2025 Summer League

[jangles86]

Kon Knuepple doesn’t look great. Very happy we avoided that one.

[tontoz]

Kon Knuepple doesn’t look great. Very happy we avoided that one.

I watched their last game. Kon tried a pull-up 3 off the dribble and looked so awkward I almost laughed.

[dckingsfan]

Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue look like a nice pair of forwards...

[closg00]

Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue look like a nice pair of forwards...

I saw some of the game, Matas is developing nicely, Noa is raw as hell and not very good at basketball, but his shooting is better than I anticipated

[Jay81]

Kon Knuepple doesn’t look great. Very happy we avoided that one.

I watched their last game. Kon tried a pull-up 3 off the dribble and looked so awkward I almost laughed.

Kon had a great game yesterday. Just wait till he sees better spacing in the regular season

[nate33]

Kon Knuepple doesn’t look great. Very happy we avoided that one.

I watched their last game. Kon tried a pull-up 3 off the dribble and looked so awkward I almost laughed.

Kon had a great game yesterday. Just wait till he sees better spacing in the regular season

NBA spacing is a double-edged sword. It may help Kon’s offensive game, but he is likely to struggle more than most with the lack of help on the defensive side.

[AFM]

Game tonight at 8:30.

[closg00]

I wonder if we’re at that point in SL where we shutdown our main guys or drastically reduce their minutes..

[9 and 20]

Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue look like a nice pair of forwards...

I saw some of the game, Matas is developing nicely, Noa is raw as hell and not very good at basketball, but his shooting is better than I anticipated

Noa is raw as hell.

[The Consiglieri]

Would yall say the top 3 in 2026 are arguably more promising than the Flagg, Harper, Bailey trio?

I think it's just different, and it also includes Ament, so there's clearly 4, just like 4 with the current class.

I think probably the one big difference is that Flagg is a weird alpha, he doesn't jump off the screen as a freak athlete, or a monster big, he's just a guy that makes every right play, every right time, and is always producing, he's like a perfect old school basketball player who fits the modern game.

Peterson sounds like a combo guard from hell monster, Dybantsa sounds like the classic super freak Wing, who slacks a bit too much on defense, Boozer is the classic big/stretch 4, fundamentally sound Because of his dad, I guess, but also modern, because he knows he needs to be able to hit from 3, and Ament is the oh my god, how good could this guy be as he grows and grows and grows and is now a 6'11" Wing supposedly and a freaky freak.

This past class a year ago, was the old school in the modern age Flagg, Bailey, the wannabe Durant, Harper the potential monster PG, and Edgecombe, not quite the attractive athlete/measurements guy for his position as Ament seems, but just fabulous athlete and great 2 guard.

They are just different groups, and it feels at least like the '26 group is more vivid on the screen than the '25 group is.


Ament is the one I'm most curious about, and Dybantsa's defense, and Boozer's 3. Other than that, I think I get them.

[The Consiglieri]

Perhaps I will eat my words about Essengue,
In the SL environment he his thriving against the Pacers anyway, leading all scorers so-far, haven’t seen his D or play yet.

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I think people just need to watch the entire sample size of it, and take of it what they will and then see how things go in the real season. We don't really know what the objectives are from teams with SL. Winning titles is not a priority, I imagine working on particular skills, and beginning the process of executing things they will need to practice in the late summer and fall...who knows? So when Essengue has a great game, after a game people were laughing at, or Sarr goes from wtf, to God Mode in a half or two....they're working on stuff, building on different, I would imagine game plans from the staff, and good for them when it goes well, but don't get too low or too high is probably the wisest way to interpret.

[Gig18]

summer league is fun but not the greatest way to tell if a player is going to perform. The games have looked a bit more organized this year but they typically look frantic, almost out-of-control. Let's not forget Sarr went 0-15 in a summer league game last year and the world was shouting he was a bust and would never make it...

[The Consiglieri]

Would yall say the top 3 in 2026 are arguably more promising than the Flagg, Harper, Bailey trio?

Too early to say. From what little I've seen AJ is over hyped. Peterson and Ament look legit. Boozer looks like a high floor but low ceiling player.

I think Boozer's ceiling is pretty good, it just kind of pales in comparison to how freakishly good Peterson, Ament and Dybantsa could be if they continue to improve. It may just be a matter of semantics, but I tend to think Boozer at worst, is a damn good big/stretch 4 type, but not like a top 5 player in the NBA level talent, I can't see that happens, very good, maybe great, but not top 5 in the league at his apex, I think the other 3 could hit that. Dybantsa's issues are the scariest because if he doesn't get the defense piece down, he'll never be great and he might not be very good, he'll just be super high end on offense. We'll see.

The big difference to me between the two classes is the ceilings of 3 of the top 4 in '26 to me are higher than all of the '25 guys except maybe Harper, whose right there with them.

If they were all in the same class, w/no knowledge of how '24-'25 in college played out, so just as high school prospects I'd probably rank them:

1.Flagg
2.Peterson
3.Dybantsa
4.Bailey
5.Ament (ceiling higher than Boozer)
6. Boozer
7. Harper
8.Edgecombe

Taking the college season of '24-'25 into account and then sliding in high school '26 group, I think it would look like:

1.Flagg
2.Peterson
3.Harper
4.Dybantsa
5.Ament
6.Edgecombe
7.Boozer
8.Bailey

Interestingly, as I continue to backpedal aggressively from my draft night melt down, I think Tre probably slides into 8 now. Maybe 7. I've learned enough from national scouts and evaluators from draft night to walk back some of my fears about his ceiling, I still need to see the Defense and interior game develop, but there are more than enough people unbelievably high on him as an offensive weapon with the ability to play up the weaknesses given time, for me to buy him as the #3 or #4 prospect in the draft, rather than the #6 or #7 area I had on him because of those fears.

Anyway, looking back at '25 and '26, I think what makes Ament different, again, is the upside volatility play, his ceiling is probably as high as any player of both classes, but the likelihood that he maxes versus say a Flagg, Harper, maybe Peterson, and Boozer is a total unknown. I know Boozer at worst is going to be good to very good. I don't know the answer to that with Ament, but I know the raw size/length, ability to potentially play 2-4 positions....super, super exciting. Dybantsa, and Peterson and Boozer are all much more clear in what they are and will be if they hit, Ament has a ton greater range of outcomes and possibilities and even positions.

[prime1time]

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[long suffrin' boulez fan]

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What a buzz kill

[closg00]

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What a buzz kill

Totally. However, we can get an extended look at AJ at PG, and check out the other guys

[nate33]

I was fully prepared for Sarr, Carrington and George to sit out, but I was hoping to still see our rookies play - particularly Riley.

[DCZards]

I was fully prepared for Sarr, Carrington and George to sit out, but I was hoping to still see our rookies play - particularly Riley.

I thought Riley would play as well. His injury may be legit.

[AFM]

Well, I've unexpectedly got 2 hours free tonight.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

I like Dillon Jones’ defense and rebounding so far