– via NBA.com
NBA Summer League wrapped up on Sunday with the championship matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies. Each team relied on big time plays from their lottery picks as 11th overall Yaxel Lendeborg (21pts/10r) sparked a personal 7-0 run down the stretch in the fourth to put away 3rd overall pick Cam Boozer (19pts/8r/4a) and the Grizzlies away.
Overall this was a strong two weeks for both Lendeborg and Boozer along with a few other standout rookies that should have fanbases feeling extremely optimistic ahead of next season.
Thomas looks like an absolute steal for the Cavaliers that should have no trouble at least getting some opportunities with the team next season. While Thomas will have to settle into a more off-ball role than he enjoyed in Vegas, his ability to get to the rim and create his own space should help what can be a stagnant Cavaliers offense at times.
Filling the giant shoes left behind in Milwaukee by Giannis Anteotokounmpo is no easy task but early looks at Burries truly felt like watching someone with the potential to be special. Alongside some eye-popping performances, Burries only committed three turnovers across his four games played. That’s insane efficiency for a player that had the ball in his hands so much of his 27 minutes per game. Here’s what Bucks assistant Patrick St. Andrews said about Burries a few games back.
“And the cool part is he wants to get better. You can feel it. He’s asking, ‘I need more individual clips. I need more, especially on the defensive end.’ For a young guy to ask, that kind of stuff is impressive. Speaking up in the locker room, you can feel his maturity for his age, which is super impressive. And then obviously, you see the talent.” – Patrick St Andrews
Caleb Wilson looked so strong for the Bulls that you’d be forgiven if you didn’t even realize just how much their other lottery pick struggled out in the desert. Swain made four total field goals across four games played, shooting a paltry 12.9% from the field. While he was known as more of a non-shooter coming in, the move to give him some point guard minutes didn’t yield many promising results either as he kept a 2.3 – 1.8 assist to turnover ratio. Obviously not every pick is going to splash right away but these struggles are pronounced enough that I’m certain Bulls fans will be keeping a close eye on more news about Swain throughout the off-season.
Kings fans, it’s okay. This is just Summer League. Let’s not get too upset based on these early results but I understand the slight panic here about Acuff. When he fell to Sacramento at 7, it felt like something finally breaking right for the Kings (and moreso their long-suffering fan base) but of course, nothing comes easy. Acuff struggled mightily in two areas this summer: efficiency and turnovers. Young guards will always have growing pains but Acuff’s lack of finishing in the paint and at the rim kept him at 36% from the field, 26% from three, and a concerning 64% from the free throw line. More than that, he had 4.7 turnovers per game vs. 5.3 assists.
The Nets have taken plenty of swings in the lottery the last few seasons with mixed results at best but with Brown, they may finally have hit on someone special. I think people knew Brown to be a solid offensive player but his two-way ability and chemistry alongside backcourt mate (and second-year leap candidate) Egor Dёmin looked better than even the most positive Nets fan could’ve possibly imagined right out of the gate. ‘
In case you missed it, Bam Adebayo punched his former teammate Tyler Herro square in the face early on in Summer League, reportedly stemming from negative comments Herro had made about his former teammate.
“After discussing with the players involved and the NBPA, everyone would prefer to move on from this unfortunate circumstance, and no further action will be taken by the league.” – Statement to ESPN via NBA Spokesperson
It’s funny to me that the NBA is taking the “it’s summer, this isn’t our problem” type of approach but I’ll be very interested to see what the first Bucks/Heat matchup looks like with this added tension to it now.
When news broke of Gary Trent Jr. signing a 4-year/$64M extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, fans apparently weren’t the only ones stunned by the development. With Trent coming off of one of his worse seasons as a pro, 8.1ppg/38.7% FG, the huge extension has triggered the NBA to look into potential cap circumvention. The idea being that Trent and the Bucks had an understanding that he’d take below market value deals while Giannis was still there and the team was working to build a contender, to then cash in when Giannis was eventually traded. It’s going to be extremely hard to prove, I mean the Kawhi/Aspiration scandal has had so many documents and accounts come out and we still don’t know what the league is going to do with that.
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Lu Dort, Ryan Nembhard
Dallas Mavericks Receive: Zaccharie Risacher
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Three Second-Round Picks
Atlanta is making some very interesting moves this summer and bringing in someone like Dort is yet another strong one for their defense. Pairing Dort alongisde guys like Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson is just one more matchup nightmare for opposing teams, Dort has his fair share of compilations on YouTube and will certainly give this Atlanta team an edge to it that has been missing in recent years. Dallas getting to take a swing on former first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher is a very low-cost/high-reward type of move that could be a big one for them. Risacher basically fell out of Atlanta’s rotation last season so even in a supporting role, if he can build his value back up it could be a huge boost to what has been an injury-plagued Mavs front court. And for OKC, yes they get more picks but even more importantly, this seems to open the door for more Jared McCain minutes and potentially even a starting spot.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope everyone has been having a good Summer so far. I’ll be back at some point in the next week or so barring any more crazy developments around the league. Everyone enjoy the week, take care, and I’ll see you soon.