2014 NBA Summer League

[awhom111]

I figure that it is time to have a thread for the whole league and not just one for our rookies.

News has trickled out on individuals getting invites to teams. Here is the first complete roster, given to us by the Indiana Pacers:
http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/pacer...ree-agent-camp

For those who find any degree of humor in my good old 7 Foul Club, I will be keeping it away from this thread and confining it to twitter @7foulclub. I will try to keep up with the rosters, TV schedules, and boxscores here though.

[awhom111]

A lot more rosters were announced today:

Celtics (worst formatting ever):
http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pres...-league-roster
Nets (Mason Plumlee):
http://www.nba.com/nets/news/brookly...-league-roster
76ers:
http://www.nba.com/sixers/news/14070...-camp-invitees
Heat (Andre Dawkins):
http://www.nba.com/heat/heat-announc...-information-0
Magic (Seth Curry):
http://www.nba.com/magic/orlando-mag...-summer-league
Grizzlies:
http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/gr...-roster-140630
Lakers (no Ryan Kelly yet, contract situation?):
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/140701summer_invitees

[awhom111]

Hornets:
http://www.nba.com/hornets/hornets-a...-league-roster
Rockets:
http://www.nba.com/rockets/rockets-p...-summer-league
Pelicans (No Austin Rivers in case anyone was wondering):
http://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/pel...-camp-schedule
Kings:
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/kings-...-summer-league

[sue71, esq]

Here's supposedly all the rosters for both Orlando and Vegas, as posted by a friend that works the Vegas Summer League.

Link

[sue71, esq]

Here's supposedly all the rosters for both Orlando and Vegas, as posted by a friend that works the Vegas Summer League.

Link

Because I cut myself off without including it, here's the Duke breakdown. Apparently a player can play for different teams (in different leagues)- see Andre Dawkins & Seth Curry.

ORLANDO
Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn Nets)
Andre Dawkins (Miami Heat)
Nolan Smith (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Seth Curry (Orlando Magic)

VEGAS
Andre Dawkins (Houston Rockets)
Jabari Parker (Milwaukee Bucks- side note, I wonder if Jason Kidd will be hanging around...)
Seth Curry (Phoenix Suns)
Miles Plumlee (Phoenix Suns)
Rodney Hood (Utah Jazz)

[awhom111]

Here's supposedly all the rosters for both Orlando and Vegas, as posted by a friend that works the Vegas Summer League.

Link

That is one of a number of good sites that keep up with the individual invitations and signings before the teams release their final rosters.

Here are a few more full ones:
Knicks:
http://www.nba.com/knicks/knicks-ann...-league-roster
Pistons:
http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/detr...ummer-league-0
Bucks (Jabari Parker):
http://www.nba.com/bucks/release/buc...-league-roster

I officially hate the Thunder for not announcing theirs at this point, which would have given us the full Orlando list.

[theAlaskanBear]

That is one of a number of good sites that keep up with the individual invitations and signings before the teams release their final rosters.

Here are a few more full ones:
Knicks:
http://www.nba.com/knicks/knicks-ann...-league-roster
Pistons:
http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/detr...ummer-league-0
Bucks (Jabari Parker):
http://www.nba.com/bucks/release/buc...-league-roster

I officially hate the Thunder for not announcing theirs at this point, which would have given us the full Orlando list.

The Thunder list is up on the official summer league website. Highlights include Nolan Smith, John Stockton's Son, Mitch McGary, NBAers Jeremy Lamb, Steven Adams. Pretty decent summer league roster, actually. Would love to see Nolan make the team...he is getting older, needs get an opportunity pretty soon or teams will start to view him as a guy who cant make the big club.

[awhom111]

All five games from Orlando tomorrow will live on NBATV (times EDT, late games might be delayed by length of earlier games):
9:00am Brooklyn vs Indiana
11:00am Miami vs Boston
1:00pm Orlando vs Philadelphia
3:00pm Detroit vs Houston
5:00pm Memphis vs Oklahoma City

[awhom111]

The Thunder list is up on the official summer league website. Highlights include Nolan Smith, John Stockton's Son, Mitch McGary, NBAers Jeremy Lamb, Steven Adams. Pretty decent summer league roster, actually. Would love to see Nolan make the team...he is getting older, needs get an opportunity pretty soon or teams will start to view him as a guy who cant make the big club.

It does not seem like they want to do an official press release so I will just link the picture they tweeted out.

https://twitter.com/okcthunder/statu...877184/photo/1

Nolan seems to have gotten enough interest in his overseas season to get a couple of partially-guaranteed offers. It looks like he favors Oklahoma City. That seemed like a place that would fit for him a few months ago, but Reggie Jackson emerged late in the season, then they picked up the draft rights to Semaj Christon, and now they also signed Sebastian Telfair, so the crowding in the backcourt concerns me. That said, a strong performance this week, and he should be able to at least get some good impressions out there before training camp.

[awhom111]

Mason was one of the star players on Day 1 of the summer league, with 23 points and 7 rebounds in 24 minutes in a 101-81 Brooklyn win over Indiana.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/BKNIND/gameinfo.html

Andre was out as Miami lost 85-77 to Boston.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/MIABOS/gameinfo.html

Seth had 9 points in 24 minutes as Orlando beat Philadelphia 83-77.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/ORLPHI/gameinfo.html

No Duke player involved in the fourth game as Detroit beat Houston 95-89.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/DE...#nbaGIboxscore

Nolan had 3 points in 22 minutes as Oklahoma City lost to Memphis 84-63.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/MEMOKC/gameinfo.html

Tomorrow's schedule (all on NBATV, times EDT):
3:00pm Memphis vs Detroit
5:00pm Philadelphia vs Oklahoma City
7:00pm Miami vs Brooklyn

[theAlaskanBear]

Mason was one of the star players on Day 1 of the summer league, with 23 points and 7 rebounds in 24 minutes in a 101-81 Brooklyn win over Indiana.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/BKNIND/gameinfo.html

Andre was out as Miami lost 85-77 to Boston.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/MIABOS/gameinfo.html

Seth had 9 points in 24 minutes as Orlando beat Philadelphia 83-77.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/ORLPHI/gameinfo.html

No Duke player involved in the fourth game as Detroit beat Houston 95-89.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/DE...#nbaGIboxscore

Nolan had 3 points in 22 minutes as Oklahoma City lost to Memphis 84-63.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140705/MEMOKC/gameinfo.html

Tomorrow's schedule (all on NBATV, times EDT):
3:00pm Memphis vs Detroit
5:00pm Philadelphia vs Oklahoma City
7:00pm Miami vs Brooklyn

I watched the Magic-Sixers game yesterday. Seth looked pretty good. He didn't shoot a great precentage, but he played a nice overall game, good defense, nice passing (in fact, a better passing game than either Oladipo or Payton), solid ball handling. He was one of the smaller players on the court, only Casper Ware and Pierre Jackson were smaller...Elfrid Payton is a big guard, definitely has the size, but he looked very wooden/uncomfortable out there...I think he was crazy nervous. Also, lets talk about Noel...he had a nice game, I was really impressed with his free throw shooting -- nice stroke and 7/7. He had active hands with several deflections and steals. However, he is still a project offensively. He has a couple of nice looking bank shots, but overall just awkward shots. Terrible jumpshots. More concerning to me is his rebounding. 2 rebounds...not sure what was going on there...yeah Orlando had a big man at C...but grab more than 2 rebounds jeez. Noel looks more ripped/muscular, but he is definitely going to struggle this year due to his strength. He wont be able to establish post position against real NBA centers, he has a non-existant jumpshot, and while his defense looked pretty good...you have to be doing something wrong to only snag 2 rebounds in a summer league game.

[dukelifer]

I watched the Magic-Sixers game yesterday. Seth looked pretty good. He didn't shoot a great precentage, but he played a nice overall game, good defense, nice passing (in fact, a better passing game than either Oladipo or Payton), solid ball handling. He was one of the smaller players on the court, only Casper Ware and Pierre Jackson were smaller...Elfrid Payton is a big guard, definitely has the size, but he looked very wooden/uncomfortable out there...I think he was crazy nervous. Also, lets talk about Noel...he had a nice game, I was really impressed with his free throw shooting -- nice stroke and 7/7. He had active hands with several deflections and steals. However, he is still a project offensively. He has a couple of nice looking bank shots, but overall just awkward shots. Terrible jumpshots. More concerning to me is his rebounding. 2 rebounds...not sure what was going on there...yeah Orlando had a big man at C...but grab more than 2 rebounds jeez. Noel looks more ripped/muscular, but he is definitely going to struggle this year due to his strength. He wont be able to establish post position against real NBA centers, he has a non-existant jumpshot, and while his defense looked pretty good...you have to be doing something wrong to only snag 2 rebounds in a summer league game.

Wonder if he is protecting the knee and is not yet confident to bang where there is a chance of uncertain landings. Mason needs to work on his jump shooting. If he develops that part of his game he will be solid NBA player for years.

[kAzE]

That is one of a number of good sites that keep up with the individual invitations and signings before the teams release their final rosters.

Here are a few more full ones:
Knicks:
http://www.nba.com/knicks/knicks-ann...-league-roster
Pistons:
http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/detr...ummer-league-0
Bucks (Jabari Parker):
http://www.nba.com/bucks/release/buc...-league-roster

I officially hate the Thunder for not announcing theirs at this point, which would have given us the full Orlando list.

What the hell?? Giannis Antetokounmpo was 6'9" last year, and now they're listing him at 6'11"! By this time next year, he'll be like 7'2" probably. All I know is, he better learn the play the 3, because he was way better as a 2 last year, and at 6'11", he ain't playing shooting guard anymore haha.

I love that Bucks summer league roster though, they have good, young players out there. People are sleeping on Nate Wolters big time. I watched him a little bit last year, and he can play. He's also got major size at the point guard position (6'4"). I loved Johnny O;Bryant as a 2nd round pick for this team as well, he'll bring some toughness and hustle. Jabari and Greek Freak might be the best 1/2 combo in terms of talent in the summer league.

[theAlaskanBear]

What the hell?? Giannis Antetokounmpo was 6'9" last year, and now they're listing him at 6'11"! By this time next year, he'll be like 7'2" probably. All I know is, he better learn the play the 3, because he was way better as a 2 last year, and at 6'11", he ain't playing shooting guard anymore haha.

I love that Bucks summer league roster though, they have good, young players out there. People are sleeping on Nate Wolters big time. I watched him a little bit last year, and he can play. He's also got major size at the point guard position (6'4"). I loved Johnny O;Bryant as a 2nd round pick for this team as well, he'll bring some toughness and hustle. Jabari and Greek Freak might be the best 1/2 combo in terms of talent in the summer league.

Why would Giannis' size prevent him from playing the two position? If he can use his combination of quickness and length to guard SGs, then it doesn't matter how tall he is. Many SFs will be switched onto SGs during pick and rolls and in transition anyway. The SG/SF label when it comes to guys like Durant, Ariza, Nick Young, etc etc is pretty flexible. Take Durant for example -- Giannis actually has a better 3-pt shot at the same age, and comparable FG% inside of 3-ft. What Giannis doesn't have is the mid-range 3-21 ft game, but he doesn't shoot from there so it doesn't matter so much. In fact, the age 19 TS% between the two players is only .001 off.

The key to determining Giannis' position going forward will be if they can find someone a more talented SG or SF to play alongside him. A lot depends on Jabari's development. Does Jabari wind up a Paul Pierce type SF, or an offensively flexible 4, like this years Paul Millsap? Personally, I think Knight is more a SG than a PG and will wind up playing SG if he stays with the Bucks. That would mean a lineup like Wolters-Knight-Giannis-Parker-Sanders. But the scuttlebutt is that the Bucks are looking to acquire a point guard, they have expressed interest in both signing RFA Bledsoe (would probably be matched by Suns) or trading for Jeremy Lin.

[kAzE]

Why would Giannis' size prevent him from playing the two position? If he can use his combination of quickness and length to guard SGs, then it doesn't matter how tall he is. Many SFs will be switched onto SGs during pick and rolls and in transition anyway. The SG/SF label when it comes to guys like Durant, Ariza, Nick Young, etc etc is pretty flexible. Take Durant for example -- Giannis actually has a better 3-pt shot at the same age, and comparable FG% inside of 3-ft. What Giannis doesn't have is the mid-range 3-21 ft game, but he doesn't shoot from there so it doesn't matter so much. In fact, the age 19 TS% between the two players is only .001 off.

The key to determining Giannis' position going forward will be if they can find someone a more talented SG or SF to play alongside him. A lot depends on Jabari's development. Does Jabari wind up a Paul Pierce type SF, or an offensively flexible 4, like this years Paul Millsap? Personally, I think Knight is more a SG than a PG and will wind up playing SG if he stays with the Bucks. That would mean a lineup like Wolters-Knight-Giannis-Parker-Sanders. But the scuttlebutt is that the Bucks are looking to acquire a point guard, they have expressed interest in both signing RFA Bledsoe (would probably be matched by Suns) or trading for Jeremy Lin.

I'd have concerns defensively if he continues to play the 2. He's a good athlete, but he's not on Kevin Durant's level of agility and quickness. Also, when has KD played as a 2? He's usually OKC's 3, and when he's not, he's the 4 in their small lineup with Ibaka moving over to the 5. And even then, KD's not the ideal fit at the 4 because of his lack of strength or a post-up game. guys with this type of frame are a bit pigeon holed into the 3. They aren't quick enough to defend smaller shooting guards, and not strong enough to bang with most guys at the 4. Giannis is certainly not even close to filling out his body yet, so it's hard to foresee what he will eventually develop into.

There aren't necessarily a ton of talented shooting guards in the league at the moment, but I just have a hard time imagining Giannis chasing around guys like Monta Ellis, Goran Dragic, etc. He already wasn't quick enough or coordinated enough to stop guys like that, and it'll be even tougher standing at 6'11". You don't just grow 2 inches and keep the same level of quickness. There's always a tradeoff between size and quickness.

[Des Esseintes]

I'd have concerns defensively if he continues to play the 2. He's a good athlete, but he's not on Kevin Durant's level of agility and quickness. Also, when has KD played as a 2? He's usually OKC's 3, and when he's not, he's the 4 in their small lineup with Ibaka moving over to the 5. And even then, KD's not the ideal fit at the 4 because of his lack of strength or a post-up game. guys with this type of frame are a bit pigeon holed into the 3. They aren't quick enough to defend smaller shooting guards, and not strong enough to bang with most guys at the 4. Giannis is certainly not even close to filling out his body yet, so it's hard to foresee what he will eventually develop into.

There aren't necessarily a ton of talented shooting guards in the league at the moment, but I just have a hard time imagining Giannis chasing around guys like Monta Ellis, Goran Dragic, etc. He already wasn't quick enough or coordinated enough to stop guys like that, and it'll be even tougher standing at 6'11". You don't just grow 2 inches and keep the same level of quickness. There's always a tradeoff between size and quickness.

Yeah, playing Durant at the 2 was part of what got PJ Carlesimo fired. Brooks immediately moved him to the 3 upon taking the reins, and Durant's performance on both sides of the ball improved markedly.

[awhom111]

Detroit beat Memphis 85-82 with no Duke players on either side:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140706/MEMDET/gameinfo.html

Philadelphia beat Oklahoma City 84-73 with Nolan scoring 2 points in 9 minutes:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140706/PHIOKC/gameinfo.html

No more pointing out other players' low rebounding numbers as Mason only grabbed 1, but had 18 points in 23 minutes. Andre had 9 points in 16 minutes in his debut as he and Miami beat Brooklyn 110-91:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140706/PHIOKC/gameinfo.html

Tomorrow's schedule (all live on NBATV, times EDT):
3:00pm Indiana vs Boston
5:00pm Houston vs Orlando (Seth)
7:00pm Oklahoma City (Nolan) vs Brooklyn (Mason)

[theAlaskanBear]

Detroit beat Memphis 85-82 with no Duke players on either side:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140706/MEMDET/gameinfo.html

Philadelphia beat Oklahoma City 84-73 with Nolan scoring 2 points in 9 minutes:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140706/PHIOKC/gameinfo.html

No more pointing out other players' low rebounding numbers as Mason only grabbed 1, but had 18 points in 23 minutes. Andre had 9 points in 16 minutes in his debut as he and Miami beat Brooklyn 110-91:
http://www.nba.com/games/20140706/PHIOKC/gameinfo.html

Tomorrow's schedule (all live on NBATV, times EDT):
3:00pm Indiana vs Boston
5:00pm Houston vs Orlando (Seth)
7:00pm Oklahoma City (Nolan) vs Brooklyn (Mason)

I watched the last two games, nothing really of note about the Philly game. Nolan was so/so...was picked by Aaron Craft a couple of times, 1/2 from the field. Didn't get a lot of burn due to Semaj Christon playing most of the PG minutes.

The game between the Heat and the Nets was fun to watch. Pretty thorough win by the Heat. Mason was clearly the most skilled big on the floor, but Heat 7-footer Josh Hamilton did a great job as well. He was good at boxing out Plumlee, and also because of his shooting, he pulled Mason away from the basket many times to let the smaller guards and forward pick up rebounds. I would have hoped Mason would do a better job leveraging his speed and strength against Hamilton on the defensive end, but offensively no one could stop him. Hamilton is an NBA big, he looks ready to get PT for the Heat.

Dawkins hit some threes, his shot was looking great as always. He would have scored 12 pts but he had a 3-pter waved off due to an offensive foul by a team mate. He had some nice cross-court and baseline runs to get free on the opposite line, but overall he was a touch passive on the offensive end. He would run to a corner, and wait for the ball to be delivered to him. There was one play in particular where Dawkins is on the left side, Shabazz is maybe four or 5 feet away further up the line, he gets trapped, and Dawkins doesn't run to him, try to help, he just stands there with his hands open like Bazz can pass it to him. He also had a great 3/4 court pass to Larry Drew for a bucket on the other end. He also had a three blocked...It would be nice if he would work a few pump fakes into his game and take some midrange/long twos or sidestep like we saw at Duke, because the defenders are pretty much just sitting in his shorts.

Shabazz Napier had a tremendous game...he is by far the best point guard I have seen to this point . Great passes, he controlled the game, had his team mates listening and following orders. Made shots, overall just looked ready, good. Made everyone else better. The two man game between Hamilton and Napier was pretty nice as well. Bazz also completed a between the legs pass against Plumlee for a bucket. Ennis was hot, he is proving to be a nice scorer. For the Nets, other than Plumlee, only Markel Brown stood out for me.

[CDu]

Shabazz Napier had a tremendous game...he is by far the best point guard I have seen to this point . Great passes, he controlled the game, had his team mates listening and following orders. Made shots, overall just looked ready, good. Made everyone else better. The two man game between Hamilton and Napier was pretty nice as well. Bazz also completed a between the legs pass against Plumlee for a bucket. Ennis was hot, he is proving to be a nice scorer. For the Nets, other than Plumlee, only Markel Brown stood out for me.

Napier had a much better second game (17 points on 6-12, 7 assists, 5 turnovers). That I guess makes up for his train wreck of a first game. Against Boston on Saturday he went 3-15 with 2 assists to 8 turnovers.

Though it is worth noting that on Sunday he was playing against noted NBA flameout Marquis Teague, who has made plenty of PG look good in his day.

[kAzE]

Best player so far is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Guy is making a name for himself right now. Is this just another case of Anthony Randolph (guy does really well in summer league, but never translates to real NBA games), or is he for real? Since he's a 2 guard, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. The league could use a big boost at that position.

Also, I think MP2 is proving he's a starting power forward in the NBA.