Summer League 2025

[DusterBuster]

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[JRoy]

Gotta save some for Galactus.

[DaVoiceMaster]

They did not. Tonights the final game of SL for the Blazers.

You mean Saturday?

Yeah prob, I might have that wrong.

Saturday at 6:30pm on NBATV.

[DusterBuster]

You mean Saturday?

Yeah prob, I might have that wrong.

Saturday at 6:30pm on NBATV.

Yang ain't playing, so I'm skipping that one.

[JRoy]

Yeah prob, I might have that wrong.

Saturday at 6:30pm on NBATV.

Yang ain't playing, so I'm skipping that one.

Yeah I don’t need to see anymore of those terrible guards.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Don't have NBATV so I won't be watching either.

[zzaj]

Honest question - What’s the point of having a SL tournament if the 1-2 best players on every team sit out the last 1-2 games?

[Wizenheimer]

Honest question - What’s the point of having a SL tournament if the 1-2 best players on every team sit out the last 1-2 games?

there is really no point to summer league for 1st round picks and rotational players. Flagg only played 2 games. Teams shut down the better players early pretty consistently....and that trend will get super-charged after Queen's injury

G-League experience is more valuable than SL experience

SL is basically an excuse for NBA executives and veterans to spend time in Vegas around other executives and veterans. And it gives those executives a chance to look at candidates for 15th roster spots, 2-way contracts, G-League spots, and later in the season, 10-day contracts

but SL tells you absolutely nothing about the good players. Which is why it's nuts there are all these Hansen<-->Jokic comparisons. It's a hype train flying off the rails

[Walton1one]

Summer League\Per 36 (I bolded top 2/3 in each category)...

MP - PTS - TS% - DRB - ORB - AST - BLK

Yang: 99 - 15.6 - 55.8% - 4.5 - 1.5 - 5.5 - 3.3
Beringer: 93 - 10.5 - 57.7% - 8.9 - 4.6 - 2.3 - 3.9
Newell: 100 - 19.4 - 57.5% - 10.1 - 3.2 - 1.4 - 1.1
Kalkbrenner: 150 - 13.9 - 62.4% - 8.6 - 2.6 - 1.9 - 2.4
Raynaud: 123 - 18.7 - 53.9% - 6.7 - 2.3 - 2 - 1.5

Guys they chose not to take:

Essengue: 74 - 18.5 - 51.7% - 4.6 - 2.9 - 1 - 1
Bryant: 145 - 10.9 - 41.2% - 0 - .5 - 1.7 - 2.5
Jakucionis: 146 - 14.1 - 51.8% - 2.9 - 1 - 3.7 - .2
Clifford: 168 - 19.5 - 58.3% - 10.1 - .9 - 5.4 - .6

Did not include Fleming, Riley or McNeeley as they all played only 50min or so...

The best center in SL, was Joan Beringer....bad Per36 rebounding numbers from Yang

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[Wizenheimer]

Summer League\Per 36 (I bolded top 2/3 in each category)...

MP - PTS - TS% - DRB - ORB - AST - BLK

Yang: 99 - 15.6 - 55.8% - 4.5 - 1.5 - 5.5 - 3.3
Beringer: 93 - 10.5 - 57.7% - 8.9 - 4.6 - 2.3 - 3.9
Newell: 100 - 19.4 - 57.5% - 10.1 - 3.2 - 1.4 - 1.1
Kalkbrenner: 150 - 13.9 - 62.4% - 8.6 - 2.6 - 1.9 - 2.4
Raynaud: 123 - 18.7 - 53.9% - 6.7 - 2.3 - 2 - 1.5

Guys they chose not to take:

Essengue: 74 - 18.5 - 51.7% - 4.6 - 2.9 - 1 - 1
Bryant: 145 - 10.9 - 41.2% - 0 - .5 - 1.7 - 2.5
Jakucionis: 146 - 14.1 - 51.8% - 2.9 - 1 - 3.7 - .2
Clifford: 168 - 19.5 - 58.3% - 10.1 - .9 - 5.4 - .6

Did not include Fleming, Riley or McNeeley as they all played only 50min or so...

The best center in SL, was Joan Beringer....bad Per36 rebounding numbers from Yang

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Hansen did some good things and he showed decent enough mobility and footwork around the paint. Like Clingan, he's going to have limited mobility sideline to sideline and top of arc to rim. His slow marks at the combine in lane agility and 3/4 sprint showed up at times in the half court on both ends of the floor

and yes, he was kind of disappointing as a rebounder; too often caught flat-footed and slow reacting IMO. His passing was encouraging but his nearly 1:1 assist/turnover totals in 96 CBA games carried over into SL: 15 assists & 15 turnovers. He seems to have good BBIQ so I'd expect he'll get better at that; might take a season or 2 though

[DusterBuster]

Summer League\Per 36 (I bolded top 2/3 in each category)...

MP - PTS - TS% - DRB - ORB - AST - BLK

Yang: 99 - 15.6 - 55.8% - 4.5 - 1.5 - 5.5 - 3.3
Beringer: 93 - 10.5 - 57.7% - 8.9 - 4.6 - 2.3 - 3.9
Newell: 100 - 19.4 - 57.5% - 10.1 - 3.2 - 1.4 - 1.1
Kalkbrenner: 150 - 13.9 - 62.4% - 8.6 - 2.6 - 1.9 - 2.4
Raynaud: 123 - 18.7 - 53.9% - 6.7 - 2.3 - 2 - 1.5

Guys they chose not to take:

Essengue: 74 - 18.5 - 51.7% - 4.6 - 2.9 - 1 - 1
Bryant: 145 - 10.9 - 41.2% - 0 - .5 - 1.7 - 2.5
Jakucionis: 146 - 14.1 - 51.8% - 2.9 - 1 - 3.7 - .2
Clifford: 168 - 19.5 - 58.3% - 10.1 - .9 - 5.4 - .6

Did not include Fleming, Riley or McNeeley as they all played only 50min or so...

The best center in SL, was Joan Beringer....bad Per36 rebounding numbers from Yang

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Not to take anything away from the post, but man, I'm so over Per36 or most advanced stats. They tell such a small portion of the story imo. Not insignificant, but trying to use advanced stats from 4-8 summer league games... common ya'll, what are we doing here?

[DusterBuster]

Summer League\Per 36 (I bolded top 2/3 in each category)...

MP - PTS - TS% - DRB - ORB - AST - BLK

Yang: 99 - 15.6 - 55.8% - 4.5 - 1.5 - 5.5 - 3.3
Beringer: 93 - 10.5 - 57.7% - 8.9 - 4.6 - 2.3 - 3.9
Newell: 100 - 19.4 - 57.5% - 10.1 - 3.2 - 1.4 - 1.1
Kalkbrenner: 150 - 13.9 - 62.4% - 8.6 - 2.6 - 1.9 - 2.4
Raynaud: 123 - 18.7 - 53.9% - 6.7 - 2.3 - 2 - 1.5

Guys they chose not to take:

Essengue: 74 - 18.5 - 51.7% - 4.6 - 2.9 - 1 - 1
Bryant: 145 - 10.9 - 41.2% - 0 - .5 - 1.7 - 2.5
Jakucionis: 146 - 14.1 - 51.8% - 2.9 - 1 - 3.7 - .2
Clifford: 168 - 19.5 - 58.3% - 10.1 - .9 - 5.4 - .6

Did not include Fleming, Riley or McNeeley as they all played only 50min or so...

The best center in SL, was Joan Beringer....bad Per36 rebounding numbers from Yang

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[/url]

Hansen did some good things and he showed decent enough mobility and footwork around the paint. Like Clingan, he's going to have limited mobility sideline to sideline and top of arc to rim. His slow marks at the combine in lane agility and 3/4 sprint showed up at times in the half court on both ends of the floor

and yes, he was kind of disappointing as a rebounder; too often caught flat-footed and slow reacting IMO. His passing was encouraging but his nearly 1:1 assist/turnover totals in 96 CBA games carried over into SL: 15 assists & 15 turnovers. He seems to have good BBIQ so I'd expect he'll get better at that; might take a season or 2 though

This is I think the right takeaway. Summer League is more of an eyetest setting. It's too small of a sample size and too lite on cohesiveness for the teams practicing to really gather anything from advanced stats.

Summer League teams are largely consisted of assistant coaches or FO people trying to work their way to a coaching spot, guys auditioning and then the rookies. They get like 4 practices a couple weeks after the draft and then expect to play together. It's glorified YMCA scrimmages with way more talented players.

Did he show some NBA level mobility, timing and touch. Yes. Did he look like a rookie with some major issues that will be magnified in the actually league. Hell yes.

Let's not overcomplicate this people.

[Wizenheimer]

This is I think the right takeaway. Summer League is more of an eyetest setting. It's too small of a sample size and too lite on cohesiveness for the teams practicing to really gather anything from advanced stats.

Summer League teams are largely consisted of assistant coaches or FO people trying to work their way to a coaching spot, guys auditioning and then the rookies. They get like 4 practices a couple weeks after the draft and then expect to play together. It's glorified YMCA scrimmages with way more talented players.

Did he show some NBA level mobility, timing and touch. Yes. Did he look like a rookie with some major issues that will be magnified in the actually league. Hell yes.

Let's not overcomplicate this people.

yeah, eyetest setting is a good way to put it just as long as you remember the competition level. SL is filled with scrubs who will almost never see an NBA floor

Per36 can be a handy little tool if you're comparing similar players in a similar situation who didn't have a big differential in minutes. You don't want Per36 if one player averaged 31 minutes and another averaged 14

I wanted to see how Yang did vs how Clingan did last season. They had nearly identical minutes/game. Hansen is obviously a better shooter from range. For some stupid reason, a third of Clingan's shots last summer were three's; made no sense. But again, Yang has the advantage as a shooter. But at this point, as a shooter...he's no Meyers Leonard?

anyway, in the areas I think are critical for a 7'+ drop-coverage C, Clingan averaged 12.3 rebounds vs Yang at 5.0. Clingan averaged 3.5 offensive rebounds vs Yang at 1.0. Clingan averaged 4.3 blocks vs Yang at 2.3. Yang averaged 3.8 assists vs Clingan at 2.0, but the Blazers made a concerted effort to run high post offense thru Yang that they didn't do for Clingan. But, Yang averaged 3.8 turnovers vs Clingan at 2.8

I did like some of the things I saw from Yang. But in my view, Clingan is a much better C at this point in time. He's an dominant rebounder, elite rim protector, and intimidating paint defender. Yang is none of those things yet. Yes, Yang can bring more to an offensive scheme...as long as you discount offensive rebounding. But, like Clingan, he's not mobile enough to spend time away from the paint on defense. They are redundant in that regard

Clingan was not a project C. As a rookie he displayed quite a few skills that made Rudy Gobert DPOY. I think Yang is a project C. Maybe he'll prove me wrong this season; hope so. But I'd imagine he'll be 3rd string behind Clingan and Timelord until Timelord gets injured

[DusterBuster]

This is I think the right takeaway. Summer League is more of an eyetest setting. It's too small of a sample size and too lite on cohesiveness for the teams practicing to really gather anything from advanced stats.

Summer League teams are largely consisted of assistant coaches or FO people trying to work their way to a coaching spot, guys auditioning and then the rookies. They get like 4 practices a couple weeks after the draft and then expect to play together. It's glorified YMCA scrimmages with way more talented players.

Did he show some NBA level mobility, timing and touch. Yes. Did he look like a rookie with some major issues that will be magnified in the actually league. Hell yes.

Let's not overcomplicate this people.

yeah, eyetest setting is a good way to put it just as long as you remember the competition level. SL is filled with scrubs who will almost never see an NBA floor

Per36 can be a handy little tool if you're comparing similar players in a similar situation who didn't have a big differential in minutes. You don't want Per36 if one player averaged 31 minutes and another averaged 14

I wanted to see how Yang did vs how Clingan did last season. They had nearly identical minutes/game. Hansen is obviously a better shooter from range. For some stupid reason, a third of Clingan's shots last summer were three's; made no sense. But again, Yang has the advantage as a shooter. But at this point, as a shooter...he's no Meyers Leonard?

anyway, in the areas I think are critical for a 7'+ drop-coverage C, Clingan averaged 12.3 rebounds vs Yang at 5.0. Clingan averaged 3.5 offensive rebounds vs Yang at 1.0. Clingan averaged 4.3 blocks vs Yang at 2.3. Yang averaged 3.8 assists vs Clingan at 2.0, but the Blazers made a concerted effort to run high post offense thru Yang that they didn't do for Clingan. But, Yang averaged 3.8 turnovers vs Clingan at 2.8

I did like some of the things I saw from Yang. But in my view, Clingan is a much better C at this point in time. He's an dominant rebounder, elite rim protector, and intimidating paint defender. Yang is none of those things yet. Yes, Yang can bring more to an offensive scheme...as long as you discount offensive rebounding. But, like Clingan, he's not mobile enough to spend time away from the paint on defense. They are redundant in that regard

Clingan was not a project C. As a rookie he displayed quite a few skills that made Rudy Gobert DPOY. I think Yang is a project C. Maybe he'll prove me wrong this season; hope so. But I'd imagine he'll be 3rd string behind Clingan and Timelord until Timelord gets injured

Yeah, the "eye-test" I saw comparing the SL of Clingan vs Yang bares out stats. Clingan showed he was a natural rebounder and defender and was going to be a real immediate impact traditional C on those items, but his offense was nonexistent for the most part outside of putbacks around the rim. That ended up being the case in the NBA.

Yang showed he has a tremendous passing skill, court vision and should be a competent shooter. He's also got a few post moves, but they'll likely end up being scouted and taken away quickly by most NBA teams, so he'll need to work on refining those. Yang's rebounding rates will leave a lot to be desired, but he does seem to box out well which can create rebounding opportunities for others. He'll struggle with some NBA rules like 3 in the key, so I would expect some silly turnovers for him during his rookie year, probably will get stripped or have offensive fouls more than we would like. He won't be a defensive block machine like Clingan quickly showed he was his clear feel and timing on the defensive end, but he's still big enough that when Yang is in the right place at the right time, his timing is SOOOO bad that he can't get a few blocks here and there.

[Wizenheimer]

Yeah, the "eye-test" I saw comparing the SL of Clingan vs Yang bares out stats. Clingan showed he was a natural rebounder and defender and was going to be a real immediate impact traditional C on those items, but his offense was nonexistent for the most part outside of putbacks around the rim. That ended up being the case in the NBA.

Yang showed he has a tremendous passing skill, court vision and should be a competent shooter. He's also got a few post moves, but they'll likely end up being scouted and taken away quickly by most NBA teams, so he'll need to work on refining those. Yang's rebounding rates will leave a lot to be desired, but he does seem to box out well which can create rebounding opportunities for others. He'll struggle with some NBA rules like 3 in the key, so I would expect some silly turnovers for him during his rookie year, probably will get stripped or have offensive fouls more than we would like. He won't be a defensive block machine like Clingan quickly showed he was his clear feel and timing on the defensive end, but he's still big enough that when Yang is in the right place at the right time, his timing is SOOOO bad that he can't get a few blocks here and there.

I'll admit it: I got really turned off by the massive tsunami if hype around Yang. There were a dozen, maybe 2 dozen, video blogs comparing Yang to Jokic. How the 29 other teams were worried about Yang. How he's going to be a perennial all-star. The hype was/is over the top insane

it's fair to say that it was not the reach drafting Yang at 16 that so many thought it was on draft day. He's likely going to prove the doubters wrong. But he's a project and there's no getting around the redundancy of Clingan and Yang. They won't be able to play together, and right now, Clingan is much much better in areas that Portland needs

as for his 'blocking out' keeping his rebounding low, like Robin Lopez, I'm not ready to accept that excuse because I saw way too many instances of Yang being flat footed while smaller players grabbed rebounds right next to him. He really needs to be more reactive and less surprised when the ball caroms off the hoop. Again, he appears to have solid BBIQ so I'm expecting improvement in his deficient skills; but it's not going to happen in the space of a month or two

[BlazersBroncos]

FWIW - Yang has rebounded decently well outside the 3 game summer league sample size.

10rpg in China (33mpg)
4.7rpg in Asia Cup Qualifiers (At 18 in under 15mpg)
9.2rpg in U18 Asia Cup (At 16 in 23mpg)
10rpg in U19 World Cup (At 17 in 29mpg)

I am not saying its nothing to worry about - but wanted to add some context.

[Wizenheimer]

FWIW - Yang has rebounded decently well outside the 3 game summer league sample size.

10rpg in China (33mpg)
4.7rpg in Asia Cup Qualifiers (At 18 in under 15mpg)
9.2rpg in U18 Asia Cup (At 16 in 23mpg)
10rpg in U19 World Cup (At 17 in 29mpg)

I am not saying its nothing to worry about - but wanted to add some context.

it's a sign; but I'm sure how much of an indicator it is

last season, the top-3 rebounders in the CBA were 6'8; 6'9; and 6'6. I don't think the CBA is very strong at rebounding. Last season. the top-6 rebounders in the NBA were al, 7'. Giannis and Duren were the only 2 top-10 rebounders who weren't 7'

The NBA has a lot more size and much more quickness to chase rebounds. Yang may be able to compete but I'm guessing he'll need a year or two to build his strength and stamina

[BlazersBroncos]

FWIW - Yang has rebounded decently well outside the 3 game summer league sample size.

10rpg in China (33mpg)
4.7rpg in Asia Cup Qualifiers (At 18 in under 15mpg)
9.2rpg in U18 Asia Cup (At 16 in 23mpg)
10rpg in U19 World Cup (At 17 in 29mpg)

I am not saying its nothing to worry about - but wanted to add some context.

it's a sign; but I'm sure how much of an indicator it is

last season, the top-3 rebounders in the CBA were 6'8; 6'9; and 6'6. I don't think the CBA is very strong at rebounding. Last season. the top-6 rebounders in the NBA were al, 7'. Giannis and Duren were the only 2 top-10 rebounders who weren't 7'

The NBA has a lot more size and much more quickness to chase rebounds. Yang may be able to compete but I'm guessing he'll need a year or two to build his strength and stamina

No disagreement there. I think there will be some fun flashes but in the end dont expect near the level of 'winning' contribution that DC brought as a rookie (Clingan was 1st on the team of guys playing +1K minutes in On/Off and On/Court per 100 possessions - Ayton was last). I think Yang gets some minutes when RWIII inevitably gets injured / doesnt play B2B games but wouldnt be surprised if Reath wins out for PT in those situations.

[Dame Lizard]

This is I think the right takeaway. Summer League is more of an eyetest setting. It's too small of a sample size and too lite on cohesiveness for the teams practicing to really gather anything from advanced stats.

Summer League teams are largely consisted of assistant coaches or FO people trying to work their way to a coaching spot, guys auditioning and then the rookies. They get like 4 practices a couple weeks after the draft and then expect to play together. It's glorified YMCA scrimmages with way more talented players.

Did he show some NBA level mobility, timing and touch. Yes. Did he look like a rookie with some major issues that will be magnified in the actually league. Hell yes.

Let's not overcomplicate this people.

yeah, eyetest setting is a good way to put it just as long as you remember the competition level. SL is filled with scrubs who will almost never see an NBA floor

Per36 can be a handy little tool if you're comparing similar players in a similar situation who didn't have a big differential in minutes. You don't want Per36 if one player averaged 31 minutes and another averaged 14

I wanted to see how Yang did vs how Clingan did last season. They had nearly identical minutes/game. Hansen is obviously a better shooter from range. For some stupid reason, a third of Clingan's shots last summer were three's; made no sense. But again, Yang has the advantage as a shooter. But at this point, as a shooter...he's no Meyers Leonard?

anyway, in the areas I think are critical for a 7'+ drop-coverage C, Clingan averaged 12.3 rebounds vs Yang at 5.0. Clingan averaged 3.5 offensive rebounds vs Yang at 1.0. Clingan averaged 4.3 blocks vs Yang at 2.3. Yang averaged 3.8 assists vs Clingan at 2.0, but the Blazers made a concerted effort to run high post offense thru Yang that they didn't do for Clingan. But, Yang averaged 3.8 turnovers vs Clingan at 2.8

I did like some of the things I saw from Yang. But in my view, Clingan is a much better C at this point in time. He's an dominant rebounder, elite rim protector, and intimidating paint defender. Yang is none of those things yet. Yes, Yang can bring more to an offensive scheme...as long as you discount offensive rebounding. But, like Clingan, he's not mobile enough to spend time away from the paint on defense. They are redundant in that regard

Clingan was not a project C. As a rookie he displayed quite a few skills that made Rudy Gobert DPOY. I think Yang is a project C. Maybe he'll prove me wrong this season; hope so. But I'd imagine he'll be 3rd string behind Clingan and Timelord until Timelord gets injured

Yes, Clingan is miles ahead of Yang at this stage.

Yang is entertaining and a fun player to watch, with intriguing upside. Hopefully Clingan can learn a thing or two from him regarding his passing and court vision.

Clingan is a genuine NBA player at this stage, while Yang is understandably raw. I think he has a better SL than I thought he would, tbh. Plenty of encouraging signs, but we must not forget he is a high risk high reward player.

Bryant and Essengue didn't set SL on fire, which does make me feel better about the pick. Let's see how that 2028 Orlando pick fairs too. I think it was a good value trade, even if I was quite keen on Coward, Essengue and Bryant, in that order.

[zzaj]

Honest question - What’s the point of having a SL tournament if the 1-2 best players on every team sit out the last 1-2 games?

there is really no point to summer league for 1st round picks and rotational players. Flagg only played 2 games. Teams shut down the better players early pretty consistently....and that trend will get super-charged after Queen's injury

G-League experience is more valuable than SL experience

SL is basically an excuse for NBA executives and veterans to spend time in Vegas around other executives and veterans. And it gives those executives a chance to look at candidates for 15th roster spots, 2-way contracts, G-League spots, and later in the season, 10-day contracts

but SL tells you absolutely nothing about the good players. Which is why it's nuts there are all these Hansen<-->Jokic comparisons. It's a hype train flying off the rails

Yeah, I get that SL is really about the glad-handing...but everyone can glad-hand just as well without a pointless competition as part of the proceedings. Again, I don't get the promise of 1 extra game if you aren't playing your best team or you're not going to play any players that anybody wants to see.