2016 NBA Summer League

[ATTL]

Christian wood has looked pretty good in summer league this year. I think he's added some weight since last year.

[jcsunsfan]

Christian wood has looked pretty good in summer league this year. I think he's added some weight since last year.

I always thought he had potential. I wanted us to figure a way to draft him in the second round last year. I thought he should have been a late first round pick.

[NavLDO]

Five NBA Las Vegas Summer League Players to Watch by Tjarks:

Dragan Bender, Phoenix Suns

Compared to Maker and Papagiannis, Bender is a pretty well-known product, despite how he was often portrayed coming into the draft. He has been on NBA radars for years, and he played at the highest international and club levels in Europe. Now that we’ll be able to watch him up close and personal, it’ll be interesting to see how he fares playing off the ball with the Kentucky backcourt of Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker likely dominating the action for the Suns’ summer league team. The crown jewel of the Suns’ Vegas adventure, though, is the chance to see the team’s front line of the future, in Bender and Marquese Chriss, together on the court for the first time. There should be minutes available for Bender coming off the bench as a rookie in Phoenix, so developing a rapport with Ulis will be essential.

Tyler Ulis, Phoenix Suns

As one of the smallest players in Vegas, Ulis doesn’t really fit the profile of a Kentucky point guard — certainly not the one shared by his future teammates in Phoenix, Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. No one has ever questioned Ulis’s skill set or toughness, but it’s fair to wonder just how much of that he can translate to the pro game at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds. Summer league isn’t the NBA, but it isn’t the SEC either, where he was the Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. In the past, the summertime struggles of undersized guards like Shane Larkin and Trey Burke in Vegas and Orlando wound up being early warning signs for problems they would face in the NBA. Ulis can’t quiet all the doubters with a strong showing, but he has a chance to put a few to bed.

Why do we keep seeing this as Ulis' listed height? He measured in, with shoes, at the Combine like everybody else, so if reporters are smart enough to look up the Combine's "official heights" for other players and report those numbers, why is it so hard to do for Ulis...who measured in at 5'10"???

Is it a big difference? No, not really, but why not get it right? As I've noted in previous posts over the past few months, Kentucky has a history of measuring their guys on the small side more often then not--Jamal Murray, Isaiah Briscoe, Karl-Anthony Towns, Alex Poythress, Marcus Lee, Devin Booker (Wingspan/Reach), Dakari Johnson (Wingspan/Reach), and others...

Anyway, just my OCD kicking in...don't mind me...but for the record, Ulis is 5'10".

[NavLDO]

Something to keep in mind when watching our guys in SL.

Weak-to-no correlation between scoring in the SL and in the NBA
Mild-to-moderate correlation with rebounding.
Moderate-to-strong correlation with passing.

Data: http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Summer-League-Statistics-Something-or-Nothing--5628

So basically watch for the guys who are rebounding and passing more than the guys who are scoring.

Thats not a good look for Chriss

Yeah it'll be concerning if Chriss gets pushed around on the boards and has a lot more turnovers than assists.

Let's see how he does.

Yeah, I'd say let's wait until they actually play before making assessments on their game. There could have been any number of reasons Chriss struggled on the DRebs, but the fact that he was one the better guys on ORebs leads me to believe the skillset is there. It's quite possible he's already received some coaching in that area on how best to improve upon his issues in college.

Also, this is just SL, so even if he doesn't show well, the dude just turned 19. After 3 years and at age 22 if it hasn't been worked out, THEN is when I'll be concerned, but in his first SL at 19? And the fact that 'bigs' traditionally take more time to develop than Guards, I'm not even worried about Chriss (or Bender, for that matter); as far as I'm concerned, they can both suck this year, and I still won't be worried, but I know some here will make their opinions known, ESPECIALLY if Bender, and/or guys like Sabonis, Poeltl, Davis, Ellenson, etc., look good and Chriss doesn't....lord, help me, will this year's game threads be insufferable to read..."McD is stupid...should have drafted X player" and "we need to trade Chriss for a 2017 2nd Rd pick he's so bad"...so on and so forth...

[saintEscaton]

If Chriss pans out its just icing on the cake IMO, wouldn't bet on it but it would be a pleasant surprise. Trading Bogdan/#28 was worth the gamble for his upside and we didn't pass on any can't miss prospect for him

[jcsunsfan]

If Chriss pans out its just icing on the cake IMO, wouldn't bet on it but it would be a pleasant surprise. Trading Bogdan/#28 was worth the gamble for his upside and we didn't pass on any can't miss prospect for him

He is 6-10 and still growing (according to Suns mgmt) with a 37 inch vertical. He can shoot from mid-range and from outside. He is a good O-rebounder. He is a project, but it is not a bad starting place. With the passing of Booker, Bender, and Ulis (and Bledsoe on a good day), he doesn't even have to touch the ball on offense except above the rim on the way down for a stuff. He can charge the offensive boards and be quite effective as well as running the floor. His defensive rebounding horrible and may never get better, but if it does, he is a decent risk.

Again. I would have liked Sabonis, but we didn't get him so I am not going to continually second guess. Its not worth the mental anquish. You have to take risks in this league and that's what McD did here. I am ok with it.

[NavLDO]

If Chriss pans out its just icing on the cake IMO, wouldn't bet on it but it would be a pleasant surprise. Trading Bogdan/#28 was worth the gamble for his upside and we didn't pass on any can't miss prospect for him

He is 6-10 and still growing (according to Suns mgmt) with a 37 inch vertical. He can shoot from mid-range and from outside. He is a good O-rebounder. He is a project, but it is not a bad starting place. With the passing of Booker, Bender, and Ulis (and Bledsoe on a good day), he doesn't even have to touch the ball on offense except above the rim on the way down for a stuff. He can charge the offensive boards and be quite effective as well as running the floor. His defensive rebounding horrible and may never get better, but if it does, he is a decent risk.

Again. I would have liked Sabonis, but we didn't get him so I am not going to continually second guess. Its not worth the mental anquish. You have to take risks in this league and that's what McD did here. I am ok with it.

I liked Sabonis, too, but had we selected him after the trade up, I think we would've seen a bunch of head-scratching going on by fans and media. Chriss was the ultimate boom/bust guy, and those are the guys you trade up for. Not the High-floor/Mid-Ceiling types. He was a good pick at 11, and am glad he was taken before 13, as that REALLY obliterates the "well, if we would've stood-pat, we could've grabbed Sabonis at 13." Now it will be more of the "we could've had Ellenson" argument, but to me, he's an even bigger project than Chriss in some areas, and with his limited athleticism, I'd say Kevin Love is his ceiling, and while that's not bad, Chriss' ceiling is higher, IMO (though, so is his floor).

[ATTL]

Thon and brogdon about to play

[bwgood77]

If Chriss pans out its just icing on the cake IMO, wouldn't bet on it but it would be a pleasant surprise. Trading Bogdan/#28 was worth the gamble for his upside and we didn't pass on any can't miss prospect for him

He is 6-10 and still growing (according to Suns mgmt) with a 37 inch vertical. He can shoot from mid-range and from outside. He is a good O-rebounder. He is a project, but it is not a bad starting place. With the passing of Booker, Bender, and Ulis (and Bledsoe on a good day), he doesn't even have to touch the ball on offense except above the rim on the way down for a stuff. He can charge the offensive boards and be quite effective as well as running the floor. His defensive rebounding horrible and may never get better, but if it does, he is a decent risk.

Again. I would have liked Sabonis, but we didn't get him so I am not going to continually second guess. Its not worth the mental anquish. You have to take risks in this league and that's what McD did here. I am ok with it.

I liked Sabonis, too, but had we selected him after the trade up, I think we would've seen a bunch of head-scratching going on by fans and media. Chriss was the ultimate boom/bust guy, and those are the guys you trade up for. Not the High-floor/Mid-Ceiling types. He was a good pick at 11, and am glad he was taken before 13, as that REALLY obliterates the "well, if we would've stood-pat, we could've grabbed Sabonis at 13." Now it will be more of the "we could've had Ellenson" argument, but to me, he's an even bigger project than Chriss in some areas, and with his limited athleticism, I'd say Kevin Love is his ceiling, and while that's not bad, Chriss' ceiling is higher, IMO (though, so is his floor).

You think Chriss' FLOOR is HIGHER than Sabonis? Or did you mean to say LOWER?

[NTB]

He is 6-10 and still growing (according to Suns mgmt) with a 37 inch vertical. He can shoot from mid-range and from outside. He is a good O-rebounder. He is a project, but it is not a bad starting place. With the passing of Booker, Bender, and Ulis (and Bledsoe on a good day), he doesn't even have to touch the ball on offense except above the rim on the way down for a stuff. He can charge the offensive boards and be quite effective as well as running the floor. His defensive rebounding horrible and may never get better, but if it does, he is a decent risk.

Again. I would have liked Sabonis, but we didn't get him so I am not going to continually second guess. Its not worth the mental anquish. You have to take risks in this league and that's what McD did here. I am ok with it.

I liked Sabonis, too, but had we selected him after the trade up, I think we would've seen a bunch of head-scratching going on by fans and media. Chriss was the ultimate boom/bust guy, and those are the guys you trade up for. Not the High-floor/Mid-Ceiling types. He was a good pick at 11, and am glad he was taken before 13, as that REALLY obliterates the "well, if we would've stood-pat, we could've grabbed Sabonis at 13." Now it will be more of the "we could've had Ellenson" argument, but to me, he's an even bigger project than Chriss in some areas, and with his limited athleticism, I'd say Kevin Love is his ceiling, and while that's not bad, Chriss' ceiling is higher, IMO (though, so is his floor).

You think Chriss' FLOOR is HIGHER than Sabonis? Or did you mean to say LOWER?

I think he meant lower.

[Qwigglez]

This guy is streaming on Youtube... hopefully tomorrow he'll have the Suns game up there.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqALTF13VZLU_GNrHXTftg

[NavLDO]

I liked Sabonis, too, but had we selected him after the trade up, I think we would've seen a bunch of head-scratching going on by fans and media. Chriss was the ultimate boom/bust guy, and those are the guys you trade up for. Not the High-floor/Mid-Ceiling types. He was a good pick at 11, and am glad he was taken before 13, as that REALLY obliterates the "well, if we would've stood-pat, we could've grabbed Sabonis at 13." Now it will be more of the "we could've had Ellenson" argument, but to me, he's an even bigger project than Chriss in some areas, and with his limited athleticism, I'd say Kevin Love is his ceiling, and while that's not bad, Chriss' ceiling is higher, IMO (though, so is his floor, being lower, that is.).

You think Chriss' FLOOR is HIGHER than Sabonis? Or did you mean to say LOWER?

I think he meant lower.

I think what I was trying to say is that Chriss is Boom/Bust--Low-floor/high-ceiling--those are the guys you trade up for, like we did. You do typically do NOT trade up (at least to 8th overall) for the High-Floor/Mid-Ceiling-types like Sabonis--Did I not get my highs and lows right? A low-floor guy to me, is a guy that COULD bust....like hard, where as a Sabonis-type, won't 'bust' hard he will, at worst, be a bench/role player who gets you 10-15 minutes a game.

So the Red Font all goes together--all about Sabonis. The Bold/Lg Font was about Chriss, so there was a break in train of thought there...should've used a hard return, I guess. And then added ("being lower, that is.") at the end, like I just did (in blue). Sorry for the confusion...

...eeehhhh...leave me alone...stop picking on me!!!

[ATTL]

Dunn looking very good so far

[OGBAH]

This guy is streaming on Youtube... hopefully tomorrow he'll have the Suns game up there.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqALTF13VZLU_GNrHXTftg

I tuned in and saw a Atlanta player hit a under handed free throw

[darealjuice]

Denver is going to be an interesting team to watch this Summer League, I liked Petr Cornelie, Juan Hernangomez, and Jamal Murray going into the draft. Mudiay vs. Dunn should be a good match up too.

edit: Juancho looks like the best player on the court for the Nuggets thus far after the 1st quarter. Dunn is eating Mudiay alive on defense, but still shows that incomplete offensive game.

[bwgood77]

This guy is streaming on Youtube... hopefully tomorrow he'll have the Suns game up there.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqALTF13VZLU_GNrHXTftg

Awesome....I just realized I probably can't all of tomorrow's game live, if it's even available live. I haven't watched more than about 5 minutes of summer league so far.

Any games worth watching so far just to see some unexpected or crazy talent or close games that were fun to watch?

[Qwigglez]

^I only watched like 5 minutes before falling asleep.

[OGBAH]

Henry Ellenson sucks so far

[Gorilla Warfare]

I never got the hype with Ellenson. I don't think he will be any more than a poor Cole Aldrich in this league.

I only say Aldrich because it was the first big white guy I could think of, not based off skill set.

[ATTL]

Payne is so bad