**Official Summer League 2024 Thread**

[Iverson Armband]

The reason I asked was because those were Brunson's numbers his first two seasons after coming out of college at age 22 with 4 yrs of tutelage under Jay Wright. Some of his biggest detractors were lack of height and athleticism. I'm not singling you out; but more so just pointing out that it's way too early for any of us to declare McCain a bust or wasted pick. When Dallas picked Brunson he was seen as at best a 2nd unit guard.

I mean, you can project the best possible outcome for any rookie right now if you wanted to. All people are speaking about is what they see currently. That doesn’t necessarily mean the kid is doomed or anything but it’s not super encouraging.

I think you missed my point. When Jalen played summer league he scored 6 pts; shot 22% from the field; 30% from 3 and had 3 TO's a game. Again, that was Brunson at age 22 after 4 years in college. He struggled to perform as a lead guard in summer league despite having years of experience running the acclaimed Nova team's offense as its floor general.

Not every player stands out right away, is all I'm saying. Folks on these boards declaring him a bust, not an nba caliber bench player, or a bad pick; well, it's just too early to tell.

Calling him a bust at this point is definitely a bit harsh, but I also don’t feel like people should be labeled as crazy for not being optimistic about him right now just because he might be good.

The bottom line is he doesn’t look good right now and there are a few guys drafted after him that people wanted who do look good right now. Yes, that could change, but people are just giving their observations in real time. If we always waited until we positively knew something nobody would ever have an opinion.

You keep pointing to Jalen Brunson as if that’s something legit to hold on to, but really thats an outlier case. I wouldn’t bet on another slow, unathletic munchkin being as good as Brunson anytime soon, but that’s just me. It’s way more probable McCain actually does suck.

[76ciology]

There are quite a few players who have the potential to be the next Jalen Brunson. You could make a case for Rob Dillingham, Cole Anthony, Immanuel Quickley, or even Tre Mann.

The real question is whether they can reach Brunson's level as a scorer. And even if they do, can such a player, who opponents might target relentlessly, help you win in today’s NBA alongside Maxey? Like a Kyle Lowry and FVV backcourt?

Personally, I don't have many concerns about McCain’s offense. Like if this summer league goes to 82 games, I wouldnt be surprised if McCain drops 30 and silence his critics. But what I do question is his ability to play effectively with Maxey.

If we're only projecting him to be a backup, then why not just sign a Gary Trent Jr. or Eric Gordon caliber shooting guard?

[Mik317]

its summer league

as long as your guy shows he has a pulse....you are good

[SixthStreet]

I've been impressed with McCain. He's a player. I like guards that don't get sped up into chaos by the randomness of summer league. He plays with a good tempo on the ball and is clever in getting to his spots on offense, leveraging the threat of the shot. We know he's going to make shots, he's done that all his life.

I don't really care much about guard athleticism. It matters when you are talking about star level guards, but McCain was never expected to have that type of ceiling. I don't like the wingspan and that's always going to limit him defensively. He's going to be a good offensive player from day 1 I believe. I think he'll be in the rotation.

[76ciology]

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Played just 8 mins then rolled his ankle. He’s too dominant for summer league. Rest him and let’s see what he can do in regular season

[76ciology]

I had Sarr ranked 7th in my mock draft.

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[76ciology]

Donovan Clingan's defense during summer league:

Game 1: 13 REB/5 BLK

Game 2: 11 REB/3 BLK

Game 3: 13 REB/5 BLK

Averaging 12.3 RPG (1st) and 4.3 BPG (1st)

[Negrodamus]

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Played just 8 mins then rolled his ankle. He’s too dominant for summer league. Rest him and let’s see what he can do in regular season

You definitely run this Twitter handle, don’t you?

[mjkvol]

Just curious if in McCain's first two years he gives you something like 15-20 minutes a night and had the following stats:

8-10 pts/2-3rbs/3assists - shooting about 36% from 3 on 3 attempts a game. Is that pick a bust?

Tough to say if it's a bust. If McCain gives us those numbers, I'd be happy because it would be about as good as I would hope to get from him. But if players drafted after him that we passed on, especially at positions where we still have a need, are delivering nice numbers and are solid rotation players on contending teams? That changes the perception a bit.

The reason I asked was because those were Brunson's numbers his first two seasons after coming out of college at age 22 with 4 yrs of tutelage under Jay Wright. Some of his biggest detractors were lack of height and athleticism. I'm not singling you out; but more so just pointing out that it's way too early for any of us to declare McCain a bust or wasted pick. When Dallas picked Brunson he was seen as at best a 2nd unit guard.

I've said multiple times that it's way too early to draw conclusions, and if McCain posts the numbers you suggested and was a bench contributor, I can't imagine anyone here would be too unhappy or even mentioning the word 'bust'.

I do think it's a stretch to take one small guard who rose to 'superstardom' out of so many that didn't and use his first couple of years as a reference point. It never occurred to me when Brunson was at Villanova and when he was drafted that he would ever be anything less than a solid starting PG on a contender. He has obviously far surpassed that, but I honestly don't get the comparison of the two aside from purely physical traits.

76ciology nailed my feelings about McCain, that he will likely never be a starter here due to size issues with Maxey as the set in stone starter for the next several years, and that his peak here might be as a solid bench piece. The reality is that would end up being fine for a mid 1st round pick in what is allegedly a weak draft, but it would be hard not to think what might have been (yet again) if one or more of the names we have mentioned becomes a stud.

[blargh]

You keep pointing to Jalen Brunson as if that’s something legit to hold on to, but really thats an outlier case. I wouldn’t bet on another slow, unathletic munchkin being as good as Brunson anytime soon, but that’s just me. It’s way more probable McCain actually does suck.

It’s also way more probable that his shooting is more like his college career than this handful of summer league games.

[76ciology]

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Played just 8 mins then rolled his ankle. He’s too dominant for summer league. Rest him and let’s see what he can do in regular season

You definitely run this Twitter handle, don’t you?

@edeymuse

[FireMorey]

I've been impressed with McCain. He's a player. I like guards that don't get sped up into chaos by the randomness of summer league. He plays with a good tempo on the ball and is clever in getting to his spots on offense, leveraging the threat of the shot. We know he's going to make shots, he's done that all his life.

I don't really care much about guard athleticism. It matters when you are talking about star level guards, but McCain was never expected to have that type of ceiling. I don't like the wingspan and that's always going to limit him defensively. He's going to be a good offensive player from day 1 I believe. I think he'll be in the rotation.

What's working against him is not only does he lack the athleticism and wingspan, but he doesn't have particularly great handles or quickness. I don't think he's going to beat his man and get into the paint all that often. I think his role in the NBA might really be a spot shooter. Maybe could have a role running off screens and whatnot.

[mjkvol]

Thr bottom line on McCain is that he will live or die with his 3 pt. shooting. If he is a steady 40% or close to it on heavy volume, he'll have a long career in the league as a role player, as that will always be a skill that is in demand.

[LloydFree]

Thr bottom line on McCain is that he will live or die with his 3 pt. shooting. If he is a steady 40% or close to it on heavy volume, he'll have a long career in the league as a role player, as that will always be a skill that is in demand.

Yep. Just like Seth Curry... Spent a 1st round draft pick and paying over 4 million dollars per year to hopefully develop the next Seth Curry, 2-3 years from now... And the REAL Seth Curry just signed 3 million to play in Charlotte. SMH.

[Iverson Armband]

You keep pointing to Jalen Brunson as if that’s something legit to hold on to, but really thats an outlier case. I wouldn’t bet on another slow, unathletic munchkin being as good as Brunson anytime soon, but that’s just me. It’s way more probable McCain actually does suck.

It’s also way more probable that his shooting is more like his college career than this handful of summer league games.

It’s most probable the shooting falls somewhere between the two at the next level. And that isn’t enough given his other attributes (or lack there of).

[FireMorey]

McCain was an odd-ish pick from the standpoint that he wasn't the highest floor or highest ceiling player on the board at 16. If they wanted a high floor safe pick, could have just gone Knecht. He can shoot, so in year one at a minimum he'd match McCain in that regard. You can talk about his defense, but a 16th pick in a bad draft isn't going to be playing much in the playoffs anyway. And it's not like McCain is some great defensive player either.

And if you wanted upside, there were other players to take. Da Silva, Collier, etc.

McCain is a weird prospect in that he's young, but also is low ceiling. I'm not sure his ceiling is even higher than Knecht's despite being 3 years younger because Knecht is far more athletic and bigger. And can shoot almost as well. There are things on the court Knecht can do that McCain never will be able to. I don't think there's anything McCain can do than Knecht won't be able to do at the NBA level.

The more I think about the pick, the more I think he was taken to eventually be traded. Maybe that's naive. But it felt like a pick the Sixers don't usually make. They usually go upside, sans the Okafor pick, which turned out to be a disaster. If they don't plan to trade him I guess the view is they see him as a 20 year old floor spacer with elite shooting upside, but if that's all you wanted from that pick, Knecht could be an elite 3 point shooter too, plus he does other things. I thought Collier was going to be the pick though, that felt like the most Sixers of all picks. Take a high upside guy who doesn't need to play right away, develop him to either trade him later or hope he turns into a star.

[76ciology]

Is there a chance Jared McCain can turn out to be a defensive player like Kyle Lowry or Fred Vanvleet? Maybe that side of the court is where his upside lies?

[Black Mage]

Thr bottom line on McCain is that he will live or die with his 3 pt. shooting. If he is a steady 40% or close to it on heavy volume, he'll have a long career in the league as a role player, as that will always be a skill that is in demand.

Yep. Just like Seth Curry... Spent a 1st round draft pick and paying over 4 million dollars per year to hopefully develop the next Seth Curry, 2-3 years from now... And the REAL Seth Curry just signed 3 million to play in Charlotte. SMH.

So you're griping b/c we didn't save $1mil by signing an old, oft-injured 33 yr old Seth Curry whose 3% has dropped to 32% and has been declining since 2021? Who also doesn't rebound, playmake or have ballhandling skills? Brilliant!

Also, you still wouldn't have Seth Curry, b/c if you used #16 on any player we'd have no money to sign Seth.

[Kolkmania]

McCain was an odd-ish pick from the standpoint that he wasn't the highest floor or highest ceiling player on the board at 16. If they wanted a high floor safe pick, could have just gone Knecht. He can shoot, so in year one at a minimum he'd match McCain in that regard. You can talk about his defense, but a 16th pick in a bad draft isn't going to be playing much in the playoffs anyway. And it's not like McCain is some great defensive player either.

And if you wanted upside, there were other players to take. Da Silva, Collier, etc.

McCain is a weird prospect in that he's young, but also is low ceiling. I'm not sure his ceiling is even higher than Knecht's despite being 3 years younger because Knecht is far more athletic and bigger. And can shoot almost as well. There are things on the court Knecht can do that McCain never will be able to. I don't think there's anything McCain can do than Knecht won't be able to do at the NBA level.

The more I think about the pick, the more I think he was taken to eventually be traded. Maybe that's naive. But it felt like a pick the Sixers don't usually make. They usually go upside, sans the Okafor pick, which turned out to be a disaster. If they don't plan to trade him I guess the view is they see him as a 20 year old floor spacer with elite shooting upside, but if that's all you wanted from that pick, Knecht could be an elite 3 point shooter too, plus he does other things. I thought Collier was going to be the pick though, that felt like the most Sixers of all picks. Take a high upside guy who doesn't need to play right away, develop him to either trade him later or hope he turns into a star.

Maxey was also described as an undersized SG, which lead to the immediate conclusions that his upside was a 6th man. Obviously the shooting is important for McCain, but it could be that the scouting team identified an elite personality, providing potential to reach his ceiling more likely than others.

He has a strong frame and he's a willing defender, so that is obviously a massive advantage compared to players like Seth Curry. In addition there might be some potential as a primary ball handler.

[Mik317]

Maxey has elite speed, is longer than McCain as well and even then his development isn't normal either