Nets Summer League 2023

[Paradise]

Tonight is the first night of Vegas Summer League.

Cleveland at Brooklyn on NBA TV. J Vaughn is currently on the commentary.

[Eatgreenz]

Vaughn making sure to bring up Ben. Could me they like what they have see or hearing about him getting healthy

[CalamityX12]

How we do?

[JoseRizal]

Watching Clowney shooting like a clown from 3 makes me rethink if we did the right thing drafting him (I know it's knee jerk reaction). Leonard Miller had a better first SL game (amazing motor!).

Anyway, I hope he can bounce back from this as I believe he still has a high upside potential.

[Netaman]

Jalen Wilson looked really good and his body is closer to grant williams than i would have guessed. he has a craftiness to him that i think is going to get him minutes depending on how the roster shakes out the rest of the summer. Clowney was active but didn't stand out much. The 3 he hit looked pretty natural so needs more of that. David Duke probably look better than he did for his 3rd summer league.

[ecuhus1981]

Vaughn making sure to bring up Ben. Could me they like what they have see or hearing about him getting healthy

We can only hope.

I will say that our offseason moves indicate we are making zero concessions in roster construction on his behalf. We moved our floor spacers that complement Ben's skill set, and replaced them with athletic slashers, which balances the test of our lineup but doesn't fit great next to Simmons.

So, whether we're talking him up to boost his trade value, or were genuinely encouraged by his recovery, we certainly aren't building around him.

[ecuhus1981]

I only saw highlights, we looked athletic and aggressive on D. I'm going to continue to be conservative on Jalen's potential, but as a 22yo college champion and All-American, he looks comfortable and confident out there. Noah has a very long way to go. DDJ continues to impress me.

[Netaman]

I only saw highlights, we looked athletic and aggressive on D. I'm going to continue to be conservative on Jalen's potential, but as a 22yo college champion and All-American, he looks comfortable and confident out there. Noah has a very long way to go. DDJ continues to impress me.

jalin seems to have the ability to shoot with touch from a variety of shot angles. also looks good on corner 3's (and i believe he was something like 42% on catch and shoot corners last year). looks comfortable on the handle too.

i think there's a real chance he's playing actual minutes off the bench behind cam J/bridges by the end of the year. maybe a better chance than clowney.

[Shark]

Not sure if I'm getting confused, but I saw someone comparing Jalen to Cam Thomas. Not sure if I see it, although I didn't watch the entire game. What I did see is a better shooting motion from Jalen. I feel like he'd be more consistent from outside than Cam.

[Paradise]

Jalen has 9 points already. Him and Chandler look really good, I’m really impressed with these picks.

[vincecarter4pres]

Some real NBA players on this roster.

[Netaman]

Some real NBA players on this roster.

i think jalen wilson is one of them.

[vincecarter4pres]

Some real NBA players on this roster.

i think jalen wilson is one of them.

Absolutely.

[Netaman]

Some real NBA players on this roster.

i think jalen wilson is one of them.

Absolutely.

sam vecenie was one of the high men on him and had him 37 overall. scouting report looking pretty good after seeing him in summer league (especially the bolded stff).

37. Jalen Wilson
W | Kansas | Birthdate: Nov. 4, 2000 (Age: 22) | 6-6 | 230 LBS | Hometown: Denton, Texas
BACKGROUND
Parents are Derale and Lisa. Has two younger brothers. Both of his parents were hoopers. His mother was a high-level high school player on the road to a Division I scholarship but tore her ACL and ended up playing community college. Father played at TCU then played professionally. Jalen was considered a high-level player for his age group during his first two years in high school, but really blew up in the summer before his junior year. Achieved four-star status on the recruiting circuits. Attended John H. Guyer High School in Denton and was a four-year starter. Really emerged onto the national scene during that junior year, when he earned all-state honors and led his team to a 32-5 record. Then, as a senior, Wilson once again led his team to a remarkable 38-2 mark before falling for the second straight year in the regional title game in the state tournament. Again, earned all-state honors. Wilson was considered in the ballpark of a top-50 recruit in the 2019 recruiting class and stayed solid with that four-star status. Committed to Michigan before his senior season, but decided to decommit after John Beilein was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Was essentially the last top-50 player to commit in the 2019 recruiting class because of this and chose Kansas. Looked poised for a role as a freshman but broke his ankle in the second game of the season and took a medical redshirt year. Then, in his redshirt freshman season, emerged early as a standout player for the Jayhawks. Started for most of the season, averaging 12 points and earning All-Freshman honors in the Big 12. Declared for the draft but returned to school. As a sophomore, Wilson helped Kansas to a national championship along with first-round picks Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji. He was named third-team All-Big 12 and averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament. Declared for the draft again as a sophomore and received an NBA Draft Combine invite. Ultimately, decided to return to school again. That was the right call, because Wilson broke out as a fourth-year junior. Was the Big 12 Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. He was a finalist for National Player of the Year. Carried Kansas to a No. 1 seed before the team fell to Arkansas in the second round. Wilson declared again for the draft, this time as a full participant. Was again invited to the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

STRENGTHS
Wilson has an interesting blend of size and physical strength at over 6-foot-6 without shoes and nearly 6-foot-8 in them. Has an enormous physical frame with huge shoulders. Has great body control. Very fluid for his strength level. Plays with real confidence. Completely fearless on the court. Because of that, when he gets moving downhill, it’s difficult to stop his momentum. More than happy to initiate contact and create separation with physical play by putting his shoulder into someone. Goes up through contact and isn’t bothered by it. Drew a ton of fouls this past season. Averaged 5.5 free-throw attempts per game and took the second-most free throws in the Big 12. Wilson was the epitome of a high-degree-of-difficulty shot maker this past season. To be that, you must be someone who can create those shots. This past season, he did. Think the key skill here is his handle. He has a real feel for how to get free for a bucket. A very confident, comfortable ballhandler for his size. Has a real bag of tricks as a perimeter driver. Can cross guys, freeze them with inside-out dribbles and attack with between-the-legs dribbles. And he plays at very sharp, quick cadences that allow him to change speeds. Can pull up quickly off all those moves when he drives his defender backward. Wilson is comfortable playing out of ball screens at the top, coming off pindowns from the corners or just isolating from the wing and elbow-extended area. A versatile offensive creator, and one who can be a bit unpredictable in his approach because of how many ways he can attack you. He’ll also play well off spins and pivots because of how much body control he has. Constantly seems to be in complete control of his movements. Never seems off-balance. Really knows how to read his defender’s balance and attack when he just slightly gets off his center. As a scorer, Wilson seems to generally have real touch even if the percentages don’t always tell the story because of how tough the shots are. Has a bevy of little floaters and hooks around the rim. Comfortable shooting from all three levels.Nearly two thirds of his catch-and-shoot attempts were guarded this past season because of how tightly defenders played him. But Wilson
also took over 60 3-point attempts off the catch that were unguarded, per Synergy, and made them at a 40.3 percent clip. He also made 43.2 percent of his pull-up 3s this past season. That, in addition to the touch finishes inside and the near-80 percent mark from the line, should give some real hope for Wilson to be a player who exceeds his collegiate shooting percentages in the NBA. Shoots a very high-arching ball with a high release and follow-through that comes off his hand softly. Interestingly, Wilson took a real leap out of ball screens this past season. His footwork was quite strong, and his feel for how defenders played him in drop was terrific. He’s attack-oriented but patient. Knows how to navigate bodies in the lane. Can snake those actions well to find openings and get all the way to the rim. But, if someone goes under that screen, he’s very comfortable just stopping and popping from behind the 3-point line. Can play off two feet on-balance or put his foot down and drive. One of the more interesting parts of his game is his passing. He clearly has real vision and understands where the help is coming from. Played with much more of a scoring mentality this past season but showcased some real flashes as a playmaker. Threw some awesome cross-corner kickouts off drives and is excellent at finding backdoor baseline cutters. Really knows how to read the low man on the backside. Knows how to manipulate defenders at pace but can also make live-dribble plays at full speed with either hand. I also really like him leading the break and reading advantage situations at speed. He averaged 2.2 assists per game, but as his role changes in the NBA, I think there is some upside for Wilson to be a bit better than that as he shifts into being more of a lower usage guy. Defensively, Wilson displays real upside to be switchable. Wilson played the four for Kansas this past season, and Bill Self used him to switch most screening actions when he was involved as the roll defender. I think he generally did OK when strung out, although we’ll talk about some concerns below. Tends to play very physically and gets his chest into players, using his strength to try to slow down opposing drivers. It’s hard to go through him because of how physically well-proportioned he is, leading to a lot of pull-up jumpers against him. Thought he did a reasonable job of containing. Away from the ball, he’s generally available in rotation and makes the right reads. Does a good job as the low man on the opposite side reading the guard’s decision. Also rebounds well for his position.

WEAKNESSES
Wilson has a concerning blend of traits including a lack of length and a lack of true foot speed. Has just a 6-foot-8 wingspan and pairs it with a near 8-foot-4 standing reach, a very low number for a wing. He also isn’t overly quick. Very balanced but wouldn’t say he has a great first step or a quick first stride on defense. Also, not a particularly vertical athlete. Has two dunks in the last three years. Isn’t a very explosive player in general, even though he’s capable of playing at speed. The big thing that gets pointed to with Wilson is the shot. His numbers from 3 weren’t great. Made just 34 percent this past season on six attempts per game. Needs to prove he can consistently knock them down at an above-average clip. The reason the shot is so important is because of his finishing at the rim. Wilson self-created nearly all of his looks, so you wouldn’t expect to see a high percentage there. But his is particularly low. Made just 47.7 percent at the basket this past season in half-court settings, in large part due to that lack of lift and lack of length. Almost all of his attempts are quite difficult. But it’s unlikely it will get easier for him as he gets to the NBA and needs to finish over longer players. The big question is how Wilson adjusts to a different role allocation in the NBA. Even in 2021-22 when he played more of a role on the Kansas title team, he didn’t shoot or pass wildly well and played closer to a big than to an NBA wing role. This past season, he took a ton of midrange jumpers he likely won’t be asked to take in the NBA unless he gets phenomenal at them. He’s not there yet. It’s hard to visualize exactly what Wilson does on offense at the next level if the shooting doesn’t totally translate. If it does, things get easy. While Wilson was generally a solid defensive player at Kansas, he wasn’t particularly impactful. He wasn’t all that disruptive in passing lanes. He wasn’t a turnover-forcing machine. He wasn’t necessarily a stopper on the ball despite being useful and switchable. Wasn’t impactful rotating to protect the rim when he needed to because of his lack of length. In general, his tools don’t really translate particularly well to doing anything other than being an on-ball stopper type against bigger wings due to his foot speed and size concerns. That role has value. But him proving that he can scale down in size and play against guards will go a long way toward him being able to stay on the court. He has a chance to do that, but he needs to keep improving his overall footwork and foot speed. Also, he needs to do a better job of not getting caught on screens away from the ball and end up trailing the play.

SUMMARY
Wilson’s profile is fascinating. In a lot of ways, he doesn’t exactly scream NBA role player. He’s not an awesome shooter. He’s an average defender. He didn’t pass or make a ton of plays for his teammates this past season. But when I watch his game, he reminds me a lot of some of the good role players who have recently exceeded their draft value as they scale down into a different role. Think of guys like Caleb Martin and Dillon Brooks, both of whom were primary options in college and don’t exactly have immense measurables but figured it out in the NBA as impactful players who did whatever it takes to work. I think Wilson will just do whatever it takes and become an NBA rotation player. There is some downside here if the shooting doesn’t come along quite as much as you’d hope. But there is real upside to being comfortable handling the ball at the level Wilson can, even for role players in today’s NBA. There’s upside to being this big and strong while also being able to do things at speed and make plays as a passer. I just kind of think Wilson knows how to hoop and will figure it out, even if there is a learning curve.

[Tha King]

I only saw highlights, we looked athletic and aggressive on D. I'm going to continue to be conservative on Jalen's potential, but as a 22yo college champion and All-American, he looks comfortable and confident out there. Noah has a very long way to go. DDJ continues to impress me.

jalin seems to have the ability to shoot with touch from a variety of shot angles. also looks good on corner 3's (and i believe he was something like 42% on catch and shoot corners last year). looks comfortable on the handle too.

i think there's a real chance he's playing actual minutes off the bench behind cam J/bridges by the end of the year. maybe a better chance than clowney.

no exaggeration, he might have the best handle amongst the wings on the roster, Bridges included. Seemed very comfortable out of the PnR at KU. That and the rebounding was what stood out when he was drafted.

The lack of athleticism also stands out though. If that doesn't limit him defensively, you're right, he could play rotation minutes and maybe from jump because everything else seems to be there.

[Tha King]

Could have something with Jalen Wilson.

Sometimes you just have to throw out summer league stuff because the role a player has on a SL team or the type of plays being run won't be what the player would have on the regular team. With Wilson, everything he's doing translates. He's got a good understanding of how to play. Moves without the ball, can dribble, great rebounder for a wing, etc.

[Claud]

Jwill looks very confident out there. Very good all-around game. Solid pickup at 51.

NC21 looks very intriguing.
Sharp defensive instincts, taller than expected + can grow, and a smooth J.
A lot of good tools. I can see why we wanted him.

Duke is the same as always. Very good in SL/GL but his lack of J hurts him at NBA level.

Chandler and Brooks also look like they can carver out a role in some teams. Not sure they are NBA level though, similar to Duke.

[Tha King]

Jwill looks very confident out there. Very good all-around game. Solid pickup at 51.

NC21 looks very intriguing.
Sharp defensive instincts, taller than expected + can grow, and a smooth J.
A lot of good tools. I can see why we wanted him.

Duke is the same as always. Very good in SL/GL but his lack of J hurts him at NBA level.

Chandler and Brooks also look like they can carver out a role in some teams. Not sure they are NBA level though, similar to Duke.

yea DDJ needs a jumper. With it, he could actually be a solid role player similar to Bruce because he does everything else. Without it, like you said.

[Papi_swav]

Chandler had a bad shooting night but he's clearly the best player on the team. He just makes things happen on both sides of the floor and he can play the point guard.

Jalen Wilson has an NBA ready body and hustles. He will get minutes this year because he can shoot the 3 and he hustles after the ball and to the rim, typical 3&D wing player in the league now which is a good find in the late 2nd round. He doesn't have a high ceiling but he has a decent floor.

[Netaman]

Chandler had a bad shooting night but he's clearly the best player on the team. He just makes things happen on both sides of the floor and he can play the point guard.

Jalen Wilson has an NBA ready body and hustles. He will get minutes this year because he can shoot the 3 and he hustles after the ball and to the rim, typical 3&D wing player in the league now which is a good find in the late 2nd round. He doesn't have a high ceiling but he has a decent floor.

agreed they both deserve spots and at this point id be kind of surprised if wilson isn't getting some rotation minutes off the bench. those 2 won the game. clowney showing the ability to hit from 3 seems notable. he looks like he could become that stretch backup big we've been looking for, or at least part of that.