2019 Las Vegas Summer League Thread

[Spud2nique]

14 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Look at the way he’s signing the $hit outta that contract @NBASupes!!!! And people still sayin he ain’t got no heart. F that, kid is ready!

YOU SHOW THAT PAPER WHOSE BOSS! 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Alex]

On 6/30/2019 at 12:24 PM, Spud2nique said:

Nick Ward is interesting. Prolly gonna go to Europe but he can do some thangs.

 

@Alex ur

thoughts on this Spartan?

I have written out two longish replies to this and they didn’t go through.  So cliff notes shortened version.

Ward is an excellent finisher at the basket. His left hand his very very good.  He could benefit with being able to finish with his right as well.  Defensively he isn’t great.  He isn’t agile enough and his foot speed is lacking.  Constantly put in a PnR situation and rarely was able to recover.  I don’t think his defense is bad, but when you need to be able guard multiple spots on the floor a guy like that hinders you.  Decent shot blocker.  You can find a worse rim protector and you can find a better one.  He did begin to develop a little bit of a jumper this past year.  12-15 feet is the cap.  He broke his wrist later in the season and never fully recovered.  It’s a shame for him because he was having a very good season.  He trimmed down a lot and turned fat into muscle.  He’s imposing and isn’t afraid to play physical.  He’s very adept at simply beating his opponent down the floor.  He isn’t fast, but so many times he would sprint down the floor after a made basket or rebound and basically become a fast break option.  Teams knew this and he still was able to get down before everyone else and get an easy bucket.  He isn’t a very good rebounder.  He had some good games on the glass, but a lot of that was simply being bigger and stronger than other people.  You don’t have that luxury often enough in the NBA.  He isn’t a great jumper either so he really relied on being in position and out muscling his opponent.  He was horrendous when he saw a double team early in his career.  Like he was not ever passing it back.  He would either force a stupid shot or end to creating an ill advised turnover.  That went out on for more than two seasons.  He finally began to understand he couldn’t always score, but his decision making needs refining.  He had moments where he would make the right and quick decisions, but they didn’t happen enough.  The kid is coachable and contrary to what some have said he’s a hard worker.  

I think he’s nothing more than a Euro player or a perennial developmental player.  He simply doesn’t have enough versatility right now.  He’s under sized, not quick enough, and doesn’t have the ability to score outside the paint consistently enough.  I mean surround him with shooters who defenses can’t leave open and he can feast.  I really like him in a lot of one on one match ups.  He’s a load in the paint and could do damage when given the chance.  I just can’t see him adding a skill set he simply doesn’t have.  

My expectations of Nick Ward are some moments in summer ball and a camp invite, but it won’t materialize.

[Spud2nique]

Dang @Alex good deep analysis. Thanks  

[REHawksFan]

Anyone know if Hunter and Bruno can work out with the Hawks in Vegas prior to the trade finalizing or do they have to wait? How long do they have to wait before they can get into a game?  

[bleachkit]

3 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

Anyone know if Hunter and Bruno can work out with the Hawks in Vegas prior to the trade finalizing or do they have to wait? How long do they have to wait before they can get into a game?  

Why wont the league please fix this? It's so stupid. Players wearing wrong hats on draft night, teams cant even acknowledge a trade has occurred, new players cant even practice or work with team. How pedantic and obtuse is the NBA to not fix this absurd technicality.

[High5]

58 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

Anyone know if Hunter and Bruno can work out with the Hawks in Vegas prior to the trade finalizing or do they have to wait? How long do they have to wait before they can get into a game?  

Someone on reddit posted a screenshot supposedly from Bembry's instagram that shows Hunter working out with the team. Or at least a team. Hard to tell. But Charlie Brown Jr. is apparently there. 

Spoiler

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by High5

[kg01]

1 hour ago, bleachkit said:

Why wont the league please fix this? It's so stupid. Players wearing wrong hats on draft night, teams cant even acknowledge a trade has occurred, new players cant even practice or work with team. How pedantic and obtuse is the NBA to not fix this absurd technicality.

This year was more of an anomaly than anything.  Brought about by the Davis trade request.

Any other year, most of the deals can be finalized and announced on draft night.  So there'll be the initial wrong-hat thing but by the next day it's all clear.

This year was different because, to facilitate the Davis trade, multiple assets were exchanged which were contingent on conditions which remained unsettled until the current league year ended.  On top of that, subsequent trades were made contingent to the original trade going through so multiple teams got caught up in the wave.  This was not a normal occurrence.

In reality, there's not much the league actually needs to "fix" other than not having some petulant player force/demand a trade, mid-contract, mid-year, to one specific team.

[REHawksFan]

12 minutes ago, kg01 said:

This year was more of an anomaly than anything.  Brought about by the Davis trade request.

Any other year, most of the deals can be finalized and announced on draft night.  So there'll be the initial wrong-hat thing but by the next day it's all clear.

This year was different because, to facilitate the Davis trade, multiple assets were exchanged which were contingent on conditions which remained unsettled until the current league year ended.  On top of that, subsequent trades were made contingent to the original trade going through so multiple teams got caught up in the wave.  This was not a normal occurrence.

In reality, there's not much the league actually needs to "fix" other than not having some petulant player force/demand a trade, mid-contract, mid-year, to one specific team.

So if all these other deals are contingent on the AD trade going through, what the heck happens if something goes wrong with that initial deal? Hypothetically speaking, of course.  Would that nullify the majority of the draft?  Then the Lakers would get Hunter, the Hawks would get Hayes, Reddish, and NAW at 18?   

[kg01]

2 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

So if all these other deals are contingent on the AD trade going through, what the heck happens if something goes wrong with that initial deal? Hypothetically speaking, of course.  Would that nullify the majority of the draft?  Then the Lakers would get Hunter, the Hawks would get Hayes, Reddish, and NAW at 18?   

That's the piece no one is talking about.  I think there is a very real possibility that this house of cards can come tumbling down.

Fortunately, if a snag happens, all parties are motivated to make the trade(s) happen so it's probably not something we need to worry about.  But these deals are certainly not final at this point.

[REHawksFan]

1 minute ago, kg01 said:

That's the piece no one is talking about.  I think there is a very real possibility that this house of cards can come tumbling down.

Fortunately, if a snag happens, all parties are motivated to make the trade(s) happen so it's probably not something we need to worry about.  But these deals are certainly not final at this point.

Well you would THINK someone in the league office would be able to tentatively approve each deal in real time to avoid any disastrous situations.  Either that or move the dates around so that the league year doesn't start AFTER the draft.  OR.....they could not allow trades on top of unfinalized trades.  But where's the fun in that?  Seems like an easy fix to just move the New Year date up to before the draft.  

[capstone21]

Well summer league got even less interesting... basically see if Omari is healed but otherwise nothing to gain by watching 

[REHawksFan]

9 minutes ago, capstone21 said:

Well summer league got even less interesting... basically see if Omari is healed but otherwise nothing to gain by watching 

I'm more interested to see Bruno and Hunter....whenever they get there.  

[kg01]

4 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

Well you would THINK someone in the league office would be able to tentatively approve each deal in real time to avoid any disastrous situations.  Either that or move the dates around so that the league year doesn't start AFTER the draft.  OR.....they could not allow trades on top of unfinalized trades.  But where's the fun in that?  Seems like an easy fix to just move the New Year date up to before the draft.  

No, not it's not.  League year ends 6/30 (which can't change for tax/legal reasons out of the league's control IIUC).  They need time after that point to "close" just like any normal business does.  This can take several weeks even for small businesses so the NBA being able to "close" by 7/6 is actually pretty remarkable.

IIRC, they actually did move their moratorium date up recently (to 7/6) to accommodate free agency.  To make the change(s) you suggest, they'd need to move up the playoffs and the draft.  Considering the league has bent over to extend the reg. season calendar (to minimize b2b), there's no room to do that unless they move up the start of the season.

You can see how complicated this becomes.

[REHawksFan]

2 minutes ago, kg01 said:

No, not it's not.  League year ends 6/30 (which can't change for tax/legal reasons out of the league's control IIUC).  They need time after that point to "close" just like any normal business does.  This can take several weeks even for small businesses so the NBA being able to "close" by 7/6 is actually pretty remarkable.

IIRC, they actually did move their moratorium date up recently (to 7/6) to accommodate free agency.  To make the change(s) you suggest, they'd need to move up the playoffs and the draft.  Considering the league has bent over to extend the reg. season calendar (to minimize b2b), there's no room to do that unless they move up the start of the season.

You can see how complicated this becomes.

No accountant so I have no idea if the league HAS to end on 6/30 but if that's the case, then sure, it gets more complicated.  But I'm advocating that the draft and FA starting happens AFTER the new year so that would push the draft back, not up.  And it wouldn't mess with the playoffs at all.  What it would do, apparently, is mess with Summer League, but I'm not sure if that has to be set in stone for the first of July.  

For simplicity sake, it could look something like this:

League year ends 6/30

Draft 7/7

Free Agency 7/9

Summer league 7/14-7/28

 

The NBA would own July. 

 

[kg01]

3 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

No accountant so I have no idea if the league HAS to end on 6/30 but if that's the case, then sure, it gets more complicated.  But I'm advocating that the draft and FA starting happens AFTER the new year so that would push the draft back, not up.  And it wouldn't mess with the playoffs at all.  What it would do, apparently, is mess with Summer League, but I'm not sure if that has to be set in stone for the first of July.  

For simplicity sake, it could look something like this:

League year ends 6/30

Draft 7/7

Free Agency 7/9

Summer league 7/14-7/28

 

The NBA would own July. 

 

Ok, I get you.

I'd have to do some thinking on that.  Hopefully the cap-nerds can chime in on what impact that has from a CBA standpoint.  Paging @JayBirdHawk and @thecampster, bring your protractors.

I think (emphasis on 'think') assets like draft picks only exist in the current year.  So, if the draft happened after 6/30, what does that actually mean? (asking myself)

[NBASupes]

Players Supes is interested in other than our guys under contract. 

Tahjere McCall — G, Tennessee State (Played for G League’s Long Island Nets in 2018-19) - 

Why? 

11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals on 50% from the field in 26 minutes per game with Long Island Nets

In the first part of this series, we looked at Long Island Nets guard Jordan McLaughlin. A lot of the positive analysis of the rookie dealt with his tremendous work as a ball hawk, which ultimately played a big role behind Long Island having one of the best defenses in the G League Of course, an elite defense comes from a combined group effort from players throughout the team’s roster. One of those players was Louisiana Tech alum Tahjere McCall, who worked alongside McLaughlin to build a fantastic defensive backcourt.

While McLaughlin is more of a ball hawk, McCall is just an all-around dynamo on that end of the field as he’s spectacular when it comes to sticking to opposing guards like velcro. He’s able to do that through quickly recognizing whether to go over or under on-ball screens, remaining on their hip when the offensive player is trying to drive to the rim and getting a hand to deflect a pass that they’d throw.

So although he only averaged 1.3 steals per game, his overall impact was a key behind opponents averaging just 104.2 points per 100 possessions against the Nets, the third lowest average in the G League. His tremendous work on this end of the floor was noticed by teams throughout the league as he was named runner up for 2018-19 G League Defensive Player of the Year.

In addition to excelling as one of the best defenders in the G League, McCall did a great job in his role within Long Island’s offense. Those job duties came with him working as an off-ball cutter, crashing the offensive boards, being an unselfish distributor and being able to use his quick first step to probe to the paint. That last trait is definitely his best as he does an amazing job of being able to finish at the rim in traffic despite having a smaller 190 pound frame. His ability to do that on a consistent basis is seen from McCall hitting 63% on his shots from within the restricted area.

Although the 6’5 guard will probably never be much of an outside threat, as he shot 29% from beyond the arc during his first two years with Long Island, he’s been able to make up for it by being a fantastic defender that can fit his role as a hustle player on offense. Those factors should allow Tahjere McCall to receive attention from NBA teams that are looking for that strong defensive stopper.

Matt Mooney — G, Texas Tech - Mooney showed a lot of positive role playing traits at Texas Tech that makes him an interesting player for College Park. I want to see more but he is ideal for what I want from a G-Leaguer. 

Amine Noua — F, ASVEL/France - I was high on him as a prospect in 2018. I personally feel he is an NBA player. He is in the mold of a young Jared Dudley to me. When watching Alpha Kaba, he constantly stood out as the best player. I still love Kaba and I believe he is a NBA player potentially but Noua is just damn good. He gets underrated, I feel if he was playing in the NCAAs, he would have gotten drafted. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

4 hours ago, REHawksFan said:

No accountant so I have no idea if the league HAS to end on 6/30 but if that's the case, then sure, it gets more complicated.  But I'm advocating that the draft and FA starting happens AFTER the new year so that would push the draft back, not up.  And it wouldn't mess with the playoffs at all.  What it would do, apparently, is mess with Summer League, but I'm not sure if that has to be set in stone for the first of July.  

For simplicity sake, it could look something like this:

League year ends 6/30

Draft 7/7

Free Agency 7/9

Summer league 7/14-7/28

 

The NBA would own July. 

 

 

4 hours ago, kg01 said:

Ok, I get you.

I'd have to do some thinking on that.  Hopefully the cap-nerds can chime in on what impact that has from a CBA standpoint.  Paging @JayBirdHawk and @thecampster, bring your protractors.

I think (emphasis on 'think') assets like draft picks only exist in the current year.  So, if the draft happened after 6/30, what does that actually mean? (asking myself)

The league has to do the books after the playoffs to set the salary cap number for the new league year.  

I don't see the issue moving the draft after the new league year begins since their contracts are determined from the new salary cap limits.

Have FAcy, then the draft.

[JayBirdHawk]

5 hours ago, kg01 said:

This year was more of an anomaly than anything.  Brought about by the Davis trade request.

Any other year, most of the deals can be finalized and announced on draft night.  So there'll be the initial wrong-hat thing but by the next day it's all clear.

This year was different because, to facilitate the Davis trade, multiple assets were exchanged which were contingent on conditions which remained unsettled until the current league year ended.  On top of that, subsequent trades were made contingent to the original trade going through so multiple teams got caught up in the wave.  This was not a normal occurrence.

In reality, there's not much the league actually needs to "fix" other than not having some petulant player force/demand a trade, mid-contract, mid-year, to one specific team.

 

4 hours ago, REHawksFan said:

So if all these other deals are contingent on the AD trade going through, what the heck happens if something goes wrong with that initial deal? Hypothetically speaking, of course.  Would that nullify the majority of the draft?  Then the Lakers would get Hunter, the Hawks would get Hayes, Reddish, and NAW at 18?   

This happens all the time. This year because of so many trades it was more noticeable.

We had the same issue when we traded Teague for Prince. He missed the 1st part of SL then too.

 

It would behoove all parties to complete the trade. 

[JayBirdHawk]