2024 Summer League

[Puff]

Only 2 summer league games, but unfortunately I have little to no expectations for Oso and Dunn next year.

Dunn is a ghost on offense. He's been slightly better handling the ball than I expected, but there's not much else there right now. Defensively he's active and athletic, but he won't be an elite on-ball defender without getting stronger. Can't imagine he sees the floor much this year.

Oso showed some positives on offense with his passing, ball handling, and athleticism. Seems like he'll be a non-shooter though. He's decent defensively, not much of a rim protector but has good hands and timing. He could develop into a solid player with some weight, but his upside is definitely capped if he's a non-shooting tweener.

Still confused by the direction we went in the draft. Obviously expectations should be low where we were drafting, but it seems like there were better positional fits at 22/28 that are easier to project in the NBA or have more realistic upside.

I can see Oso getting time as well as Dunn. It is only two freaking games. Oso was our best player today. Dunn needs to be able to make a shot, but he really is very quick and athletic. He will get minutes as well as lots of time in the G league to work on his shot. I also like the potential of Bridges. I am really disappointed with the decision not to play Gillespie in the Summer league. He was a virtual triple double in the G Leage last year after playing for a great college coach at Villanova. I expect our results and our rookies would be a lot better for it. The guard play has been horrible, and I have no idea where Roddy fits on our roster. There are still numerous good choices available in free agency.

I doubt our off season is over or at least I hope not.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Dunn on the Bronny streak 0/7 from 3

That 1st round pick was a huge asset for us

[Saberestar]

Bad performance from Ryan Dunn, he played much better in the first game IMO.

He needs to watch one 3p shot to go in, 0/7 until now in two games. He needs it at this point already.

There aren't doubts about his great defense... but again, he needs to be more active on offense and make some hard surprising cut to the basket without the ball here and there...he stays too passive in the 3p line.

Oso seems more comfortable at everything on offense, no doubt he is more NBA ready with an specific role as a connector 5.

Defensively he is OK, not as good as Dunn but I like his mobility and activity on defense as a C.

Jalen Bridges...meh, nothing to talk about it for now.

And Roddy was OK against the Pacers and played much better in his F role. He wasn't trying to be an initiator as much as in the first game.

[darealjuice]

Only 2 summer league games, but unfortunately I have little to no expectations for Oso and Dunn next year.

Dunn is a ghost on offense. He's been slightly better handling the ball than I expected, but there's not much else there right now. Defensively he's active and athletic, but he won't be an elite on-ball defender without getting stronger. Can't imagine he sees the floor much this year.

Oso showed some positives on offense with his passing, ball handling, and athleticism. Seems like he'll be a non-shooter though. He's decent defensively, not much of a rim protector but has good hands and timing. He could develop into a solid player with some weight, but his upside is definitely capped if he's a non-shooting tweener.

Still confused by the direction we went in the draft. Obviously expectations should be low where we were drafting, but it seems like there were better positional fits at 22/28 that are easier to project in the NBA or have more realistic upside.

I can see Oso getting time as well as Dunn. It is only two freaking games. Oso was our best player today. Dunn needs to be able to make a shot, but he really is very quick and athletic. He will get minutes as well as lots of time in the G league to work on his shot. I also like the potential of Bridges. I am really disappointed with the decision not to play Gillespie in the Summer league. He was a virtual triple double in the G Leage last year after playing for a great college coach at Villanova. I expect our results and our rookies would be a lot better for it. The guard play has been horrible, and I have no idea where Roddy fits on our roster. There are still numerous good choices available in free agency.

I doubt our off season is over or at least I hope not.

I like Oso, but it's hard to see him getting anything but garbage time minutes unless he's beating out Bol/Plumlee for backup PF/C minutes, which seems unlikely. Dunn has a more clear path to playing time just based on the depth chart, so maybe he'll beat Okogie and Little out for those last couple minutes. I'd prefer we found a better way to fill those minutes though.

You're right that it's only 2 games against below NBA-level competition with awful guard play, but it's also been pretty consistent with their body of work in college. It's going to take a lot of time before either of them are hitting 3s (if ever), for instance. Some analysts had Dunn as one of the worst offensive prospects they've scouted, and you can obviously see where they're coming from.

I also think it'd be nice to get a look at Gillespie. Not sure why he didn't end up playing, it's not like he's expected to have a huge role for us next year.

[lilfishi22]

This is why shooting in an open gym or practice highlights doesn't tell you anything about in game shooting. Remember when Bronny was coming into the draft shooting under 27% from 3 in college then you get stories like "Bronny James shoots 11/11 in 3pt shooting drill at the NBA Draft Combine" and all of a sudden people think Bronny's much farther along than they really are. Now Bronny's at what 0 for 15 or something in the SL?

I watched a clip of Shaq on Team USA practice draining 3's on 1v1 looking like a 3rd Splash Bro and dude's made one his entire career. Then you also have this as well:

The Rockets tracked (Dwight) Howard's free throws, and he shot "upper-70s"in the practice gym, according to a team source, but he shot 48.9 percent in games this past season. That's a 30 percentage point gap.

These NBA level guys are ridiculously skilled and most can do a lot more than what they actually show in game but those are skills just aren't NBA level and aren't useable at the NBA level.

[lilfishi22]

Oso's assists were nice even at the cost of those 5 turnovers. It's showing he's at least seeing things on the court and trying to make the right passes. That backdoor pass to that #45 was slick AF and then that transition bounce pass after the steal was a gem.

It was also nice to see a 3&D wing in Bridges actually hit some 3's and do a bit of everything else. Don't have too much to say about Dunn...he certainly didn't look as good in the first game and overall just felt kind of invisible in this game. I do think this once again highlights how reliant someone like he would be on the system and others generating offense for him if it isn't some lost ball dunk or an open cut

[TASTIC]

This lefty Devoe kid at PG might end up sticking. Great size at PG, seems to play under control and just seems to make the right plays. Seems slow/unathletic though

[lilfishi22]

Only 2 summer league games, but unfortunately I have little to no expectations for Oso and Dunn next year.

Dunn is a ghost on offense. He's been slightly better handling the ball than I expected, but there's not much else there right now. Defensively he's active and athletic, but he won't be an elite on-ball defender without getting stronger. Can't imagine he sees the floor much this year.

Oso showed some positives on offense with his passing, ball handling, and athleticism. Seems like he'll be a non-shooter though. He's decent defensively, not much of a rim protector but has good hands and timing. He could develop into a solid player with some weight, but his upside is definitely capped if he's a non-shooting tweener.

Still confused by the direction we went in the draft. Obviously expectations should be low where we were drafting, but it seems like there were better positional fits at 22/28 that are easier to project in the NBA or have more realistic upside.

I can see Oso getting time as well as Dunn. It is only two freaking games. Oso was our best player today. Dunn needs to be able to make a shot, but he really is very quick and athletic. He will get minutes as well as lots of time in the G league to work on his shot. I also like the potential of Bridges. I am really disappointed with the decision not to play Gillespie in the Summer league. He was a virtual triple double in the G Leage last year after playing for a great college coach at Villanova. I expect our results and our rookies would be a lot better for it. The guard play has been horrible, and I have no idea where Roddy fits on our roster. There are still numerous good choices available in free agency.

I doubt our off season is over or at least I hope not.

I like Oso, but it's hard to see him getting anything but garbage time minutes unless he's beating out Bol/Plumlee for backup PF/C minutes, which seems unlikely. Dunn has a more clear path to playing time just based on the depth chart, so maybe he'll beat Okogie and Little out for those last couple minutes. I'd prefer we found a better way to fill those minutes though.

You're right that it's only 2 games against below NBA-level competition with awful guard play, but it's also been pretty consistent with their body of work in college. It's going to take a lot of time before either of them are hitting 3s (if ever), for instance. Some analysts had Dunn as one of the worst offensive prospects they've scouted, and you can obviously see where they're coming from.

I also think it'd be nice to get a look at Gillespie. Not sure why he didn't end up playing, it's not like he's expected to have a huge role for us next year.

I was hoping he'd play in the SL as well. He'd certainly make our offense and our rookies look better out there as well

Suns assistant Vince Legarza, who is head coach of the summer league team, addressed the matter after Saturday’s game.

Averaging 3.6 points last season, Gillespie did see action for Denver’s summer league team as he went undrafted out of Villanova in 2022.

“The timing on it,” Legarza said. “He’s here. He’s here in Vegas. He’s working every single day. He’s getting better, been working out with our coaching staff. We just thought it was best for him to get better a different way.”

[garrick]

Only 2 summer league games, but unfortunately I have little to no expectations for Oso and Dunn next year.

Dunn is a ghost on offense. He's been slightly better handling the ball than I expected, but there's not much else there right now. Defensively he's active and athletic, but he won't be an elite on-ball defender without getting stronger. Can't imagine he sees the floor much this year.

Oso showed some positives on offense with his passing, ball handling, and athleticism. Seems like he'll be a non-shooter though. He's decent defensively, not much of a rim protector but has good hands and timing. He could develop into a solid player with some weight, but his upside is definitely capped if he's a non-shooting tweener.

Still confused by the direction we went in the draft. Obviously expectations should be low where we were drafting, but it seems like there were better positional fits at 22/28 that are easier to project in the NBA or have more realistic upside.

Could be another flop by JJ, similar to how he picked Stix when there were better BPA at #10 that filled a clear need.

I really think someone in the front office (Ishbia) stupidly made a promise to Dunn after workouts that they would select him no matter what so we stupidly selected him at #28 when better picks were available.

[lilfishi22]

Only 2 summer league games, but unfortunately I have little to no expectations for Oso and Dunn next year.

Dunn is a ghost on offense. He's been slightly better handling the ball than I expected, but there's not much else there right now. Defensively he's active and athletic, but he won't be an elite on-ball defender without getting stronger. Can't imagine he sees the floor much this year.

Oso showed some positives on offense with his passing, ball handling, and athleticism. Seems like he'll be a non-shooter though. He's decent defensively, not much of a rim protector but has good hands and timing. He could develop into a solid player with some weight, but his upside is definitely capped if he's a non-shooting tweener.

Still confused by the direction we went in the draft. Obviously expectations should be low where we were drafting, but it seems like there were better positional fits at 22/28 that are easier to project in the NBA or have more realistic upside.

Could be another flop by JJ, similar to how he picked Stix when there were better BPA at #10 that filled a clear need.

I really think someone in the front office (Ishbia) stupidly made a promise to Dunn after workouts that they would select him no matter what so we stupidly selected him at #28 when better picks were available.

Kolek was the obvious pick to me and was clear to me we needed his talent more so than Dunn's. The fact that we moved back and he was still available at 28, I thought it was a no brainer. 7 assists each in the two games with zero turnovers is pretty nice. Shooting could be better at 1-6 from 3. Collier would've been the other guy if they wanted to take a true flyer on a talented PG with flaws. To me, quality PG play is harder to find than quality defense

[garrick]

Only 2 summer league games, but unfortunately I have little to no expectations for Oso and Dunn next year.

Dunn is a ghost on offense. He's been slightly better handling the ball than I expected, but there's not much else there right now. Defensively he's active and athletic, but he won't be an elite on-ball defender without getting stronger. Can't imagine he sees the floor much this year.

Oso showed some positives on offense with his passing, ball handling, and athleticism. Seems like he'll be a non-shooter though. He's decent defensively, not much of a rim protector but has good hands and timing. He could develop into a solid player with some weight, but his upside is definitely capped if he's a non-shooting tweener.

Still confused by the direction we went in the draft. Obviously expectations should be low where we were drafting, but it seems like there were better positional fits at 22/28 that are easier to project in the NBA or have more realistic upside.

Could be another flop by JJ, similar to how he picked Stix when there were better BPA at #10 that filled a clear need.

I really think someone in the front office (Ishbia) stupidly made a promise to Dunn after workouts that they would select him no matter what so we stupidly selected him at #28 when better picks were available.

Kolek was the obvious pick to me and was clear to me we needed his talent more so than Dunn's. The fact that we moved back and he was still available at 28, I thought it was a no brainer. 7 assists each in the two games with zero turnovers is pretty nice. Shooting could be better at 1-6 from 3. Collier would've been the other guy if they wanted to take a true flyer on a talented PG with flaws. To me, quality PG play is harder to find than quality defense

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/augmost01.html

Dunn's ceiling I think is Stacey Augmon, terrific defender but terrible 3pt shooter who scored the majority of his points around the basket.

Although Augmon scored double figures his first 4 years in ATL I think in this day and age such a player is really only playable in spot minutes because teams will force you to have your worst 3pt shooter brick a bunch of open jumpers.

[Mr Puddles]

What were the expectations on this board for Dunn exactly? He looks as advertised, no offense, great defense.

Dude hasn't magically developed a shot in the weeks since getting drafted.

It's a simple equation, one of three scenarios will play out

1. if Dunn over time can develop his production within the flow of our offense where he's not a negative on the floor, why being an elite defender, he'll be a starter (think Derrick Jones Junior).
2. if Dunn becomes a positive on offense whole being an elite defender, he'll be the steal of the draft (think Mikal Bridges)
3. if Dunn never develops enough of a skillset on offense where defenses leave him wide open. He'll be out of the league in a few years.

Which of these three scenarios plays out is going to be determined over matter of years, not however little time has passed between the draft and summer league.

We drafted Dunn for his possible upside. Players mentioned here like Kolek and Collier are going to look better in the short term, that's almost guaranteed.

Our front office made a decision that they're more comfortable having Monte run the show, rather than a rookie PG, while drafting for upside rather than immediate impact. You can argue the reasoning, but those discounting Dunn because he's not dominating summer league misunderstand what our front office's strategy was here.

[bigfoot]

Only 2 summer league games, but unfortunately I have little to no expectations for Oso and Dunn next year.

Dunn is a ghost on offense. He's been slightly better handling the ball than I expected, but there's not much else there right now. Defensively he's active and athletic, but he won't be an elite on-ball defender without getting stronger. Can't imagine he sees the floor much this year.

Oso showed some positives on offense with his passing, ball handling, and athleticism. Seems like he'll be a non-shooter though. He's decent defensively, not much of a rim protector but has good hands and timing. He could develop into a solid player with some weight, but his upside is definitely capped if he's a non-shooting tweener.

Still confused by the direction we went in the draft. Obviously expectations should be low where we were drafting, but it seems like there were better positional fits at 22/28 that are easier to project in the NBA or have more realistic upside.

I can see Oso getting time as well as Dunn. It is only two freaking games. Oso was our best player today. Dunn needs to be able to make a shot, but he really is very quick and athletic. He will get minutes as well as lots of time in the G league to work on his shot. I also like the potential of Bridges. I am really disappointed with the decision not to play Gillespie in the Summer league. He was a virtual triple double in the G Leage last year after playing for a great college coach at Villanova. I expect our results and our rookies would be a lot better for it. The guard play has been horrible, and I have no idea where Roddy fits on our roster. There are still numerous good choices available in free agency.

I doubt our off season is over or at least I hope not.

I like Oso, but it's hard to see him getting anything but garbage time minutes unless he's beating out Bol/Plumlee for backup PF/C minutes, which seems unlikely. Dunn has a more clear path to playing time just based on the depth chart, so maybe he'll beat Okogie and Little out for those last couple minutes. I'd prefer we found a better way to fill those minutes though.

You're right that it's only 2 games against below NBA-level competition with awful guard play, but it's also been pretty consistent with their body of work in college. It's going to take a lot of time before either of them are hitting 3s (if ever), for instance. Some analysts had Dunn as one of the worst offensive prospects they've scouted, and you can obviously see where they're coming from.

I also think it'd be nice to get a look at Gillespie. Not sure why he didn't end up playing, it's not like he's expected to have a huge role for us next year.

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=PHNXSports

[sunsbg]

Dunn has not even met those low expectations offensively. Not one three, no FTs, not much offensive rebounding on good minutes against SL scrubs. Hard to not see him an absolute negative on that end in his rookie contract seasons. Defense must be exceptional for him to stick around.

[KdoubleDees23]

What were the expectations on this board for Dunn exactly? He looks as advertised, no offense, great defense.

Dude hasn't magically developed a shot in the weeks since getting drafted.

It's a simple equation, one of three scenarios will play out

1. if Dunn over time can develop his production within the flow of our offense where he's not a negative on the floor, why being an elite defender, he'll be a starter (think Derrick Jones Junior).
2. if Dunn becomes a positive on offense whole being an elite defender, he'll be the steal of the draft (think Mikal Bridges)
3. if Dunn never develops enough of a skillset on offense where defenses leave him wide open. He'll be out of the league in a few years.

Which of these three scenarios plays out is going to be determined over matter of years, not however little time has passed between the draft and summer league.

We drafted Dunn for his possible upside. Players mentioned here like Kolek and Collier are going to look better in the short term, that's almost guaranteed.

Our front office made a decision that they're more comfortable having Monte run the show, rather than a rookie PG, while drafting for upside rather than immediate impact. You can argue the reasoning, but those discounting Dunn because he's not dominating summer league misunderstand what our front office's strategy was here.

Both our draft picks were a waste. We have Royce O'Neale, and Okogie (why get Dunn who has zero offense), Then we have Nurkic, Plumlee, Bol Bol, why get OSO).

Should have used our pick Isaiah Collier

[KdoubleDees23]

What were the expectations on this board for Dunn exactly? He looks as advertised, no offense, great defense.

Dude hasn't magically developed a shot in the weeks since getting drafted.

It's a simple equation, one of three scenarios will play out

1. if Dunn over time can develop his production within the flow of our offense where he's not a negative on the floor, why being an elite defender, he'll be a starter (think Derrick Jones Junior).
2. if Dunn becomes a positive on offense whole being an elite defender, he'll be the steal of the draft (think Mikal Bridges)
3. if Dunn never develops enough of a skillset on offense where defenses leave him wide open. He'll be out of the league in a few years.

Which of these three scenarios plays out is going to be determined over matter of years, not however little time has passed between the draft and summer league.

We drafted Dunn for his possible upside. Players mentioned here like Kolek and Collier are going to look better in the short term, that's almost guaranteed.

Our front office made a decision that they're more comfortable having Monte run the show, rather than a rookie PG, while drafting for upside rather than immediate impact. You can argue the reasoning, but those discounting Dunn because he's not dominating summer league misunderstand what our front office's strategy was here.

Both our draft picks were a waste. We have Royce O'Neale, and Okogie (why get Dunn who has zero offense), Then we have Nurkic, Plumlee, Bol Bol, why get OSO).

Should have used our pick Isaiah Collier

[garrick]

What were the expectations on this board for Dunn exactly? He looks as advertised, no offense, great defense.

Dude hasn't magically developed a shot in the weeks since getting drafted.

It's a simple equation, one of three scenarios will play out

1. if Dunn over time can develop his production within the flow of our offense where he's not a negative on the floor, why being an elite defender, he'll be a starter (think Derrick Jones Junior).
2. if Dunn becomes a positive on offense whole being an elite defender, he'll be the steal of the draft (think Mikal Bridges)
3. if Dunn never develops enough of a skillset on offense where defenses leave him wide open. He'll be out of the league in a few years.

Which of these three scenarios plays out is going to be determined over matter of years, not however little time has passed between the draft and summer league.

We drafted Dunn for his possible upside. Players mentioned here like Kolek and Collier are going to look better in the short term, that's almost guaranteed.

Our front office made a decision that they're more comfortable having Monte run the show, rather than a rookie PG, while drafting for upside rather than immediate impact. You can argue the reasoning, but those discounting Dunn because he's not dominating summer league misunderstand what our front office's strategy was here.

If Dunn is going to take 3-4 years to develop then he won't be able to contribute while we still have KD and then it will be a real waste of a pick.

Why not pick the players that can help even a little bit right now while KD's window is rapidly closing?

[Book1Nation]

Some of you guys are miserable lol. 2 summer league games and we’re ready to declare guys busts and wastes. Sweet.

[lilfishi22]

What were the expectations on this board for Dunn exactly? He looks as advertised, no offense, great defense.

Dude hasn't magically developed a shot in the weeks since getting drafted.

It's a simple equation, one of three scenarios will play out

1. if Dunn over time can develop his production within the flow of our offense where he's not a negative on the floor, why being an elite defender, he'll be a starter (think Derrick Jones Junior).
2. if Dunn becomes a positive on offense whole being an elite defender, he'll be the steal of the draft (think Mikal Bridges)
3. if Dunn never develops enough of a skillset on offense where defenses leave him wide open. He'll be out of the league in a few years.

Which of these three scenarios plays out is going to be determined over matter of years, not however little time has passed between the draft and summer league.

We drafted Dunn for his possible upside. Players mentioned here like Kolek and Collier are going to look better in the short term, that's almost guaranteed.

Our front office made a decision that they're more comfortable having Monte run the show, rather than a rookie PG, while drafting for upside rather than immediate impact. You can argue the reasoning, but those discounting Dunn because he's not dominating summer league misunderstand what our front office's strategy was here.

Both our draft picks were a waste. We have Royce O'Neale, and Okogie (why get Dunn who has zero offense), Then we have Nurkic, Plumlee, Bol Bol, why get OSO).

Should have used our pick Isaiah Collier

Wouldn't put Royce in that category because he's a legit 3&D wing in the NBA and has been for like 7 seasons. He's actually a legit NBA pro with certifiable skills. The issue is Okogie, Little and Roddy all suck offensively and while they contribute to the defense to varying degrees, adding a 4th wing who also sucks offensively kind of just adds to that redundant player profile.

I don't mind the Oso pick as much because while there are some redundancies with Nurk and now Plumlee, I actually think his ability to contribute offensively is further along than Dunn. With bigs, there's generally a lower threshold when it comes to contributing on offense because they normally aren't focal points of offense nor expected to create. He's actually a decent playmaker and his push shots (if they work at the NBA level) makes him a little more of a threat outside of dunking the ball. He's not without his offensive flaws but you can hide a non-shooter in the paint easier than a wing. Will he fix his FT% and add to his offense to become starting calibre C? Who knows but with him primarily being a rim running big who plays defense, I think that's already an archetype that while may not be a star, continue to exist and make up most of your average centres in today's NBA. So he likely won't ever be a starting calibre level player like a Myles Turner or Ayton but I could see him being useful and having a decent career like a Larry Nance Jr or Dwight Powell or someone of that tier of big. And with a 40th pick, that's not bad at all.

Dunn's harder to project if he isn't able to put together his shooting. Wings who can't shoot are tough to play in the modern NBA and if you don't play, it doesn't matter how good you are at something.

[Mr Puddles]

What were the expectations on this board for Dunn exactly? He looks as advertised, no offense, great defense.

Dude hasn't magically developed a shot in the weeks since getting drafted.

It's a simple equation, one of three scenarios will play out

1. if Dunn over time can develop his production within the flow of our offense where he's not a negative on the floor, why being an elite defender, he'll be a starter (think Derrick Jones Junior).
2. if Dunn becomes a positive on offense whole being an elite defender, he'll be the steal of the draft (think Mikal Bridges)
3. if Dunn never develops enough of a skillset on offense where defenses leave him wide open. He'll be out of the league in a few years.

Which of these three scenarios plays out is going to be determined over matter of years, not however little time has passed between the draft and summer league.

We drafted Dunn for his possible upside. Players mentioned here like Kolek and Collier are going to look better in the short term, that's almost guaranteed.

Our front office made a decision that they're more comfortable having Monte run the show, rather than a rookie PG, while drafting for upside rather than immediate impact. You can argue the reasoning, but those discounting Dunn because he's not dominating summer league misunderstand what our front office's strategy was here.

If Dunn is going to take 3-4 years to develop then he won't be able to contribute while we still have KD and then it will be a real waste of a pick.

Why not pick the players that can help even a little bit right now while KD's window is rapidly closing?

I don't think any of the players available would have cracked our 8-10 man rotation in the next 1-2 years to be honest.

Our guard rotation will be

Beal / Monte
Booker / Grayson

Our forward rotation

Grayson / Royce / Okogie
KD / Royce / Bol

Our Center rotation:
Nurkic / Plumlee

Kolek and Collier would have been third stringers battling for minutes with Damion Lee (who would have probably been ahead of them in the rotation).

If Yves hadnt been picked by the Pelicans, I think he could have potentially cracked the rotation simply because that's our weakest position.

Let's not forget, Booker was collecting DNPs in the first half of his rookie season, until out team threw in the towel. Draft picks on teams trying to content are going to have a much tougher time cracking the rotation because there's much less room for error. The #28 pick was never going to be a noticeable help from the get go.