NSL Insider - HYPE! Let's get ridiculous

Summer League 2019!

 

So summer league has been run for another year and we’ve got our first taste of the new draft picks playing against the next level of competition. We’re full of hope, excitement and above all, HYPE! So what better time to take a look at the latest crop, how they fared at Summer League and make some ridiculously overhyped calls!

*These are designed to be crazy and funny, or a combination of both, or might fail at both…don’t take it too seriously.*

 

1.      1. Zion Williamson - BUST

9 minutes? Just 9 minutes? That’s it, he’s going to be injured his entire career. And to make matters worse, in those 9 minutes he made Kevin Knox look like an efficient offensive option! There’s since been suggestions that he shouldn’t have been playing Summer League since he’d been in the “awards circuit” and wasn’t in basketball shape. But it was clear he was in basketball shape…the shape of a basketball. The Oompa Loompas will take him to the juicing room and he’ll be fine for the start of the season, in 2022, because he’s injury prone.

 

2.      2. Ja Morant – Retiring!

Ja doesn’t need basketball anymore. He used his time in the summer league stands to promote Cheese Fries and in an unheralded and unprecedented move, he’s landed a $1 Billion lifetime deal to promote Cheese Fries and has informed the Pelicans he’s done. Maybe there could have been better targets for this endorsement deal, like someone who’s face is recognisable to more than a few NBA tragics, but hey, I’m not the one throwing the money around. This is why he didn’t suit up for summer league, he’s out. What? Knee surgery? Pffft, that can’t be accurate.

 

3.      3. RJ Barrett – Knickerbockered

It’s getting to him already. The weight of the New York City expectation is weighing down his soul, and he hasn’t even slipped on the uniform. He’s their lone hope now that the top free agent they signed was Julius Randle and…Wayne Ellington? And Kevin Knox is last years news so is as good as gone. He started sluggishly at summer league and looked perhaps a little slowed by carrying Spike Lee around, but he eventually adjusted enough. He’s the 1^st player to average 15/8/4 at summer league, so the talent is there. Will he get the chance to develop like a normal kid though? Or will he just be swamped by the fans sadness that Porzingis is now playing elsewhere and Wayne Ellington is on the court instead of him at times? Let him play!

 

4.      4. Darius Garland – Biding his time

Darius has been dealing with a residual injury to his meniscus so we’ll give him a pass. He’s only got Collin Sexton ahead of him, who doesn’t know how to play basketball according to his teammates, so he should be a shoe in for ROY, if not decade.

 

5.      5. Jarrett Culver – Chillin’

He’s in Minnesota now, he doesn’t have to work and he’ll be paid handsomely regardless based on the promise. Just ask Andrew Wiggins and to a lesser extent KAT. So he promptly didn’t show to summer league so he could “integrate with the system” – ie: get crunk with the boys. Maybe he’ll show up, maybe he won’t?

 

6.      6. Coby White – 1^st Year Allstar

Kris Dunn doesn’t even like Kris Dunn, and Tomas Satoransky is great in small doses, so Coby is going all the way to the big time. He dropped 17-4-5 in summer league and he did that with ridiculous hair. Imagine what he could do without it? Just don’t hold it too long like Elfrid Payton… Scouts are suggesting he has a lot of development required before getting a regular gig in the rotation due to his lack of playmaking, inefficiency and clearly playing out of control far too often…but what the hell do they know? White for Allstar 2020!

 

7.      7. DeAndre Hunter – Slept in

Hunter’s alarm didn’t go off...at the start of July, his phone was on silent and nobody came round to wake him up. Kids these days. He subsequently missed Summer League, but his team says he’ll feature heavily in the rotation this year. Shock horror, a rebuilding team plays their top pick a lot!

 

8.      8. Cam Reddish – Tortoise

Slow and steady wins the race. He will get time this year, but missing summer league due to to a core muscle surgery will mean he gets off to a slow start, and his raw game will mean I’ll be a slow year. But, Wizkid can easily cover that along the way and Cam will flourish in his 2^nd year with a year of coaching and growth. The tortoise takes his time but gets results.

 

9.    9. Sekou Doumbouya – Exams

He’s only turning 19 in December and couldn’t make Summer League cause he had to take his exams to finish school. He reminds me Al-farouq Aminu, is that a good thing? I guess he’s going to make a lot of money being a middle of the road player if he follows that trend! But the world is his Pelican…I mean oyster.

 

10  10.  Jaxson Hayes – 2020 Slam Dunk Champ

Hayes showed he’s ready to jump out of the gym at the very least during summer league, and has to be an early fan favourite to hit the Dunk Comp full on this coming season because of it. He showed a whole lot more though than just his athleticism, with an intimidating shot blocking ability and a good feel giving him some great passing work that didn’t show in the assist column. His body is a work in progress, he’d probably get pushed around by Zhou Qi, and his shooting mechanics aren’t really mechanics yet, but he’s looking good.

 

11  11.  Cameron Johnson – Great Unknown

Ask most and they’ll tell you Johnson got taken way too high in the NBA, but not according to LJ who mimicked and took him in the same spot here. We then got to see him not suit up for Summer League and so he remains the unknown, awaiting that first time he hits a court so everyone can go HA! I told you it was a bad pick! While we all just silently sift the dirt with our toes if he does the opposite. For now, it looks like Davis Bertans was drafted at pick 11.

 

12  12.  Rui Hachimura – Future Star

No one was snoozing on Rui who brings an imposing frame and game to the table, and his summer league play didn’t disappoint all that much. He averaged 19/7 and 2 blocks, on 50% shooting. My personal rule of thumb is that if you’re big and can’t rebound in summer league, then you’re going to struggle against men, so 7 a game isn’t the best showing in that department, but it’s not bad either. He showed inside and outside, solid boards, good defence, and he’s got the whole of Japan watching which is a marketing dream. He doesn’t need time out the gate in Utah, but his summer league stats say LMA to me.

 

13  13.  Brandon Clarke – Hall of Famer

He played only 21mins a game, but averaged 15 points on 57% shooting, pulled in 9 rebounds and also handed out 2 assists with 2 blocks a game, earning the Summer League MVP award. He’s a lock for the Hall of Fame based on this, book it now. Critics say he can’t shoot? Who needs shooting! And that his profile with a game only suited to playing C will cause issues, but critics be damned, he’s ther MVP! They even say his IQ is limiting, but hell, JaVale McGee is going to the Hall too isn’t he?

 

14  14.  Luka Samanic – Versatile bench dude

Maybe taking a guy at 14 who projects as a versatile role player, when you traded into that spot from an asset that’s considered higher value, isn’t the smartest choice? Samanic showed he’s not ready at summer league, but he’s 19. 10/6/3/1 isn’t bad, but he struggled from the field with 35% shooting and his handoffs weren’t up to par yet. He’ll probably cover 3-5 when he’s gained a bit of experience and has a game that resembles Toni Kukoc from watching Euro highlights, which will be enough to land a long term career.

 

15  15.  Bol Bol – Trouser Model

Bol was selected at 15 here…when he fell to 44 in the NBA. He didn’t suit up at Summer League for the same reason as he fell to 44 in the NBA, he’s red flag central and currently injured. But man, those legs! It may be a horrible stature to play basketball with, but he’s bound to get some kind of work in modelling those pins. His upside prior to the draft would seem to be that of…his Dad? He has all the skills, but if you can’t effectively be on the court, let alone without being a liability, how do you use those skills?

 

16  16.  Grant Williams – Jared Sullinger

Remember when Sullinger slid all the way down cause of his injury issues, but had all the know how and skill to make noise right out the gate, without the physical profile to maintain it? I get a bit of a feeling about Williams without the injury concerns. He showed off his high IQ and inside/outside versatility, performing on both ends of the court too, but his profile looks like Sullinger to me and where is he now?

 

17  17.  Goga Bitadze – International Fugitive

Visa issues prevented Goga from suiting up in Summer League, and he’s on the run somewhere trying to jump Trump’s wall. He was last seen waving a signed contract around his head, riding a horse yelling Yippee-ki-yay mother…

 

18  18.  PJ Washington – Safety First

He was selected as a safe pick in the NBA with a high floor and low ceiling. He was taken as a BPA in the NSL with Miami not being able to make it on the day. And then he was held out of Summer League with a sore foot after playing through the injury at college, safety first. He’s long and built so can cover both big spots, so his new manager will like him.

 

19  19.  Nicolas Claxton – Boom or Bust

He was drafted as a raw prospect needing seasoning and he showed it at summer league. At least he fulfilled the brief of the summer league big man, go get rebound, pulling in 5 a game in only 15mins a game. At 19^th, maybe it’s not so bust appropriate as the draft tends to take a turn here anyway, but the size and versatility definitely give him the boom swing if it goes that way. He’s signed a deal already, so the ride continues.

 

20  20.  Romeo Langford – TBD

What do you give the team with the highest payroll in the league? A 19 year old with upside on a rookie scale deal for 4 years, that’s what. We haven’t yet seen what the 19 year old kid can do, but he’s got a good landing spot and a good head on his shoulders. At 20, he’s all upside given his frame and developing game.

 

21  21.  Nassir Little – Little Hope

In Summer league, Nassir showed us a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but what little he showed left a little to be desired. His scoring output was little at 3.3 points, though he did sustain a little shoulder injury which ended his Summer League play a little early. His little effort shown on the defensive end probably means he can only expect a role befitting of a rookie in year 1, a small one.

 

22  22.  Tyler Herro – Starter, Allstar, Legend (All as a rookie)

This selection at 22 is making new GM Nels look like a hero. He projected to look a bit like Tyler Johnson, which didn’t fill anyone with confidence, but he came out and splashed 20/5/5 and 1.5 steals showing what appears to be an NBA game already, based around his easily translatable elite shooting. Nothing short of the new DWade is expected now in a white mans body with TRex arms.

 

23  23.  Nickeil Alexander-Walker – Starter out the gate

He didn’t catch anywhere near as much hype as Herro did along the way, but NAW looked poised and polished already, and looks like he’s going to be the steal of the draft if Summer League is any gauge, and it definitely is. 24 points, 5 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals a game, thems Kawhi numbers, which probably means he’d be Finals MVP next year if he wasn’t playing for the Lakers.

 

24  24.  Matisse Thybulle – DPOY

He’s not going to get you 20 a night, but his defence was every bit as advertised locking down guys and averaging 2 steals and 1.5 blocks in summer league. He’s your glue in the line up and his developing jumpshot will be the determiner between him being Robert Covington or Andre Roberson. He’s more Andre now, but he’ll have a place on the floor. These guys always do.

 

25  25.  Kevin Porter Jnr. – First guy in this draft to get his option declined

Ok so he didn’t suit up in Summer league, but he fell all this way on draft boards because he isn’t there mentally. His game is unquestioned when he’s switched on, but he’s wildly inconsistent on the court when he decides to work or not, and he’s as undisciplined as they come. These guys tend to fade out. Especially when they don’t get the lime-light they think they should and do as little off the ball as Kevin does. His landing spot wasn’t good for development either.

 

26  26.  Chuma Okeke – Draft Day Steal

Well we won’t know this one for a while, but he fell 10? spots compared to his NBA spot and despite having a serious knee injury, he was still taken high in the NBA. His work ethic and mindset are unquestioned which figures to bode well for growth and returning from his serious injury. He may not be a star, but at 26, there’s upside to be had.

 

27  27.  Ty Jerome – Brogdon Hopeful?

Ty didn’t suit up for summer league but this was less about him and more about his drafting situation. He was taken for Phoenix by Boston and the trade couldn’t be completed until July 6^th, leaving minimal time to get in the game so they held him out. With a high IQ, good size and a competitive streak, he’ll try and carve out a role despite his lacklustre measurements.

 

28  28.  Keldon Johnson – Normal Team, Role Player. Spurs, Star.

Keldon showed he was 19 at Summer league pouring in a great game near the start, but averaging 9 points on 37% shooting in 25mins a game overall. He also did little else on the stat sheet save for 4 boards a game. But, the kid showed he has the foundation to build on and sinc ehe’s at the Spurs he’ll probably have that Popovich style tap into his soul and pull out a star.

 

29  29.  Eric Paschall – Draymond Hopeful

The comparisons are there, and the man himself is going to be mentoring Eric, which surely bodes well. His upside is pretty much that of Green who while being one of the more noteable players going round, is still a guy averaging only 7-7-7, but impacting the game in ways that every team covets. Eric hopes to do the same and in summer league averaging 12-5-4, showing some pop, some feel and some outside touch, that’s all you can really hope for as a starting point on the road to a potential long role playing career. He’s signed 3 years guaranteed, too.

 

30  30.  Mfiondu Kabengele – STEAL

Dude averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in Summer League, and was the very last pick of the 1^st round. That carries over, and you have the makings of a real steal. No one can pronounce his name, so we’ll just call him Dude, or that guy. Maybe we can Pele him…Gele. Fondue? Everyone likes fondue. Point is, he’s ready now and with a possibly capped upside, but high floor, he looks like he’ll come out the gate now and warrant that steal label with his smooth creamy game.