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Summer League Thread

KqWIN said:
Whether you were high/low on Bilal to begin with, there hasn't been much to shift opinion. It is two SL games after all. His physical tools have been on full display, and that was the primary reason for drafting him. I think he's pretty unique and special here....not just from a length/vertical standpoint but how smoothly he moves. You see it in transition, his drives to the basket, and defensively especially. The hints of playmaking/passing are there as well even if his teammates boofed the assist. OTOH, his rawness is also on full display. He needs to tighten up his handle a little bit and obviously become a better shooter, but mechanics look really good. He's also very skinny and will need to add strength, that will help him out a ton around the basket. But these are all things we knew about him already. You liked him for the raw physical tools and potential or you hated him for the rawness and how far away he is. There's a reason why he's Exum-ish.

I wish he had better/less selfish guards on his team who don't freeze him out, but he's been fairly aggressive when he actually does get the ball which is good. He had a really good stretch with consecutive buckets+the huge block and then didn't touch the ball until the 4th quarter. Gotta love summer league.
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I didn't see both games but the one I did he was invisible. Quite literally the people I was with asked multiple times which one he was throughout the game. I just didn't see him standing out really at all... even physically. Its summer league so whatevs... was just weird his coach didn't get him involved at all. Super low stakes so get him some reps.

Again... summer league so whatevs. I wasn't really bummed on draft night when we didn't get him... saw nothing that gave me an ounce of regret atm. Wemby was trash (by his standards) his first game and so maybe that's all it was.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
I didn't see both games but the one I did he was invisible. Quite literally the people I was with asked multiple times which one he was throughout the game. I just didn't see him standing out really at all... even physically. Its summer league so whatevs... was just weird his coach didn't get him involved at all. Super low stakes so get him some reps.

Again... summer league so whatevs. I wasn't really bummed on draft night when we didn't get him... saw nothing that gave me an ounce of regret atm. Wemby was trash (by his standards) his first game and so maybe that's all it was.
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I think this is a fair observation....Is that his fault or the Wizards guards/coaching? Probably some of both but the Wizards SL teams is one of those teams where whoever dribbles the ball up is probably going to shoot it. And that's true for Bilal as well, when he dribble the ball up the court he has been aggressive, but he just doesn't have the ball very much. It's the Johnny Davis show. I don't really know what to make of this. It's not bad, not good either which is why I don't think his SL has done much to change people's minds regardless of how they felt about him. Even Keyonte was getting frozen out Luka/Carey at times. It's just an SL thing where guys are playing for their lives. To some extent it's on him to demand the ball and force his way into the game, but if he makes a normal pass to keep the offense moving he likely will not touch it again.

The second game was better for him, but most of the action came in a one minute time span. Smooth pullup (miss), transition dunk, tough drive + and1 finish, incredible block. You kinda saw the whole package and reason to get excited about him. All of this happened in one minute, but he didn't touch the ball for like the next 15 minutes. If I'm on the Wizards staff I'm wanting Bilal to get as many reps as possible, but the instant he got involved we basically didn't see him again lol.
 
KqWIN said:
I think this is a fair observation....Is that his fault or the Wizards guards/coaching? Probably some of both but the Wizards SL teams is one of those teams where whoever dribbles the ball up is probably going to shoot it. And that's true for Bilal as well, when he dribble the ball up the court he has been aggressive, but he just doesn't have the ball very much. It's the Johnny Davis show. I don't really know what to make of this. It's not bad, not good either which is why I don't think his SL has done much to change people's minds regardless of how they felt about him. Even Keyonte was getting frozen out Luka/Carey at times. It's just an SL thing where guys are playing for their lives. To some extent it's on him to demand the ball and force his way into the game, but if he makes a normal pass to keep the offense moving he likely will not touch it again.

The second game was better for him, but most of the action came in a one minute time span. Smooth pullup (miss), transition dunk, tough drive + and1 finish, incredible block. You kinda saw the whole package and reason to get excited about him. All of this happened in one minute, but he didn't touch the ball for like the next 15 minutes. If I'm on the Wizards staff I'm wanting Bilal to get as many reps as possible, but the instant he got involved we basically didn't see him again lol.
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Right... the issue I have with it is that the Wiz should have it as priority number 1 to get him some reps and either they suck, haven't prioritized it, or they think he's not ready for it. Probably a mix of all three to be honest. The selfishness is a thing... but its not like that is how most guys think they will make the team. Selfish gunning is as likely to get guys cut as it is to help them "show out". So I think sometimes guys that get pushed out of positions where they would get the ball or who arent separating easily with the ball will have a hard time. Jared Butler seemed to get more separation the NBA than he did in summer league.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
Right... the issue I have with it is that the Wiz should have it as priority number 1 to get him some reps and either they suck, haven't prioritized it, or they think he's not ready for it. Probably a mix of all three to be honest. The selfishness is a thing... but its not like that is how most guys think they will make the team. Selfish gunning is as likely to get guys cut as it is to help them "show out". So I think sometimes guys that get pushed out of positions where they would get the ball or who arent separating easily with the ball will have a hard time. Jared Butler seemed to get more separation the NBA than he did in summer league.
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It’s a compounding problem too because the longer someone goes without touching the ball (happens a lot) the more they feel the need to show out because they might not get the ball for awhile. There’s no such thing as picking and choosing your spots. If you have the ball it might be the last time you get it before you sub out lol.

Bilal isn’t totally innocent here…but unless you’re really interested in Ryan Rollins and Johnny Davis it’s frustrating to watch. He’s probably played more PG than both of them so I don’t know why the Wizards don’t at least rotate the responsibilities more.
 
KqWIN said:
It’s a compounding problem too because the longer someone goes without touching the ball (happens a lot) the more they feel the need to show out because they might not get the ball for awhile. There’s no such thing as picking and choosing your spots. If you have the ball it might be the last time you get it before you sub out lol.

Bilal isn’t totally innocent here…but unless you’re really interested in Ryan Rollins and Johnny Davis it’s frustrating to watch. He’s probably played more PG than both of them so I don’t know why the Wizards don’t at least rotate the responsibilities more.
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I just think draft picks there is a bit of guesswork and luck. I think Bilal is a bit bigger guess and the payoff isn't necessarily what some think it might be (not necessarily you as your expectations on upside are reasonable). I think Bilal keeps us guessing for at least a year with his flashes. I don't know that any of us would have a smidge more confidence in him a year from now... and I just have a hard time with projects that have that long of a runway.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
I just think draft picks there is a bit of guesswork and luck. I think Bilal is a bit bigger guess and the payoff isn't necessarily what some think it might be (not necessarily you as your expectations on upside are reasonable). I think Bilal keeps us guessing for at least a year with his flashes. I don't know that any of us would have a smidge more confidence in him a year from now... and I just have a hard time with projects that have that long of a runway.
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Offensively, yes we’ll have to wait and see. Defensively I think he will be a player from day one, but he can’t really prove that out in the SL. But like I said we should have already known this about him, both the good and the bad. The athleticism and rawness are about what I expected.

Even before he was playing on the senior team I thought he was a lotto pick. Whether the risk is worth it or not, I just don’t think you can get guys who move like that outside of the lottery. There’s a smoothness to the way he moves that is distinct from most guys that are “athletic” imo. Maybe the gliding stuff is just all eye candy, we’ll check back in 2-3 years from now. Just kidding, I’m going to agonize over every little thing he does.
 
Half time in Indy/Orlando:
- Black looks like the most talented player on the court. He has a great feel for the game. Plays under control. Defends multiple positions pretty seamlessly. His lack of an outside shot is going to affect him though. Indiana started sagging off him and the Orlando offense fell apart.
- Jett looking way better than I ever saw him play at Michigan. He had two really nice passes and seems to have a good feel for the game.
- Walker is an amazing athlete at his size and has the ability to be a wrecking ball on defense. He's undisciplined, but fun to watch.
- It's obvious that Indiana is playing 3 NBA rotation players and two first round picks. They are just a much more cohesive team.
 
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