NBA Summer League Jul 12-22: Hawks Druisic Breaks Foot

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Jared McCain had a solid first game for PHI. 15pts/6rbd/3ast/2stls on 6/15 from the field. His play reminded me a lot of former 76ers player Andre Miller.

I still have a feeling Morey will be trading him for one of his pet players like PJ Tucker.

Sarcasm much...

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id...ve-reviews


NBA vets are impressed with Cooper Flagg.

[michaeltex]

block specialist and possible lob threat added to summer league team. . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZWeRsBlgY0

I'm really interested in seeing how Sharp fares in SL play. He seems to move well and certainly has the length to recover from drive-bys on defense. Seems like he has a good touch in he paint, finishing through contact and even off-balance. You can't teach height, but he seems to have some skills to build upon. Hope he at least gets a camp invite to see him compete against solid NBA players.

[speedkilz88]

AJINCA, MILLER, SHARP WERE IMPRESSIVE IN FIRST DAY OF SUMMER LEAGUE PRACTICE


As the Dallas Mavericks started preparing Monday for the NBA2k Summer League 2024 — which begins this weekend in Las Vegas — Jared Dudley explained theDudley goals that have been set up for him.

And that includes getting second-year forward Oliver-Maxence Prosper up to speed.

“The goal is always to win — I don’t care what the squad is,” said Dudley, who will serve as the Mavs’ summer league coach for the second straight year. “Obviously, last year we were more involved because we lost early, we had more time.

“We had vet camp. The G League did the vet camp, so we’re coming in a little bit later. The goal should be to develop O-Max as a rotational player, to find some hidden gems for the G League and win as many games as possible.”

The first day of summer league practice for the Mavs was Monday, and rookie Melvin Ajinca was one of the players who grabbed Dudley’s undivided attention. Selected No. 51 overall in the NBA Draft on June 27 after being acquired in a draft-day trade with the New York Knicks, Ajinca is a 6-8, 218-pound forward from France who quickly made a first impression with Dudley.

“He’s taller than me, he can handle and decision-make better, so I can see him doing a little bit of point forward,” Dudley said. “He’s a 6-8 lefty that can decision-make. I’m not going to say it’s unique, but it’s a high skill set to have in the NBA.

“The question is how fast do you learn, how tough you are, and then your work ethic. That’s something that we don’t know. That’s what we’ll find out.”

Ajinca turned 20 on June 26, and the Mavs believe he has a bright future as an NBA prospect.

“He’s smooth,” Dudley said. “We had a drill – guards vs. bigs – and he was finishing over everyone. For him to have that, we’ll see now if it translates down in the end.”

Emanuel Miller, a local product from TCU, also caught Dudley’s eye on the first day of practice. A 6-6, 215-pound rookie forward, Miller averaged 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three-point range this past season for the Horned Frogs.

“Miller has an NBA body already,” Dudley said. “He’s looks like a UFC fighter. His physicality is going to be crucial.”

Also crucial on Monday was center Jamarion Sharp, whose presence around the rim was akin to a very tall player on the front line of a volleyball game. A 7-5, 235-pounder, Sharp averaged 7.4 points. 7.7 rebounds and 4.1 blocks for Western Kentucky during the 2022-23 season.

“Sharp probably had 10 blocks today,” Dudley said. “He protects the paint.

“I expect him at that center position holding us down here as much as he can.”

Dudley had a simple message for the 15 players who are on the Mavs’ summer league roster.

“The big thing I tell them is there will be some 25-point scorers in the summer league that will not play in the NBA next year,” he said. “There will be some guys that average five or six (points) that will. Take the stats out.

“Every team has two stars. Can you defend multiple positions, can you stay in front (of the offensive player), can you drive and kick, can you decision-make at a high enough level, and what is your asset? Are you a shooter? Are you a grinder? Are you a scrap guy? The little things. And that’s what they have to find.”

And as those players are trying to find where they fit into the equation for the Mavs, Dudley and his staff will be chronicling it all and relaying it back to coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison.

“What I try to tell them overall, it’s hard listening to your social media and your friends,” Dudley said. “They want you to average 20 (points). But that’s not really it.

“We had two guys to do (NBA) deals last year in the summer league that came off the bench. Braxton Key played three games and had a game-winning dunk and went to Denver.”

Keys wound up playing 20 games for the Denver Nuggets this past season while elevating his resume during his summer league tenure with the Mavs last year.

“So, it’s not about playing time,” Dudley said. “It’s what you do with that playing time and having fun. The fun should be winning.

“Don’t go to Vegas and go out. You guys got to get jobs and businesses. You’ve got to support families and kids. So for them, you can go back to Vegas.”

Overall, Monday was more or less a getting to know the players and what they can do type of day for Dudley.

“In talking to J-Kidd, we always do about 80 percent of what we usually do (on the first day of summer league practice) – our breakdowns of our defense,” Dudley said. “We call it channel one.

“We keep it real basic for the first day, working on our shell principals of now trapping the box. Offensively, keeping space – what we call open low dribble handoff. But overall, it’s the details of how we run our defense, and offensively just spacing right now.”

Getting the players comfortable in their surroundings was also part of the plan for opening day.

“We worked for about two hours — a little scrimmaging at the end,” Dudley said. “But right now it’s teaching the next two days, and then when we get into Wednesday, Thursday we’ll be a little bit more up and down.”

The Mavs will play their first game in Las Vegas on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. CT against the Utah Jazz on the campus of Nevada-Las Vegas. All 30 NBA teams will be in Vegas and each one is assured of playing at least five games.

“I thought it was a good first day,” Dudley said. “Every coach says that no matter what. There were a lot of surprises that maybe last year we certainly didn’t have.”

The Mavs finished summer league play last year with an impressive 4-1 record.

[Chicagojk]

I know it is only summer league, but Cam Spencer can play. I know in a few years, I am going to turn on a playoff game and he is going to be on the floor in some important moments. There are physical limitations and he is old, but he gets basketball. Constant moving, smart, tough, and can knock down shots. Nice late second round pick by the Grizz

https://x.com/draftpoint2024/status/1810844033343967598

[dirkfansince1998]

Bronny bounced back. Second game looked way better. Cannot score at all but he is doing a lot of the glue guy stuff. Ball never sticks with him. He makes quicker reads than most players in summer league. And he is a legit plus defender and hustle guy.
Still far away from NBA rotation level and I don't think it is going to happen within the next two years but considering that he will get more opportunities than the average defense/hustle guy I wouldn't be suprised if he eventually develops a league average 3-ball and has a PatBev-like career in the NBA.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I know it is only summer league, but Cam Spencer can play.  I know in a few years, I am going to turn on a playoff game and he is going to be on the floor in some important moments.  There are physical limitations and he is old, but he gets basketball.  Constant moving, smart, tough, and can knock down shots.    Nice late second round pick by the Grizz

https://x.com/draftpoint2024/status/1810844033343967598

Nice pickup for the Grizz, but that's what they do. They always find players. I knew he was going to be a player when he was at UConn. I see him as potentially a Luke Kennard replacement.

[speedkilz88]

Mavs will stream the games if you don't have nbatv, espnu, espn2,

https://www.mavs.com/summerleague/

[Mavs2021]

Mavs will stream the games if you don't have nbatv, espnu, espn2,

https://www.mavs.com/summerleague/

..and now that internet broadcasting guru Mark Cuban has sold the game you might have a chance the stream will be high def.

[WildArkieBoy]

..and now that internet broadcasting guru Mark Cuban has sold the game you might have a chance the stream will be high def.

When internet savvy Cuban bought the team, I anticipated highend graphics, video and sound on the team's website, but it remained unspectacular.  

To this very day reporters are not even given a microphone, so that in the most recent press conference introducing three players new to the team, the internet audience STILL can't hear the questions. . . . . very amateurish!

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/mavsfilmroom/status/181144...28586?s=46

[Knutsen]

When internet savvy Cuban bought the team, I anticipated highend graphics, video and sound on the team's website, but it remained unspectacular.  

To this very day reporters are not even given a microphone, so that in the most recent press conference introducing three players new to the team, the internet audience STILL can't hear the questions. . . . . very amateurish!

I was wondering about that as well… It‘s not exactly rocket science passing around two microphones.

[Chicagojk]

So is this accurate for our two ways?

- We have one open slot now?
-Brandon Williams has been signed as a two way, so I am to assume he can be a two way for another year.
-Alex Fudge was a two way last year to end the year. I have not read that he has been signed again. This summer league will probably be huge from him. Great athlete but just hasn't been very productive on the court in his two seasons in college. Last year he was a Lakers two way for a bit and then picked up by Dallas later in the year.
-Greg Brown is gone
-AJ Lawson has a non guaranteed roster spot now. Is he eligible for a two way?

So we may have no openings for two way, or we could have two...or maybe one.


Brian Demaris on his latest podcast said he heard Dallas was aggressive for some of the undrafted guys. They lost out on them. He thought the deep roster could have played a role in this. Just guessing, but a guy like Jalen Bridges seem to fit what they are looking for.

[Chicagojk]

..and now that internet broadcasting guru Mark Cuban has sold the game you might have a chance the stream will be high def.

Just curious, has there been any comments from Cuban since the news that he is out of basketball decisions?  I haven't seen anything.   Is there any bitterness there?   Or was this always the plan?

[Halfnir]

To this very day reporters are not even given a microphone, so that in the most recent press conference introducing three players new to the team, the internet audience STILL can't hear the questions. . . . . very amateurish!

This drives me crazy in general. Many low budget teams and tons of influencers can produce high quality content very with limited effort. NBA teams have press conferences in a garage filled with people, a single mic in the room and a ghettoblaster next door ... ridicoulous.

[SleepingHero]

So is this accurate for our two ways?

- We have one open slot now?
-Brandon Williams has been signed as a two way, so I am to assume he can be a two way for another year.
-Alex Fudge was a two way last year to end the year.  I have not read that he has been signed again.  This summer league will probably be huge from him.  Great athlete but just hasn't been very productive on the court in his two seasons in college.  Last year he was a Lakers two way for a bit and then picked up by Dallas later in the year.
-Greg Brown is gone
-AJ Lawson has a non guaranteed roster spot now.  Is he eligible for a two way? 

So we may have no openings for two way, or we could have two...or maybe one.   


Brian Demaris on his latest podcast said he heard Dallas was aggressive for some of the undrafted guys.  They lost out on them.  He thought the deep roster could have played a role in this.  Just guessing, but a guy like Jalen Bridges seem to fit what they are looking for.

-pretty sure the mavs 2-ways are Fudge and Brandon Williams
-that can change fast. Mavs can swap out 2ways easily with no problem
-Lawson is no longer eligible as a 2 way. If you have more than 3 years of experience, you no longer qualify for a 2 way.

[Chicagojk]

-pretty sure the mavs 2-ways are Fudge and Brandon Williams
-that can change fast. Mavs can swap out 2ways easily with no problem
-Lawson is no longer eligible as a 2 way. If you have more than 3 years of experience, you no longer qualify for a 2 way.

Thanks.  This is a huge summer league and practice sessions for AJ Lawson.  He is fighting for an NBA salary.  

I saw an announcement that we signed Brandon Williams to a two way.  I haven't see that for Fudge.  I agree this can be easily changed, but I think Dallas is using this summer league to determine if he deserves a slot.   So, this is a huge summer league for him to.

I am not sure we have two more two ways guys on our roster.   Maybe Miller, but he seems like a guy who just makes the G-league team.   Mavs have not been very aggressive or creative on their Two way spots, but that is a small gripe.

edit- I should note that I have no idea with our second round pick and where he winds up. Maybe he is an option. I would guess he is stashed.

[Chicagojk]

Summer league games can be so messy. Sort of entertaining as guys are fighting for their careers and u see how good even fringe guys are.

I am watching Minnesota play. They have a lot of interesting young players. Dominican not a fan of but some look interesting. That gm has been good for Minny.

[Chicagojk]

First look at Sheppard and I like what I see. Very composed. Already knows how to get tight on the pick and rolls and has a nice pull up game already when he gets in the lane. It will be interesting to see how he does in the real games. His shooting will really help that Houston team.

No surprise, but Bronny needs a lot of work. I am just not sure G league is the place for him to develop where everyone scores. Really needed a few more years in college imo. He doesn’t have an ego though and plays hard

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Summer league games can be so messy.  Sort of entertaining as guys are fighting for their careers and u see how good even fringe guys are.

I am watching Minnesota play.  They have a lot of interesting young players.  Dominican not a fan of but some look interesting.  That gm has been good for Minny.

They had a good draft getting Dillingham and Shannon. They added guard depth.