All Rookies from Summer League Ranked

[Jamaaliver]

Mike Prada of SB Nation ranked all 52 drafted players who participated in Summer League.

John Jenkins fared fairly well condiering he was the 23rd player selected and went ignored at times by his PGs in Vegas.

12. John Jenkins, Hawks

He's one-dimensional, but boy is he proficient at that one dimension. He spent most of the week curling off screens and taking long jumpers, but he still managed to shoot over 50 percent from the field. He was especially impressive going against aggressive defenders like Washington's Bradley Beal and Dallas' Dominique Jones. Despite being undersized, he has a hyper-quick release, much like former Hornets star Dell Curry. I look forward to tracking his development, especially with Kyle Korver as a mentor.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/7/23/3173543/nba-summer-league-2012-rankings-rookies-damian-lillard

[Jamaaliver]

Mike Scott didn't fare as well. Which makes sense as he had a pretty rough Summer League trying to find his niche.

35. Mike Scott, Hawks: You can see how he'll be useful as a pick and pop player, even if the shots didn't go down

Ironically, the player drafted directly prior to him, fellow 2nd rounder Doron Lamb is ranked even higher than Jenkins. I actually wanted Doron more than any other player available at 23. Reminds me of Joe Dumars.

11. Doron Lamb, Bucks

If you switched their jerseys, you wouldn't have noticed much of a difference between Lamb and Beal. Beal's the better playmaker, but Lamb is no slouch himself. The Bucks will be able to use him coming off baseline screens, and he's a willing enough passer to find his big man or run a pick and roll if the shot isn't there. His three-point shot deserted him a bit as the week went along, but he found points by being opportunistic with his two-point shots. If he can continue to improve as a pick and roll player, he'll be a real steal.

[Jamaaliver]

Noteworthy:

Damian Lillard was the top rated player, and rightfully so.

Fab Melo was ranked as the worst of all 52 drafted players to participate.

52. Fab Melo, Celtics: Was more known for his ridiculous passes at the worst time than his rebounding, defense or shot-blocking. Bad sign.

We may have dodged a bullet with Boston taking him ahead of us.

[ATL Boy]

Noteworthy:

Damian Lillard was the top rated player, and rightfully so.

Fab Melo was ranked as the worst of all 52 drafted players to participate.

52. Fab Melo, Celtics: Was more known for his ridiculous passes at the worst time than his rebounding, defense or shot-blocking. Bad sign.

We may have dodged a bullet with Boston taking him ahead of us.

Agreed

[Geaux_Hawks]

Melo isn't supposed to have the ball in his hands to make those passes. He is suppose to block shots, rebound, and play defense..

[Jamaaliver]

1. For him to justify being on the court, he has to at least be a threat offensively.

2. Sounds like he wasn't even doing those things. Avg 4 ppg - 3 rpg - 1 bpg against Summer League talent.

3. Jared Sullinger, drafted one spot earlier avg 11 ppg and 8 rpg just as a point of reference.

Sounds like Fab Melo will be spending some serious time in the D-League.

[Geaux_Hawks]

1. For him to justify being on the court, he has to at least be a threat offensively.

2. Sounds like he wasn't even doing those things. Avg 4 ppg - 3 rpg - 1 bpg against Summer League talent.

3. Jared Sullinger, drafted one spot earlier avg 11 ppg and 8 rpg just as a point of reference.

Sounds like Fab Melo will be spending some serious time in the D-League.

So what if he is in the D league? Kid is still raw offensively and everybody knew that going into workouts coming into the draft. Nobody figured he'd turn into an average offensive player all of a sudden. On top of that, Sullinger averaged at least 26 mpg and was a lottery talent. Horrific point of reference.. Melo only got 17 most games and was known to be a project. He saw 20+ minutes once in both leagues. He showed some upside at the end of the Vegas league when he got more minutes, which is a positive. Ben Wallace or Reggie Evans wasn't a threat offensively BTW and Melo has way more upside on offense than they ever had.. Everybody doesn't have to be a threat on offense to get on the court .

[Ruhiel]

Don't compare Ben Wallace, Reggie Evans and Fab Melo.

Ben Wallace was an uber freak athlete strength wise, and quicker than most centers. He's one of the greatest defenders of all time and used his stats to domineer defensively. He was an uber anchor.
Reggie Evans is just a great rebounder but average everywhere else especially on defense. His defensive ppp are usually around Zaza level.

Melo has to get smarter of game situations and have good hands for dunking. Rondo will find guys.
They probably got a taller, less developed Kendrick Perkins or Kwame Brown type.

I'd rather have Ezeli. That could change but I dont know. Ezeli actually has a nice spin move, and I dont think Fabs upside is that great. I don't see any NBA comparison to justify Melo over Ezeli by like 11 spots.
Maybe Rondo can make miracles happen with his athleticism...

[dtown8]

Ezeli and O'Quinn look better than Fab, but Benson looked better than all of them

[Jamaaliver]

So what if he is in the D league? Kid is still raw offensively and everybody knew that going into workouts coming into the draft. Everybody doesn't have to be a threat on offense to get on the court .

A professional scout who went back and reviewed every single drafted player in both summer leagues assessed that he was the single worst player in a league filled with rookies and D-Leaguers.

That's a bad sign.

Even the Celtics 2nd round pick, Kris Joseph (who was drafted 30 picks later) ranked higher based on performance averaging twice as many points.

He is indeed a project, but it's not like he never picked up a basketball before.

He should be able to at least hold his own against players NOT talented enough to play in the NBA.

These are red flags and considering how his final collegiate season played out, Celtics team officials have to at least be concerned. They don't exactly have a patient fan base or patient GM.

[Geaux_Hawks]

So what if he is in the D league? Kid is still raw offensively and everybody knew that going into workouts coming into the draft. Everybody doesn't have to be a threat on offense to get on the court .

A professional scout who went back and reviewed every single drafted player in both summer leagues assessed that he was the single worst player in a league filled with rookies and D-Leaguers.

That's a bad sign.

Even the Celtics 2nd round pick, Kris Joseph (who was drafted 30 picks later) ranked higher based on performance averaging twice as many points.

He is indeed a project, but it's not like he never picked up a basketball before.

He should be able to at least hold his own against players NOT talented enough to play in the NBA.

These are red flags and considering how his final collegiate season played out, Celtics team officials have to at least be concerned. They don't exactly have a patient fan base or patient GM.

Kids been playing ball for a handful of years. It's almost like saying he did just pick up a basketball. Knowing that, I'm impressed with his learning curve. He impressed a few scouts as well, and obviously Danny Ainge, so I could care less about what one supposedly "Pro" scout has to say based on stats. If the Celtics were concerned in any way, they would have never drafted him.

[Jamaaliver]

Kids been playing ball for a handful of years. It's almost like saying he did just pick up a basketball. Knowing that, I'm impressed with his learning curve. He impressed a few scouts as well, and obviously Danny Ainge, so I could care less about what one supposedly "Pro" scout has to say based on stats. If the Celtics were concerned in any way, they would have never drafted him.

Very true. I'm sure Fab Melo will indeed be a superstar....

Foreign kids who come late to basketball always turn into solid pros. Right?

[Geaux_Hawks]

Hate when people correlate positive criticism with assuming someone is making a player into a star player. All I'm saying is Melo can be a solid pro in the league. Obviously not a star, and obviously not a solid pro yet either, nor is he guaranteed. He is in a good environment to become a serviceable 25 mpg starter at the least.

Foreign kids with few years of experience do pan out. Ibaka is panning out. Biyombo showed good signs of panning out. Roy Hibbert started playing ball in high school, despite living in the US most of his life. It took a bad soccer injury to get Goran Dragic to play basketball. Sefolosha started late as well. That's just a few that I know of recently though.

[MaceCase]

Uhm what? Serge is the son of two basketball players and was playing professionally in Spain in his teens.
Biyombo was also playing pro ball in his teens in Spain.
HIbbert spent 4 years actually playing at G'Town.
Dragic was another pro in his teens.
Same with Sefolosha.

Melo is older than all of them entering into his first pro league at 22 after barely two seasons in college. He is well behind their basketball curve and age, experience and BBall IQ will be the biggest factors for him.

[Geaux_Hawks]

Uhm what? Serge is the son of two basketball players and was playing professionally in Spain in his teens.
Biyombo was also playing pro ball in his teens in Spain.
HIbbert spent 4 years actually playing at G'Town.
Dragic was another pro in his teens.
Same with Sefolosha.

Melo is older than all of them entering into his first pro league at 22 after barely two seasons in college. He is well behind their basketball curve and age, experience and BBall IQ will be the biggest factors for him.

I know those guys played pro ball in their teens. If you noticed they started at 17 most of the time. They haven't been playing much organized ball before that point like most youths do. 17 is a late stage in life to be playing organized ball. Melo is definitely behind those guys on the curve, but considering how late he is, I think he is done well. Give the guy some time.

[MaceCase]

So you think they just jumped to professional paid leagues from thin air........

[Geaux_Hawks]

Uhm what? Serge is the son of two basketball players and was playing professionally in Spain in his teens.
Biyombo was also playing pro ball in his teens in Spain.
HIbbert spent 4 years actually playing at G'Town.
Dragic was another pro in his teens.
Same with Sefolosha.

Melo is older than all of them entering into his first pro league at 22 after barely two seasons in college. He is well behind their basketball curve and age, experience and BBall IQ will be the biggest factors for him.

I know those guys played pro ball in their teens. If you noticed they started at 17 most of the time. They haven't been playing much organized ball before that point like most youths do. 17 is a late stage in life to be playing organized ball. Melo is definitely behind those guys on the curve, but considering how late he is, I think he is done well. Give the guy some time.

[Jamaaliver]

So what if he is in the D league? [Fab Melo] is still raw offensively and everybody knew that going into workouts coming into the draft. Everybody doesn't have to be a threat on offense to get on the court .

Kids been playing ball for a handful of years. It's almost like saying he did just pick up a basketball. Knowing that, I'm impressed with his learning curve. He impressed a few scouts as well, and obviously Danny Ainge, so I could care less about what one supposedly "Pro" scout has to say based on stats. If the Celtics were concerned in any way, they would have never drafted him.

Geaux, you ready to finally admit drafting Melo in the 1st round was a mistake for Boston and that the kid is a bust?

Cause it looks like D Ainge has finally acknowledged wasting a draft pick on him:

The Boston Celtics have traded Fab Melo and cash to the Memphis Grizzlies for Donte Greene.

Melo was a first round pick by the Celtics in 2012.

Both Melo and Greene played at Syracuse.

[Jamaaliver]

Melo is definitely behind those guys on the curve, but considering how late he is, I think he is done well. Give the guy some time.

And after one season he's been traded by one team and waived by another.

Ready to admit this guy is a bust? Everyone else has...

We're lucky to have had Ferry bypass him for John Jenkins.

[Geaux_Hawks]

I'm glad we have Jenkins as well, but I wouldn't have been upset if we had took Melo over him. In hindsight, I would definitely take Jenkins, but Melo had some upside to invest in. We were and still is a team without a legit 5(unless you come to the realization that Horford is a 5), so taking a flier on a guy that could potentially turn into something respectable would have been a worth the gamble to me. With that said, of course he had bust potential. Michael Beasley was one of the most skilled and talented prospects and he didn't pan out like he should have. Every player isn't going to breakout. I don't see why you're trying to rub in the fact that Melo didn't pan out.