2021 Summer League

[AingesBurner]

Dok has been convincing in summer league, at least. He looks like he can get in a bit better shape, too, which is scary considering how athletic he is. Kinda feeling like there is a chance DL made the right decision in the draft ... but ... yah ... I'll hold off on pronouncing that until he sees minutes on the team.

I see young Shaq. Crazy if we get Shaq 2.0 with pick 30.

No you don't see a young Shaq. Not even remotely close. At best you see Deandre Jordan.

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DAJ has no offensive skill set. Dok does, if he was entering the draft 20 years ago he would have been a top 5 pick.

[sip]

I see young Shaq. Crazy if we get Shaq 2.0 with pick 30.

No you don't see a young Shaq. Not even remotely close. At best you see Deandre Jordan.

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DAJ has no offensive skill set. Dok does, if he was entering the draft 20 years ago he would have been a top 5 pick.

He does not have an offensive skillset. The only thing the guy does is dunk the ball. You really need to go back and watch video of Shaq as a rookie if you think he and Dok are even remotely comparable.

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[AingesBurner]

No you don't see a young Shaq. Not even remotely close. At best you see Deandre Jordan.

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DAJ has no offensive skill set. Dok does, if he was entering the draft 20 years ago he would have been a top 5 pick.

He does not have an offensive skillset. The only thing the guy does is dunk the ball. You really need to go back and watch video of Shaq as a rookie if you think he and Dok are even remotely comparable.

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You’re probably right but don’t kill my dreams…

[sip]

There is nothing wrong with dreaming of him becoming Deandre Jordan. Jordan was a damn good player in his prime. Ideally a better free throw shooter but if we are going by his college numbers he shot a horrible 41% from the line.

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[Crunch 99]

Forrest had 16 points on 11 attempts with 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 tovs last night. He shot 8-11 at the free throw line, including the winning free throw. Nice line. We all thought he could play last year, but some, including me, thought he had one of the worst looking three point shots in the NBA. I haven't seen the summer league games. Looks like in the three games in SLC he shot 40% on threes. He averaged 14.3 ppg on 12fga with 9 apg, 4.3 rpg and 2 tovs.

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/summer/3/Salt-Lake-City-Summer-League/44/stats/Utah-Jazz-White-/9136/2022/points/Summer_League/desc/1

I don't see his cumulative stats for Las Vegas yet. Go Forrest; Go Jazz!

[tugs]

I'd take a young Rondo impact for now as a second string PG. Keeping my fingers crossed

[Charlie_S]

Last season Forrest had some very promising stretches and he honestly looked more ready than Oni, but for a guard it's very hard to succeed in the NBA as a non-shooter. I like him a lot and I hope he develops a respectable shot but it's not going to be easy, otherwise Rubio would have been a multiple-time all star!

[sip]

I'm becoming a huge Teague fan. He is just such a solid all around player. I really hope we are able to get him locked into a 2 way contract.

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[sip]

Last season Forrest had some very promising stretches and he honestly looked more ready than Oni, but for a guard it's very hard to succeed in the NBA as a non-shooter. I like him a lot and I hope he develops a respectable shot but it's not going to be easy, otherwise Rubio would have been a multiple-time all star!

The player that Forrest is starting to remind me of is Delon Wright when he came into the league. It would be awesome if there was a similar growth trajectory.

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[Crunch 99]

Forrest and Doke had impressive lines again yesterday, though Forrest only attempted one three and missed. Forrest had 10 rebs to go with his 19 points and six assists. Hughes and Teague had nice lines too.

https://www.espn.com/nba-summer-league/boxscore?gameId=401352171&league=nba-summer-las-vegas

The problem I had with Forrest last season was that other teams were starting to leave him wide open on threes and the Jazz were then subjected to five on four defense. Given that Forrest is already 23 years old, and kids grow up nowdays knowing that they need to be able to shoot the three, I am skeptical that he is going to overcome this problem and develop a respectable three percentage, but if he does, I think he will be a pretty darn good point guard.

[nolang1]

Last season Forrest had some very promising stretches and he honestly looked more ready than Oni, but for a guard it's very hard to succeed in the NBA as a non-shooter. I like him a lot and I hope he develops a respectable shot but it's not going to be easy, otherwise Rubio would have been a multiple-time all star!

The player that Forrest is starting to remind me of is Delon Wright when he came into the league. It would be awesome if there was a similar growth trajectory.

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Alex Caruso if you dare to compare players of different ethnicities. Forrest played his rookie season a year and change younger than both Wright and Caruso so I think there’s even a higher ceiling than “solid rotation guard” out there for him as his shooting continues to improve.

[CAE15]

Last season Forrest had some very promising stretches and he honestly looked more ready than Oni, but for a guard it's very hard to succeed in the NBA as a non-shooter. I like him a lot and I hope he develops a respectable shot but it's not going to be easy, otherwise Rubio would have been a multiple-time all star!

The player that Forrest is starting to remind me of is Delon Wright when he came into the league. It would be awesome if there was a similar growth trajectory.

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Alex Caruso if you dare to compare players of different ethnicities. Forrest played his rookie season a year and change younger than both Wright and Caruso so I think there’s even a higher ceiling than “solid rotation guard” out there for him as his shooting continues to improve.

What in the world be ethnicities have to do with anything? Players can develop better shot making at any time in their career. Look at Marc Gasol or Brook Lopez. Lonzo Ball this past year. Yes, if Forrest can develop the shot he can be a pretty decent player but at the same time people need to realize Butler is the next point guard in line.

[Crunch 99]

At the risk of jinxing Forrest's performance against the Clips this afternoon, an article in the SLTrib this am was noting improvement in Forrest's game:

Trent Forrest trying to shoot up the Utah Jazz’s depth chart
https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2021/08/15/trent-forrest-trying/

Snips: Butler was presumed to be an upgrade over two-way signee Trent Forrest — and may well turn out to be — but the improvement that the second-year Florida State product has displayed in summer league play these past few weeks could make the hierarchy far less cut-and-dried.

He’s been confidently setting up Utah’s offense and directing traffic — a pass to open 3-point shooter here, setting up big man Udoka Azubuike for a lob there (and there … and there again), and in between, deftly probing into the paint, getting younger defenders guessing one way, then slicing through the hole for a layup at the rim.

It can be stipulated that of course he’s been doing it against lesser competition than what he faced as a regular-season fill-in this past season. But then, such dismissiveness belittles the apparent growth in both skill and confidence he is putting on display.

The 3-point elephant in the room

There is, of course, a very simple explanation for why Forrest went undrafted a year ago despite a stellar career for the Seminoles. A clear reason why he was on a two-way contract as an NBA rookie, and will be again as a professional sophomore (the Jazz signed him to another two-way deal this past Wednesday). A straightforward rationale for why Butler was drafted to supplant him.

“Obviously, his 3-point shot is the one part of his game that he needs to work on,” said Bryan Bailey, a Jazz assistant who’s overseen the team’s summer league squads. “And he knows that.”

“The main focus for me [this offseason] has been my shooting; I’ve been working on that, and I feel like it’s gotten a lot better from the season until now,” Forrest said. “That’s still going to be a focus even after summer league. It’s been working, the things that we’ve been doing.”

And he remains keenly aware that he’s still got so much work ahead of him — especially when trying to prevent newer players from being seen as better options for minutes than him.

[babyjax13]

I think Forrest is going to be a rotation player in this league, probably in the mold of MCW, Caruso, etc.

[sip]

I think Forrest is going to be a rotation player in this league, probably in the mold of MCW, Caruso, etc.

He definitely has the potential to be. It always amazes me that some of these guys are never able to develop a reliable 3pt shot. Playing basketball is your damn job so there is no excuse not to get up at least 1000 3pt shots a day in the offseason and after 3 months straight of that you should be a damn good 3pt shooter. Even if your shooting stroke isn't very good you should at least develop a nice touch after getting that many shots up.

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[babyjax13]

I think Forrest is going to be a rotation player in this league, probably in the mold of MCW, Caruso, etc.

He definitely has the potential to be. It always amazes me that some of these guys are never able to develop a reliable 3pt shot. Playing basketball is your damn job so there is no excuse not to get up at least 1000 3pt shots a day in the offseason and after 3 months straight of that you should be a damn good 3pt shooter. Even if your shooting stroke isn't very good you should at least develop a nice touch after getting that many shots up.

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In an open gym they all are very good. I played horse against Kyrylo Fesenko in junior high - and yes I was a better shooter than him - but I was also a really, really good shooter, and the difference without a defender wasn't huge. But these players have reaction times that are absolutely otherworldly, watching these games live, especially when players are dribbling, it is AMAZING to see how fast they are able to adjust to players attempting to strip them (and getting very close) ... idk, I hope he can become passable - O'neale did.

[CAE15]

I'm very interested to see Azubuike match up against Reed on Tuesday. It'd be nice if Maxey suits up as well. And please no more Sestina. White or Funderburk should get all the backup 4 minutes.

[stitches]

Read on Twitter

Well deserved. One of the highlights of this SL roster.

[Crunch 99]

Read on Twitter

Well deserved. One of the highlights of this SL roster.

From today's boxscore, it looks like Teague filled in at PG and came up with an impressive 12 assists. Forrest was out with a quad contusion.
https://www.espn.com/nba-summer-league/boxscore?gameId=401352200&league=nba-summer-las-vegas

[Crunch 99]

Does anyone think Teague earned a shot to compete for backup point guard with Butler and Forrest with his 12 assist game, or would that be making way too much out of just one summer league game? I realize that Butler and Davion Mitchell got the playmaking duty at Baylor, but apparently Teague has some playmaking ability as well. I was disappointed that Butler didn't compete in the summer league to show what he could do.