NBA Summer League | July 9th-16th

[windjc]

You are doing the same saying OKC wanting Morez. That´s also just pure speculation. Maybe they wanted Mara and calculated correctly that he would be there at #12.

I haven’t a clue who they wanted and never said I did. I’m just happy they are making poor decisions and look forward to more of that to come.

[mvossman]

You are doing the same saying OKC wanting Morez. That´s also just pure speculation. Maybe they wanted Mara and calculated correctly that he would be there at #12.

It’s possible. I just think Presti is smarter than that.

[Mavs2021]

It’s possible. I just think Presti is smarter than that.

Well he wanted Poku, too. Even geniuses like him and me have occasional lapses in judgment. Not sure it was all basketball. He went home to Belgrade and been there ever since.

[KillerLeft]

Wagler???

Yeah, I forgot about him struggling. Good call. I still think this week has scared me off of Acuff more than any of the rest.

[hakeemfaan]

They could have taken Steinbach. Looked the better player in college. 15/11/2/2/1, team-high +13 in 21 minutes in his debut.

Steinbach is a low post guy. strong rebounder. Not a shot blocker and no outside game  I don’t see him fitting around Shai with his mid range and drives. 

Mara has excellent passing ability from the top of the arc and doesn’t interfere with Shai’ game. He also can block shots. 

The questions with Mara was always if he could switch on the perimeter and how  his overall stamina would be. 

He might be end up as a bust but you can see the rationale and one can’t just point to another center with a different game and say Presti should have drafted the other guy instead

[hakeemfaan]

I still feel for the Thunder, Mara will be a very good choice though like Gafford he is limited if he is on a worse team with weaker guards .

In yesterday’s game the guards didn’t even throw him one lob pass as far as I can remember.

[KillerLeft]

It's going to be a while before I get over missing out on Mikel Brown Jr. I was hoping he'd look terrible, but he has been amazing. Outside of the obvious top 4 (Wilson seems to be much more NBA ready and offensively capable than I thought), he's the one guy I'd have (confidently) wanted over Johnson. In Dallas, at least. I think Johnson has as good of a chance to be a difference maker as any of them in a vacuum.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I haven’t a clue who they wanted and never said I did. I’m just happy they are making poor decisions and look forward to more of that to come.

What makes you think it was a poor decision to draft Mara? I think it was the right one. Now they have depth at center to throw at Wemby.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Yeah, I forgot about him struggling. Good call. I still think this week has scared me off of Acuff more than any of the rest.

Until he puts up a 40 pt game,    They all are going to struggle at some point.

[windjc]

What makes you think it was a poor decision to draft Mara? I think it was the right one. Now they have depth at center to throw at Wemby.

I think drafting to defeat a single player is a terrible strategy.

[SkenfromLMF]

I think drafting to defeat a single player is a terrible strategy.

Therefore by that logic wouldn’t drafting for positional need also fall in the same category???

[windjc]

Therefore by that logic wouldn’t drafting for positional need also fall in the same category???

No. If it's basically a toss up for BPA. 

I don't think Mara is going to be as good as the players drafted before him. He is tall but not very mobile and doesn't offer much outside. If they drafted him to defend Wemby then that's just poor. They guarded Wemby better with a guard than with Chet, who is waaaay more mobile than Mara. Wemby is allergic to the paint anyway. They also just paid almost $30M on their back-up center. 

Maybe they won't resign Chet, but they still don't have anyone to defend Wemby. No one does. Well maybe the Mavs do, if he ever walks again

[Chicagojk]

It is going to take him time and it is just one summer league game, but I wish we could have held on to 30 in that trade up and kept Peat as well

https://youtu.be/6gwXhB6ZI4s?is=gagCkdpz52GLfmiw

[Winter]

The NoCeilings guys react.

Our No Ceilings crew has been soaking up the basketball over the past two days, and as always, we have thoughts. Here are our biggest takeaways from the action after two jam-packed days of hoops.

1. Who had the best performance on Day One? Who had the best performance on Day Two?

Metcalf: I thought Morez Johnson Jr. was tremendous. He showed everything he did at Michigan and then some. He was great on the boards and showed his defensive versatility by sliding his feet in space, being active away from the ball, and playing drop. His communication was outstanding; you could clearly hear him calling out rotations and directing things from the opposite end of the arena. What likely stood out to most fans who were unaware of his game, though, was his offensive impact. Johnson didn’t shoot it at an outrageous rate, but he was more than willing to let it fly. He also made quick decisions with the ball, showed a ton of versatility out of the roll, and displayed great scoring touch around the rim. There isn’t much more Johnson could’ve done.

Nick: Morez Johnson Jr. was the clear winner in the clubhouse for Day One, so I’ll go with AJ Dybantsa here instead. He was relentlessly attacking the basket from the opening tip in the marquee matchup, and he finished with 27/7/3 on a night when all eyes were on him. He looked the part of the #1 overall pick, tying Blake Griffin’s record for points in a Summer League debut for the top pick, and showcased the kind of inevitability that any fan would have hoped to see from him...

[dirkfansince1998]

Dybantsa has already mastered the art of foul baiting. Incredible talent but I can already tell that he is going to end up on my least favorite players list.

[JamesConway816]

To be precise both points came from one free throw - he made one of three from the line in total.

BTW I LOVE this new FT rule. SL is usually a foul festival, that change really helps keeping up the flow of the game.

I remember some unbelievably hard to watch games in the years of AJ Hammons, Simba or Ledo.

Re Morez:

By FAR the most impressive SL performance from a Mavs player since DSJ (who also looked like a worldbeater). He showed some things on offense that really give hope for the future. Defensively also very impressive. But the lack of defensive rebounding / boxing out was a thing in college and it showed a couple of times when multiple offensive boards ended in FGs for GS early in the game. 

But from watching this game I have some hope that he can actually develop the skill level to be more than just a rim runner on offense. IF he can play the four at the NBA level offensively then he is a gigantic matchup nightmare physically and athletically. If he is „just“ a C then he is very quick but will be undersized a bit going up against guys lile Joker, Embiid, Wemby, Rudy, KAT, etc.

[dirkfansince1998]

Carter Bryant playing in summer league feels weird. Defended Brunson, SGA and Edwards just a few weeks ago and now his matchup is Tyler Nickel.

[Moviemavguy]

Philon jr...sigh.

[Winter]

Philon jr...sigh.

I'm happy for Philon. Analysts and Front Offices dissed him in that first round of the draft, and he looks just as good as the other PGs that went way before him. He made an effort to go back to school and work on his game, and it looks like it paid off.

[Moviemavguy]

I'm happy for Philon. Analysts and Front Offices dissed him in that first round of the draft, and he looks just as good as the other PGs that went way before him. He made an effort to go back to school and work on his game, and it looks like it paid off.

His only real knock was he was 10 pounds underweight.  Like, I didn't really see what else was wrong?  Doesn't justify falling that far at all.