5-on-5: Best rookies, stories and more at summer league
Our NBA experts have gotten a good look at all the top young players participating in NBA summer league this week.
Which rookie stands out the most? Which teams do summer league best? And what are our panel’s best stories?
5-on-5 also welcomes a guest panelist — Zhang Weiping, former player and head coach of the Chinese men’s national basketball team and current NBA commentator for Tencent.
1. Which rookie looks like he will affect his team the most?
Tom Penn, ESPN Insider: So far I’d say Brandon Ingram because of what he means to that franchise. They need so much hope in Los Angeles, and what I saw Sunday night was a poise, presence and swagger that’s worthy of the city. Ingram seems worthy of the moment, and there’s a buzz around him, so great start for him.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: Ben Simmons. Not only is Simmons likely to be the best rookie this season at least in terms of total value, he’s also the only rookie whose team will build around his skills. The Sixers have been using Simmons as a point guard much of the time during summer league, and that is the best use of his playmaking skills (and can cover for his non-shooting).
Michael Wright, ESPN.com: Simmons, because his unique skill set has showed up in a major way early on in summer league. Pay attention to how his teammates react to him. Sure, it’s just summer league, and you can tell that Simmons might struggle to score early on, but he seems to have an innate feel for the game as a passer, and that affects everything else around him.
Zhang Weiping, Tencent: Simmons. It’s been 20 years since the Sixers drafted a playmaker like Allen Iverson. They finally have one in Simmons, who could bring 25-plus wins to the team. The Sixers are crowded at center with Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, but a playmaker and scorer like Simmons is a dire need. Simmons is a great ball handler and passer for his size who can play multiple positions.
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: Simmons, hands down. He was very impressive in his summer league debut, and given Philly’s lack of talent, Simmons will have every opportunity to create offense for his teammates with his uncanny passing and vision.
2. Environment means everything for development. Which rookie is set up in the best environment to succeed?
Penn: I’d say Kris Dunn, who has a newly empowered president and head coach in Tom Thibodeau who will be crystal clear about how Dunn is expected to act and perform. On the Timberwolves, Dunn also can learn from a couple of superstars-in-the-making mentors in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, who will take some of the pressure off him. Of course, there’s also Kevin Garnett, the ultimate big brother. Minnesota seems like a great fit for Dunn.
Pelton: Dejounte Murray. It’s hard to think of a better scenario for a poor shooter (29 percent from 3, 66 percent on free throws) with good form and work ethic than getting Spurs assistant coach Chip Engelland as a shooting instructor. If Murray takes his vitamin of daily work, he’ll have a chance to improve in a hurry.
Wright: Murray. First off, we all know how far Murray fell in the draft. So he’ll automatically come in a little bitter about that, and you’d better believe that Gregg Popovich will let Murray know about that fall — often. Besides, let’s not forget that at 19, Murray is the youngest guard the Spurs have drafted since Tony Parker. So we already know Popovich knows how to handle young point guards. Murray also recently said he looks forward to the Popovich treatment.
Zhang: Simmons. As a playmaking power forward, he could be the next Draymond Green — or even LeBron James. But he needs the ball in his hands to learn from errors and improve. The Sixers appear able to give the No. 1 pick such huge room for development. And Simmons has shown his ability in the first three games — dishing multiple assists even though he has struggled shooting the ball.
Elhassan: Dunn. Thibodeau has a strong track record of getting the most from his point guards, so Dunn should benefit tremendously. His excellent defensive aptitude is sure to win him brownie points with his coach, and he’ll have no shortage of targets to pass to.
3. What’s your most best/worst memory of summer league?
Penn: My best was Jerryd Bayless when he seized the moment and led the summer league in scoring. The worst was Greg Oden when I was in Portland. We drafted him, but at summer league he had the first of many ailments. His tonsils swelled up in Vegas to a point where he was having trouble breathing, and he ended up having an emergency tonsillectomy. It was sort of a litany of things he had to deal with. It was really disappointing because he had played well in a couple of games.
Pelton: My best memory is Nate Robinson’s jersey getting hung on the wall of the Cox Pavilion at UNLV in honor of Robinson’s winning MVP of the 2007 summer league, during which he scored a then-record 42 points. Robinson’s game was almost delightfully perfect for summer league. My worst memory is when I happened to be in Las Vegas during July 2011, when there was no summer league because of the NBA lockout.
Wright: Thus far, the matchup between Ingram and Simmons. But it seemed so fitting that D’Angelo Russell ended up stealing the show with that deep contested 3-pointer as time expired. Simmons looked promising, but Ingram struggled. The crowd was unreal for a summer league game; the house was as packed as I’d ever seen it.
Zhang: My best memory would be Kobe Bryant against the Chinese Olympic team at the 1996 Long Beach Summer Pro League. As a 17-year-old player who had just been drafted by the Hornets and traded to the Lakers, Kobe showed flashes of future brilliance, scoring 22 points, including a nasty two-handed reverse dunk. He was such a nice guy off the court, as he is now. I’ve interviewed him multiple times thereafter, but the time we met was always the best and most unforgettable.
Elhassan: Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow having dueling scoring efforts for the 2009 Warriors. Randolph set the record with 42 points before Morrow bested him with 47 points in the Warriors’ last summer league game. The duo averaged 26.8 and 24.7 PPG, respectively.
4. Which young player who isn’t at summer league would you like to see play here, and why?
Penn: I’m surprised Jahlil Okafor isn’t here, because I think it’s a fresh start with a new general manager and an opportunity to develop more and play more. And he needs it. They need it. It would be a chance to build chemistry with Simmons and all things evolving around him.
Pelton: Dario Saric. He has a good excuse — he’s playing for the Croatian national team, which secured a spot in the Olympics with Saturday’s win over host Italy. Still, I’d love to see Saric begin building chemistry with Simmons and many of his future Philadelphia teammates after he reiterated Saturday that he plans to sign with the 76ers this summer.
Wright: Surprisingly, for me, there are none. As ESPN’s Spurs beat writer, I was looking forward to watching Taurean Prince because he grew up in the area and went to school down the road at Baylor. Prince didn’t play over the first couple of days in Las Vegas because he was still waiting for league approval of the trade that sent him to Atlanta.
Zhang: As a Chinese fan, I’d like to see Zhou Qi, the Chinese player whom the Rockets drafted in the second round. How far is Zhou, a rising star with high expectations from home, from being a qualified NBA player? How long would it take for him to fit in the NBA? He’s shown his capability on both ends of the floor domestically, but will this skinny kid still do it when facing tough body contact? All that can be tested in summer league. But Zhou is preparing for the Olympics.
Elhassan: Joel Embiid. He’s entering his third NBA season, but we haven’t seen a single second of him playing, and when you factor in the fact that he didn’t play during the second half of his lone season at Kansas, we are coming up on almost two and a half years without witnessing any competitive basketball from him.
5. Which team do you think best uses the developmental aspects of summer league?
Penn: The usual answer is San Antonio. The Spurs haven’t had a high draft pick in forever, yet they constantly fill their pipeline with talent. And they use this two-to-three-week window in the summer to identify and cultivate that talent. They get a lot of work in during their practices; they get the most out of the games; they’re developing their coaches; they’re developing everyone.
Pelton: That’s tough to say because it’s unclear what the best way to use summer league really is. I’d say I favor trying to stretch players in roles different from what they’ve played previously in their careers. The Utah Jazz have done a good job of that with Trey Lyles this year, but they’re certainly not alone.
Wright: It’s a difficult question because your top picks will play only a couple of games. To me, summer league is more of an opportunity to get the younger prospects acclimated to the NBA game than actual development. For some of the second-year guys, this does seem like an opportunity to work out the kinks in their games as they transition into becoming role players.
Zhang: Los Angeles Lakers. From the coach’s perspective, the summer league provides great opportunities for coaches Luke Walton and Brian Shaw. Will Walton stick to his words and play a style similar to the 73-win Golden State Warriors? Or will these two students of the game implement the triangle offense taught by Phil Jackson? There’s no better place than summer league to experiment. From the player’s perspective, two of L.A.’s future stars — Ingram and Russell — also need to take this valuable chance to improve themselves.
Elhassan: I’ve always enjoyed the seamless synergy the Spurs organization shows from its parent team to the D-League Austin Spurs to the summer league team.
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