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Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas.

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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#921 » by NTB » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:00 am

carey wrote:It is 2-time, every time.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#922 » by GetYourPHX » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:04 am

Summer league is usually some of my favorite Suns basketball of the year. We've been so bad for so long that it seems like we always field a decent squad. I've watched every summer league game since Dragic and Lopez were playing in Vegas.

This was the worst summer league team we've had since I started watching, period. We looked totally lost out there. I haven't seen that many bricks since Archie Goodwin's first summer with us.

I'm worried that our coaching staff isn't ready to deal with all of these youngsters. That was just an embarrassing performance from the top down. What were we even doing out on the court? Who were we trying to develop? This is the youngest team in the NBA and we're out in Vegas just playing hero ball? Come on man.

We got showed up by a squad of nobodies today. Dennis Smith Jr. took our asses to town.

For a team with more top 10 picks than anyone else in Vegas, our players acted like spoiled brats who thought they were just going to be handed summer league glory. Is that what our coaching staff is teaching these kids?

I miss PJ Tucker man. He would have been courtside eating nachos and keeping these kids in line. I hope we use this as a wake up call.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#923 » by MrMiyagi » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:43 am

Well, if previous good summer league teams didn't translate into regular season success, perhaps struggling is a good sign?
SHAZAM!

Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and 4 1st round picks and a swap so some Vegas Bookies would like us.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#924 » by nevetsov » Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:13 am

Zelaznyrules wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:
Zelaznyrules wrote:
He doesn't give half effort when he plays as if he thinks he's too good for it, which was his actual point. As for not playing, I suspect he'd play every minute of every game if we let him. He's played more minutes in the last two seasons than any other player on our roster, playing in summer league would have been a bad move. And if you recall, he took a little bit of a public beating last season for playing just a couple of games in summer league as he clearly outclassed those guys.


Thanks for the obvious points. It is just funny to make such a statement without mentioning he would be in there if he was able or something, because, the whole reason he is not playing IS because "he is too good for summer league".


Well, no, that isn't the whole reason. Find me just one example in the short history of the Vegas Summer League where a guy leads his team in total minutes over the two previous seasons and then plays in Vegas. Booker needs to improve but SL is less about improvement than it is about showcasing end of bench players, getting the feet wet on rookies and players that haven't logged much time but it is not about wearing down a guy who is already logging serious regular season minutes.

I know you don't like Booker and yes, I know you'll deny it, but it shows in so many of your posts. He said nothing wrong but you try and turn it into something it wasn't and then you take a cheap shot at me with your "obvious" comment. So many subtle digs at Booker and at your fellow fans simply because we like the guy. It grows tiresome when two of the mods here continually take back-handed shots at the one player that is drawing positive attention to the Suns and gives us our greatest reason for hope. You guys might even be right, but sneaking in your typical "but he shoots a higher percentage than Booker or has a lower DRPBLBQ advanced metric than some scrub" comments in every single thread does nothing to foster fan support or conversation. You're a mod, I get that, but I liked you a lot better when you were simply a diehard Suns fan. And yes, I know, I've worn out my welcome here.


Further to this, you'd have to be insane to risk injuring your franchise cornerstone by playing him in a crappy SL comp. think of the impact to this franchise if Book tore an Achilles by playing in the SL. Just ridiculous.

FWIW Zelazny, you're a great poster and it's good to have you here.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#925 » by AtheJ415 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:19 am

MrMiyagi wrote:Well, if previous good summer league teams didn't translate into regular season success, perhaps struggling is a good sign?


It's better to be good in SL than bad, but overall it is largely meaningless. Former Summer League legends Josh Selby, Nick Johnson, Marcus Banks, and countless others bombed in the NBA. Plenty of guys who have been awful (hell Brogdon just last year) went on to become good players.

Don't get me wrong I watch it, and I look for things I hope our players have improved on, but I don't take any of what happens as signs of performance in the regular season. There is too much evidence that good SL performance is not correlated to the regular season. There are TONS of examples on both sides.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#926 » by lilfishi22 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:50 am

Zelaznyrules wrote:I wasn't talking about you in any way. I have no problem with pointing out Booker's flaws and yes, he has many. And I've pointed them out many times. Last summer I kept doing my best to keep the runaway Booker train from gaining too much steam. I don't really want to invest any more time in what I am talking about, you've either picked up on it or you haven't. It's clear you haven't and that's probably the case for many fans here.

I just know that BW is a big fan of Booker so I'm just not sure it's fair to say he doesn't like him because he makes a few comments which is contrary to the praise Booker normally receives.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#927 » by thamadkant » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:03 am

GetYourPHX wrote:Summer league is usually some of my favorite Suns basketball of the year. We've been so bad for so long that it seems like we always field a decent squad. I've watched every summer league game since Dragic and Lopez were playing in Vegas.

This was the worst summer league team we've had since I started watching, period. We looked totally lost out there. I haven't seen that many bricks since Archie Goodwin's first summer with us.

I'm worried that our coaching staff isn't ready to deal with all of these youngsters. That was just an embarrassing performance from the top down. What were we even doing out on the court? Who were we trying to develop? This is the youngest team in the NBA and we're out in Vegas just playing hero ball? Come on man.

We got showed up by a squad of nobodies today. Dennis Smith Jr. took our asses to town.

For a team with more top 10 picks than anyone else in Vegas, our players acted like spoiled brats who thought they were just going to be handed summer league glory. Is that what our coaching staff is teaching these kids?

I miss PJ Tucker man. He would have been courtside eating nachos and keeping these kids in line. I hope we use this as a wake up call.



Archie Goodwin actually starred for the Suns during his tenure in the Summer league teams. He helped the teams make it deep into the tournament/finals.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#928 » by DaleyBlind » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:14 am

Do we play any more games?
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#929 » by Skillmatic » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:40 am

Can i watch this Game somewhere? I am from Germany and the time of the games are late in the night. Would be nice to see the full game replay today :)
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#930 » by NTB » Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:41 am

DaleyBlind wrote:Do we play any more games?


We'll play at least 2 more games.
carey wrote:It is 2-time, every time.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#931 » by ImNotMcDiSwear » Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:22 am

bwgood77 wrote:
cosmofizzo wrote:I don't hold the Knight trade against McD too strongly. And not hitting on Len is okay; nobody's perfect. I like how he's done with 2nd rounders - Ulis, Reed - and undrafted players - Williams, Jones Jr.

But if neither Bender nor Chriss pans out... that would be a big deal. We need one of these guys - Len, Bender, Chriss - to be an impact player. If none of them do, McD's on my personal hot seat. I couldn't tell who among Bender, Chriss, Sabonis or Brice Johnson (!) was the best PF available at #4 last year, but I gave McD the benefit of the doubt. Well, he took two bites at that apple. So I need to see that at least one of these guys was a good pick; otherwise, I'll start to have real doubt about this front office.

Edit: Indulging myself a bit here... I will always give McD high marks overall, because I've believed and continue to believe in his general approach. But the thing you can't do when you rebuild this way is fail to build around your talent. I think Ulis/Booker/Jackson has tremendous potential as a trio, and I give kudos to Ryan for assembling it. And his bigs selections have all been... the right idea, you know? And isn't that just the best you can do?

At some point, when we try to shift toward contention, we will have the opportunity to use trades and free agency to add the impact big we will need if neither Dragan nor Marquese pan out. But it sure would be a lot easier if to climb championship mountain if they do.

In my estimation, McD will have at least two more draft selections to make as GM of this club. Hopefully more. Hopefully these players can come together and win games. I'll keep cheering.


Are you that low on Bender and Chriss after this season? I didn't even think they'd play much since they were so raw and since Bender played very little the season before and was coming from overseas and Chriss hadn't played long and was such a poor rebounder in college. They both exceeded what I expected from them this season. I'm surprised you seem so low on them. I didn't think you were.


SL has been particularly disheartening - the energy level from Chriss and Bender hasn't been good. Failing to see energy, aggression, passion, determination and composure from these two was really disheartening. I saw Dragan disappear too often. I know his older brother lost his career to an ankle injury, and I think he thinks about that. Particularly with Dragan, if he doesn't play with passion, he won't be an impact player in this league. For both of them, heads hanging low, bad body language, not hustling, not outworking the other guys.

If a guy can't shoot in SL or makes bad decisions or is on the wrong place defensively, that's one thing. But not working scares me. Because those guys will always lose games.

I'm likely overreacting. I'm certainly lower on both players than I was before the SL. Silver linings - despite hurting us more often than not, Marquese showed, especially in this last game, that he's one of the more talented players in the SL. Killing me with those missed dunks, though. If a guy doesn't actually care about putting the ball in the basket, what does he care about? And Dragan's +/- numbers were high relative to teammates, because he avoided mistakes, and all he had to do was knock down a couple open threes to make a significant difference. But the degree of improvement clearly wasn't enough. is he better than Zhou Qi? IDK. Couldn't tell from yesterday's game.

If we were to re-draft 2016, I don't think Dragan goes in the top 10 after this summer's performance. Where's the big guy running all over the court, staying tough, playing hard, that I saw in the workout videos before the draft?

I think you know best because you've been paying attention - my impressions change quickly. And right now, I'm low on our young bigs. Someone needs to light a fire under Dragan, and someone needs to get Chriss to start caring about the scoreboard.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#932 » by MathiasPW » Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:45 am

I think Mike James is better than that. Remember, he is fighting for a spot on the squad, as he has only a two-way contract and does not want to spend time in the G League. He is trying to hard to show his skills. I dont remember him being such a ball hig in 2015. Score-first, definitely, but not won't-pass-at-all.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#933 » by bwgood77 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:09 pm

cosmofizzo wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:
cosmofizzo wrote:I don't hold the Knight trade against McD too strongly. And not hitting on Len is okay; nobody's perfect. I like how he's done with 2nd rounders - Ulis, Reed - and undrafted players - Williams, Jones Jr.

But if neither Bender nor Chriss pans out... that would be a big deal. We need one of these guys - Len, Bender, Chriss - to be an impact player. If none of them do, McD's on my personal hot seat. I couldn't tell who among Bender, Chriss, Sabonis or Brice Johnson (!) was the best PF available at #4 last year, but I gave McD the benefit of the doubt. Well, he took two bites at that apple. So I need to see that at least one of these guys was a good pick; otherwise, I'll start to have real doubt about this front office.

Edit: Indulging myself a bit here... I will always give McD high marks overall, because I've believed and continue to believe in his general approach. But the thing you can't do when you rebuild this way is fail to build around your talent. I think Ulis/Booker/Jackson has tremendous potential as a trio, and I give kudos to Ryan for assembling it. And his bigs selections have all been... the right idea, you know? And isn't that just the best you can do?

At some point, when we try to shift toward contention, we will have the opportunity to use trades and free agency to add the impact big we will need if neither Dragan nor Marquese pan out. But it sure would be a lot easier if to climb championship mountain if they do.

In my estimation, McD will have at least two more draft selections to make as GM of this club. Hopefully more. Hopefully these players can come together and win games. I'll keep cheering.


Are you that low on Bender and Chriss after this season? I didn't even think they'd play much since they were so raw and since Bender played very little the season before and was coming from overseas and Chriss hadn't played long and was such a poor rebounder in college. They both exceeded what I expected from them this season. I'm surprised you seem so low on them. I didn't think you were.


SL has been particularly disheartening - the energy level from Chriss and Bender hasn't been good. Failing to see energy, aggression, passion, determination and composure from these two was really disheartening. I saw Dragan disappear too often. I know his older brother lost his career to an ankle injury, and I think he thinks about that. Particularly with Dragan, if he doesn't play with passion, he won't be an impact player in this league. For both of them, heads hanging low, bad body language, not hustling, not outworking the other guys.

If a guy can't shoot in SL or makes bad decisions or is on the wrong place defensively, that's one thing. But not working scares me. Because those guys will always lose games.

I'm likely overreacting. I'm certainly lower on both players than I was before the SL. Silver linings - despite hurting us more often than not, Marquese showed, especially in this last game, that he's one of the more talented players in the SL. Killing me with those missed dunks, though. If a guy doesn't actually care about putting the ball in the basket, what does he care about? And Dragan's +/- numbers were high relative to teammates, because he avoided mistakes, and all he had to do was knock down a couple open threes to make a significant difference. But the degree of improvement clearly wasn't enough. is he better than Zhou Qi? IDK. Couldn't tell from yesterday's game.

If we were to re-draft 2016, I don't think Dragan goes in the top 10 after this summer's performance. Where's the big guy running all over the court, staying tough, playing hard, that I saw in the workout videos before the draft?

I think you know best because you've been paying attention - my impressions change quickly. And right now, I'm low on our young bigs. Someone needs to light a fire under Dragan, and someone needs to get Chriss to start caring about the scoreboard.


I definitely didn't see the same from Bender that you did. His biggest +/- relative to others was the second game when he shot poorly from 3. It's the defense and ball movement that I think he shows that helps and I think he definitely showed energy except when he spreads the floor for the offense which he's supposed to do. I don't think anyone drafted in the top 5 last year has shown much. Chriss' was disappointing considering he was a starter, more just the sloppiness and 22 turnovers in 3 games. But he showed some nice things as well, like taking it to the rim, getting to the line, knocking down his free throws, rebounding well.

I think they both had it tougher due to spacing issues and playing with a new PG who didn't move the ball a great deal. Overall, it hasn't been great, but I'm really happy in both of their development overall from what I expected coming out of the draft. Summer league was a letdown, but I won't too harshly judge McD and say he shouldn't be kept after a couple games from these guys when I'm not sure who else you would have wanted out of the clear consense top 8. I guess he could have gone with Sabonis but I'd still rather have our guys. I wouldn't have really wanted Dunn or one of the SGs taken over our guys, and I was never real high on Brown. Ingram hasn't been particularly impressive. The ROY candidates were all really older guys.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#934 » by Sunzgunz » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:15 pm

cosmofizzo wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:
cosmofizzo wrote:I don't hold the Knight trade against McD too strongly. And not hitting on Len is okay; nobody's perfect. I like how he's done with 2nd rounders - Ulis, Reed - and undrafted players - Williams, Jones Jr.

But if neither Bender nor Chriss pans out... that would be a big deal. We need one of these guys - Len, Bender, Chriss - to be an impact player. If none of them do, McD's on my personal hot seat. I couldn't tell who among Bender, Chriss, Sabonis or Brice Johnson (!) was the best PF available at #4 last year, but I gave McD the benefit of the doubt. Well, he took two bites at that apple. So I need to see that at least one of these guys was a good pick; otherwise, I'll start to have real doubt about this front office.

Edit: Indulging myself a bit here... I will always give McD high marks overall, because I've believed and continue to believe in his general approach. But the thing you can't do when you rebuild this way is fail to build around your talent. I think Ulis/Booker/Jackson has tremendous potential as a trio, and I give kudos to Ryan for assembling it. And his bigs selections have all been... the right idea, you know? And isn't that just the best you can do?

At some point, when we try to shift toward contention, we will have the opportunity to use trades and free agency to add the impact big we will need if neither Dragan nor Marquese pan out. But it sure would be a lot easier if to climb championship mountain if they do.

In my estimation, McD will have at least two more draft selections to make as GM of this club. Hopefully more. Hopefully these players can come together and win games. I'll keep cheering.


Are you that low on Bender and Chriss after this season? I didn't even think they'd play much since they were so raw and since Bender played very little the season before and was coming from overseas and Chriss hadn't played long and was such a poor rebounder in college. They both exceeded what I expected from them this season. I'm surprised you seem so low on them. I didn't think you were.


SL has been particularly disheartening - the energy level from Chriss and Bender hasn't been good. Failing to see energy, aggression, passion, determination and composure from these two was really disheartening. I saw Dragan disappear too often. I know his older brother lost his career to an ankle injury, and I think he thinks about that. Particularly with Dragan, if he doesn't play with passion, he won't be an impact player in this league. For both of them, heads hanging low, bad body language, not hustling, not outworking the other guys.

If a guy can't shoot in SL or makes bad decisions or is on the wrong place defensively, that's one thing. But not working scares me. Because those guys will always lose games.

I'm likely overreacting. I'm certainly lower on both players than I was before the SL. Silver linings - despite hurting us more often than not, Marquese showed, especially in this last game, that he's one of the more talented players in the SL. Killing me with those missed dunks, though. If a guy doesn't actually care about putting the ball in the basket, what does he care about? And Dragan's +/- numbers were high relative to teammates, because he avoided mistakes, and all he had to do was knock down a couple open threes to make a significant difference. But the degree of improvement clearly wasn't enough. is he better than Zhou Qi? IDK. Couldn't tell from yesterday's game.

If we were to re-draft 2016, I don't think Dragan goes in the top 10 after this summer's performance. Where's the big guy running all over the court, staying tough, playing hard, that I saw in the workout videos before the draft?

I think you know best because you've been paying attention - my impressions change quickly. And right now, I'm low on our young bigs. Someone needs to light a fire under Dragan, and someone needs to get Chriss to start caring about the scoreboard.


I wouldn't worry about Bender yet. Guys like KP are the exception, traditionally these European cats take an extra year or two. They got to learn the game and the culture while being assertive and extroverted (on the court)? It's a hard switch to turn on and off ....so confidence is stymied a bit.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#935 » by JMac1 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:48 pm

Funny.....no one excited about JJ's freethrow shooting? That's improvement.

Like what I have seen thus far, except his sagging off of shooters. His playmaking looked good last night. When he intiated the offense, it looks really good. That step-back crossover was nasty too, although he missed the shot.

He is as advertised.....get a shot and we have a stud. His handles a fair, but his speed allows him to make up for not having A plus handles and affords him the opportunity to get past his opponents; once/if/when his shots starts falling from outside its lights out.

Perfect compliment to Booker!
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Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#936 » by jcsunsfan » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:49 pm

Summer league is showing us some things. Sometimes you learn more from failure than success and if there is a place to learn from failure, its summer league. Here are my takeaways.

1. We need some quality mid level vets. Young players have head problems that only really competitive vets can deal with. The old grizzled barely able to compete vets don't cut it.

2. This team needs a distributing pg or a passing offense. A shoot first combo guard will not only rob this team of wins, unhappiness will ensue.
3. I bet Marquese Chriss went in some muscle mag bulking diet and workout program this summer. Young guys get taken in by that type of stuff. He needs to keep close contact with team trainers and do what they say.
4. This makes me appreciate TJ more. He behaves like a vet. I would love to start TJ and JJ at the forward positions and Bender at center.
5. I think I would like to have Len back.
6. Cut Mike James now.


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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#937 » by JMac1 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:51 pm

Sunzgunz wrote:
cosmofizzo wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:
Are you that low on Bender and Chriss after this season? I didn't even think they'd play much since they were so raw and since Bender played very little the season before and was coming from overseas and Chriss hadn't played long and was such a poor rebounder in college. They both exceeded what I expected from them this season. I'm surprised you seem so low on them. I didn't think you were.


SL has been particularly disheartening - the energy level from Chriss and Bender hasn't been good. Failing to see energy, aggression, passion, determination and composure from these two was really disheartening. I saw Dragan disappear too often. I know his older brother lost his career to an ankle injury, and I think he thinks about that. Particularly with Dragan, if he doesn't play with passion, he won't be an impact player in this league. For both of them, heads hanging low, bad body language, not hustling, not outworking the other guys.

If a guy can't shoot in SL or makes bad decisions or is on the wrong place defensively, that's one thing. But not working scares me. Because those guys will always lose games.

I'm likely overreacting. I'm certainly lower on both players than I was before the SL. Silver linings - despite hurting us more often than not, Marquese showed, especially in this last game, that he's one of the more talented players in the SL. Killing me with those missed dunks, though. If a guy doesn't actually care about putting the ball in the basket, what does he care about? And Dragan's +/- numbers were high relative to teammates, because he avoided mistakes, and all he had to do was knock down a couple open threes to make a significant difference. But the degree of improvement clearly wasn't enough. is he better than Zhou Qi? IDK. Couldn't tell from yesterday's game.

If we were to re-draft 2016, I don't think Dragan goes in the top 10 after this summer's performance. Where's the big guy running all over the court, staying tough, playing hard, that I saw in the workout videos before the draft?

I think you know best because you've been paying attention - my impressions change quickly. And right now, I'm low on our young bigs. Someone needs to light a fire under Dragan, and someone needs to get Chriss to start caring about the scoreboard.


I wouldn't worry about Bender yet. Guys like KP are the exception, traditionally these European cats take an extra year or two. They got to learn the game and the culture while being assertive and extroverted (on the court)? It's a hard switch to turn on and off ....so confidence is stymied a bit.


Bender needs to get more arc on his shot and toughen up against smaller opponents. I just want him to be a player in the mold of AK47.....that's it.

I'm really not feeling Chris right now. I'd prefer TJ at the 4 over him.

Bender stroke is quick and pure though. He ain't afraid to shoot. I'm giving him more leeway than Chris because of the attitude I see on the court. Chriss is like Boogie, without the skills..... not good.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#938 » by bhawk » Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:39 pm

It's a long season and our guys are still really, really young. I personally try not to get too high or too low when it comes to summer league... because it is a very small sample size.

I watch summer league because these young players and high draft picks are the FUTURE of the Suns. These are the players that we will watch for the next 2-5 years. I want them all to be superstars. I want our front office to hit home runs on every draft pick. I get so caught up in the POTENTIAL of these players that when they suck... it stings.

We have tanked for 2 seasons straight.

Last year I was genuinely excited about Marquesse and Bender. TWO big men in the same draft? Surely, one of them will turn out to be a unicorn / all-star! Neither impressed last year in SL and neither player put it together in the regular season. The crazy long leash that Marquesse had last year was amazing. We gave Chriss every opportunity to contribute, improve and love the game... and sadly there was zero development. I see regression, attitude and entitled behavior. Did he really come into SL out of shape and fat? Come on man... you have one job!

Bender... I still haven't figured out what this guy is or what he will be. He has never had that complete WOW game. Flashes... yes. Dragan is closer to Alex Len 2.0 and right now he projects as a mediocre role player.

WTF on Alex Len? He was the 4th pick in the draft and has to settle for the QO? OMG that was a bad draft year.

I really, really want to Chriss and Bender to prove us all wrong and develop into all-stars... hell I'd be happy with "productive starters" at this point. Sadly, both players look and are acting like busts. It is scary to think that this may be their ceiling. I know they are young... blah, blah, blah... but PLEASE give us something to be excited about. Breakout for gods sake.

In Summer League, you want an Amare or Booker player. A player who comes in and OWNS it... a player that causes you to pause and get excited about the future of the Suns... a player that you know will be successful in the NBA.

If we are being real... Tatum, Fox and DSJ are the WOW players this year in SL. Not Chriss. Not Bender.

Jackson is showing some promise. I am excited about by his quickness, handle, fire and defense... but his shot has been really bad. I hope... pray... that he cares enough to improve his shooting and I think he does. His free throws have been MUCH better... so that is a good sign.

That's all I've got... wait... here's one other thought. Maybe these players aren't developing under Watson? Is he too nice? Is he too "feel good" to properly coach and develop Chriss and Bender? Who is to blame for the horrible chemistry in SL?

Rant is over. Go Suns.
bhawk
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#939 » by bhawk » Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:42 pm

Sunzgunz wrote:
cosmofizzo wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:I wouldn't worry about Bender yet. Guys like KP are the exception, traditionally these European cats take an extra year or two. They got to learn the game and the culture while being assertive and extroverted (on the court)? It's a hard switch to turn on and off ....so confidence is stymied a bit.


For the 4th pick in last years draft we wanted Bender to be the exception. Turns out it could take him an extra year, two, three or he may never put it together. It is up to him.
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Re: Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas. 

Post#940 » by bhawk » Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:50 pm

jcsunsfan wrote:Summer league is showing us some things. Sometimes you learn more from failure than success and if there is a place to learn from failure, its summer league. Here are my takeaways.

1. We need some quality mid level vets. Young players have head problems that only really competitive vets can deal with. The old grizzled barely able to compete vets don't cut it.

2. This team needs a distributing pg or a passing offense. A shoot first combo guard will not only rob this team of wins, unhappiness will ensue.
3. I bet Marquese Chriss went in some muscle mag bulking diet and workout program this summer. Young guys get taken in by that type of stuff. He needs to keep close contact with team trainers and do what they say.
4. This makes me appreciate TJ more. He behaves like a vet. I would love to start TJ and JJ at the forward positions and Bender at center.
5. I think I would like to have Len back.
6. Cut Mike James now.


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1. PJ Tucker?
2. Fox? DSJ?
3. Red flag if he isn't talking / working with our trainers.
4. Sad that we have shifted from Chriss and Bender's potential back to the quiet and reserved, albeit efficient, TJ "RIP Girlfriend" Warren.
5. Meh... maybe the league's lack of interest in Len will drive him to improve? Then again, maybe not.
6. Yeah. Seems like a cancer out there. Players be like "go back to Europe".

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