It’s unclear if Diop will be able to play as he continues to recover from an injury that derailed his season. The rest of Cleveland’s summer league roster is still being finalized. It will be a combination of rookies and “veterans.”

Burns, a bulky 6-foot-10 forward with quick feet and a smooth shooting touch, became a fan favorite during NC State’s Final Four run while competing against better-known centers Kyle Filipowski and Zach Edey – two guys who went inside the top 35 in the just-concluded 2024 NBA Draft. After his name wasn’t called on Wednesday or Thursday, the Cavs, who brought Burns to town for a workout during the pre-draft process and were impressed with his revamped physique, acted quickly to add him to their summer league roster.

Over the past few months, Burns has lost around 20 kilograms from his playing weight during the season thanks to a variety of intensive training methods designed to reshape his body and improve his conditioning.

Summer league will give Burns the opportunity to showcase that drastic transformation while also getting a bigger platform to prove he deserves a longer NBA stint. A good performance in Vegas could lead to a possible training camp invite with the Cavaliers – or another NBA team.

The Las Vegas Summer League begins on July 12. The Cavs, who won the Las Vegas championship last year, will hold a training camp in Cleveland the week before.