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Summer League Thread

KqWIN said:
The tweet and commentary make it seem like he was doing the wrong thing….but I’m pretty he sure he actually did the right thing.

It was actually IND’s ball on the left side of the court, but they let DAL inbound anyways. That’s why they were playing the wrong direction. The DAL dude noticed and went the right direction, but I think the refs figured out they messed up and then blew the whistle. At the end of the clip you can see the DAL guys going back to play defense on the left side of the court.
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Wow. That is awesome lol.
 
fishonjazz said:
Yep. Nice thing about Taylor is that I feel like he would have just done what he does. Scored a good amount of points efficiently and played good defense. Its so weird that some people see that as a bad thing.
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Similar to what happened to Cason Wallace leading up to the draft. You get so caught up in looking for the spectacular upside of prospects, players with solid skills get ‘boring’ and their skills overlooked. It becomes about the things they can’t do instead of what they can do. With Hendricks we’re suddenly talking more about not being able to create offense instead of looking forward to his 3&D.
 
I've watched way more summer league this year than I ever have before. I really got in to the draft and so I was invested in these prospects and wanted to see how they looked. I've watched 20+ hours of games live and a lot of highlights and replays which is about 20X more summer league than I normally watch.

Here are a few thoughts on the summer league in general that I think are important when contextualizing someone's performance:

- The guys play really hard in the summer league. Individual defense is better than a typical NBA game whereas team offenses are way less advanced.
- The majority of the guys playing in the summer league are desperate for a chance to stand out and so there is a lot of selfish play going on. If you pass the ball you likely will not see it again in a possession.
- For the two reasons above, ISO scorers who are tough shot takers will have more opportunities to shine than other types of players.
- 2nd and 3rd year guys typically dominate the summer league, no matter the talent disparity. Playing in the NBA accelerates development. I also think the pre draft, draft, and post draft process is very exhausting for rookies.
- The level of play goes down as summer league moves on. They play or practice every day and they don't have legs by the end of the week. The most talented players play the least amount of games and are done by the end of the week.
- There are huge variation in the level of competition between teams and also within teams game to game. For example Indiana had an incredible team to start the tournament with almost a full rotation of guys that will get rotation minutes this coming season in the NBA. One game they would all play and the next game 7 of the top guys would sit. If you played for Indiana, your role on the team would change every game. If you played against Indiana, one game might be really tough and the other really easy.

I'm working on a post to share a summary of thoughts on the players I've watched. I just thought it was important to note how much context there is when evaluating players in the summer league.
 
SoberasHotRod said:
I've watched way more summer league this year than I ever have before. I really got in to the draft and so I was invested in these prospects and wanted to see how they looked. I've watched 20+ hours of games live and a lot of highlights and replays which is about 20X more summer league than I normally watch.

Here are a few thoughts on the summer league in general that I think are important when contextualizing someone's performance:

- The guys play really hard in the summer league. Individual defense is better than a typical NBA game whereas team offenses are way less advanced.
- The majority of the guys playing in the summer league are desperate for a chance to stand out and so there is a lot of selfish play going on. If you pass the ball you likely will not see it again in a possession.
- For the two reasons above, ISO scorers who are tough shot takers will have more opportunities to shine than other types of players.
- 2nd and 3rd year guys typically dominate the summer league, no matter the talent disparity. Playing in the NBA accelerates development. I also think the pre draft, draft, and post draft process is very exhausting for rookies.
- The level of play goes down as summer league moves on. They play or practice every day and they don't have legs by the end of the week. The most talented players play the least amount of games and are done by the end of the week.
- There are huge variation in the level of competition between teams and also within teams game to game. For example Indiana had an incredible team to start the tournament with almost a full rotation of guys that will get rotation minutes this coming season in the NBA. One game they would all play and the next game 7 of the top guys would sit. If you played for Indiana, your role on the team would change every game. If you played against Indiana, one game might be really tough and the other really easy.

I'm working on a post to share a summary of thoughts on the players I've watched. I just thought it was important to note how much context there is when evaluating players in the summer league.
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A bazillion years ago I was at a conference in Salt Lake City the same time the Salt Lake Summer League was being played. Some of the teams were staying in the hotel I was at. One day I saw Cory Violette sitting in the lobby looking like someone had shot his dog. I asked one of my co workers if he had any idea why he looked so glum. My co worker said "Oh he got two DNPs/CD in a row after scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in an earlier game." He was an undrafted free agent for the Hawks and their top draft pick was playing the same position. He was making the Hawks scouts look bad so no playing time for you.
 
www.spotrac.com

Summer League Notebook: Part 3 - Western Conference

Keith Smith went to the NBA Summer League! In Part 3, he shares his notes about the Western Conference teams.
www.spotrac.com www.spotrac.com

Some interesting tidbits from Keith Smith from SL... Jazz related:

UTAH JAZZ​

  • “Adding John Collins was a no-brainer. He’s an outstanding talent. We feel like he got lost in the shuffle some in Atlanta. With us, we’re going to make sure he’s regularly involved and has a consistent role. We want to play big lineups, because it’s an advantage we have over most other teams. John is going to be an integral part of that strategy.”
  • “We knew going into the summer that we wanted to keep Jordan Clarkson around. At one point, we thought it would be via a standard extension. But once the board kind of fell into place, it was clear we could do the renegotiation and that would benefit both Jordan and us. He’s an organizational favorite and we’re thrilled we kept him in Utah.”
  • “Whenever you have three first-round picks, it’s going to be hard to feel like you nailed all of them, but we really did. Taylor (Hendricks) is going to be a terrific two-way player. It’s rare to find someone as skilled as he is, but that also likes to defend too. Keyonte (George) is already showing his leadership and toughness. He’s going to prove a lot of people wrong. And Brice (Sensabaugh) is going to be really good too. You add them to last year’s rookies, Walker (Kessler), Ochai (Agbaji) and Johnny (Juzang) and that’s six guys in two years. That’s how you fill out your roster while keeping a ton of cap flexibility for the future.”
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Still love me some Seabron. Had him either in the top 20 or just outside of it in last year's draft.

He had a good G-League season on a 2-way and he's having a solid SL. Still can't shoot so not sure if he ever gets actual NBA minutes this season.
 
So here are some individual player evaluations for the top 10 picks from summer league. I was looking for what is their most NBA ready basketball skill that they showed as well as what is their biggest improvement area in order to be successful in their role:

Wemby: NBA Skill: Shot blocking - He's going to be an elite defender this year. Improvement Area: Consistent shot mechanics - He's so tall he doesn't need to worry about getting his shot blocked. He just needs to learn to shoot in one consistent motion.
Miller: NBA Skill: Versatility - He can do a little bit of everything on both offense and defense Improvement Area: Strength - He currently just looks like a 3&D wing until he can play more in the paint where he's currently not strong enough
Scoot: Not enough film, but I thought he looked really good in his limited time. I think for him it will just be the natural improvements in efficiency that happen with experience.
Amen: Not enough film, but I think he can get anywhere he wants on the court, he'll just need to figure out what to do once he gets there.
Black: NBA Skill: Court Awareness - He always seems to be in control and know what's going on when on defense or offense, which is super impressive for a chaotic environment like the summer league Improvement Area: Willingness to shoot - I'm pretty sure they don't do any scouting or preparation for the other team in summer league, but by his second game players were already sagging off of him/daring him to shoot the ball.
Ausar: NBA Skill: Being all over the court - He seemed to be involved in every play, good connector on offense / great team defense Improvement Area: Confidence - I'm not really sure if it was confidence or something else, but for how high he was picked he didn't look like a guy that was trying to take over a game, he looks more like an elite role player right now.
Bilal: NBA Skill: Defensive ability/Versatility - He was able to guard all over the floor pretty effectively Improvement Area: Defensive consistency - Sometimes he was great, but other times he looked lost on defense or let guys blow right by him.
Walker: NBA Skill: Defensive Big Plays - He has the ability to get on some NBA highlight reels and blow up the other team's offense Improvement Area: Decision Making - He can blow up his own team's offense by making dumb plays
Hendricks: DNP - I think it would have been difficult for Hendricks to show much. The summer league is dominated by on ball players. Still wish we could have seen him though.
Wallace: NBA Skill: On ball defense - He can defend and create turnovers without fouling or gambling Improvement Area: Ball Handling - He's not comfortable dribbling in traffic.

I didn't watch every minute of these guys, so let me know if you saw something different. I have some evaluations for some of the other guys, but I'll put that in a different post at a different time since this one is already really long.
 
Here are some additional evaluations of guys from the draft that I saw:

Jett: NBA Skill: Shooting - He has a really nice shooting form and can shoot from multiple spots on the floor Improvement Area: Nothing stands out as a huge weakness he needs to improve. He was a surprisingly good passer/play maker and wasn't amazing at defense, but played pretty well. He didn't look overly athletic by NBA standards so might struggle more when he gets to the NBA.
Lively: NBA Skill: TBD - I assume he'll be able to protect the rim in the league, but didn't really show much in the summer league. Improvement Area: Rim finishing - He needs to get stronger so he can finish through contact better. FWIW, I think he'll be fine, but is going to take some time.
Hawkins: NBA Skill: I still think he's going to be a shooter, but struggled in the Summer League. I don't think it's because of the level of competition, I just think his shot was a little off. Improvement Area: Impacting the game without shooting/maintaining confidence when his shot is not going in.
Bufkin: NBA Skill: TBD - He was ok at a lot of things, but didn't show anything that he was NBA level at Improvement Area: Strength - He needs to get stronger in order to defend, rebound, and finish through traffic better.
Keyonte: NBA Skill: Quickness with the ball/getting shots off - By far the best guard in the draft at taking/making difficult shots. Improvement Area: Defensive awareness - He got lost/lost focus at times.
JHS: NBA Skill: Ball Handling - The best guard I saw at dribbling/passing/setting up an offense. Improvement Area: Shooting consistency - He missed a lot of shots when I watched him
Podz: NBA Skill: Rebounding - He has a knack for getting to the ball and not afraid to mix it up with bigger guys. Improvement Area: On Ball Defense - At leas when I watched him play they seemed to be hiding him off ball which was a little strange for summer league, could have been just a coincidence though.
Cam: NBA Skill: Strength - He was very impressive at getting his shot off through traffic and getting to the line. Improvement Area: Vision/Court awareness - He gets tunnel vision and just doesn't seem to understand team basketball

I saw some of the other guys, but didn't see enough to take anything away from them. If you saw something different or disagree, let me know.
 
I noticed today that the Sixers signed three undrafted players to two way contracts. Ricky Council IV, a big from Arizona and a wing from NC State. Maybe that's the way to go.
 
NUMBERICA said:
I kinda just feel like the Jazz overthought this one. Nobody passed harder on him than the Jazz.

I know a lot can happen in the next ~10 years or whatever but I'm really hoping I'm not angry about this over that time.
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It’s WAY too early to say. Keyonte would have easily been MVP if he didn’t get hurt.

Let’s at least watch Hendricks play before saying anything.

I suspect there is something more there. I wonder if he’s the prospect who was iffy on coming to Utah. That coupled with potentially bad medicals could be what did it.
 
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