The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed Meleek Thomas to a four-year, $9.3 million deal. Thomas was selected 34th overall by the Cavs last week in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Thomas played 37 games with Arkansas last year as a freshman. He averaged 15.7 points and 3.8 rebounds as a 6’3” sharpshooting combo-guard. The Cavs are excited to add an efficient shot-maker like Thomas to their roster.
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“We were excited that he was available in the second round,” said POBO Koby Altman after selecting Thomas. “Usually, a guy of that caliber of scorer, that level of shot maker, his profile, you get a lot earlier.”
The first three years of the deal, worth $6.4 million, are guaranteed to Thomas.
Thomas shot above 40% from deep as a freshman. His marksmanship is one of the main reasons Cleveland targeted him in the draft despite him being a guard. The Cavs are loaded in the backcourt, but Thomas was too skilled for them to pass on.
Thomas doesn’t view the guards in front of him as obstacles, however. He plans on learning everything he can from Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.
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“There’s a lot of great guards on the team ahead of me already, so just learning, pick their brain on what they did when they were rookies,” said Thomas. “Ultimately, all the knowledge that I gain from James, Donovan, any of the guards… me gaining knowledge from the ones that have been here, that’s gonna help me.”
The Cavs aren’t in a position to give Thomas many reps during his rookie season. This is a team that is ready to compete for a title and potentially even welcome home LeBron James (again). That means patience will be key in developing the 19-year-old rookie.
Adding to his 190-pound frame is one of his main goals.
“The Cavs have a great strength program going on, so my physicality… and just some of the high-level things that I might not know that rookies get adjusted to,” said Thomas on his focus for development.
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Thomas shows promise as a three-point shooter who took steps forward as a defender last year. Those are two skills that every NBA team can use more of.
