Las Vegas Summer League buzz: Day 3
Sunday in Las Vegas saw No. 1 pick Ben Simmons handle his first back-to-back games. Afterward, Denzel Valentine dubbed Simmons “mini-LeBron.”
Here’s what else was buzzing around the third day of Las Vegas Summer League:
Vegas Summer League buzz: Day 2
Vegas Summer League buzz: Day 1
Michael Beasley: elder statesman?
Michael Beasley is entering his ninth season in the NBA, but the former No. 2 pick is still taking part in summer league with the Rockets, after joining Houston for 20 regular-season games plus the playoffs last year. Now 27, Beasley said seeing guys who are 18 and 19 coming into the league makes him feel a bit old, and sometimes he finds himself in an unlikely mentorship role.
“Guys like Montrezl [Harrell], I see a lot of myself in him,” Beasley said after not playing in Houston’s second summer league game in Las Vegas. “Loud, sometimes obnoxious, misunderstood guy, just a vibrant, fun player to be around. … You live, you learn, you see young players, and I try to give them a little bit of what I learned and what I’ve been through.”
— Adam Reisinger, ESPN
Dunn comes ready-made?
Friday’s most interesting matchup was Kris Dunn vs. Emmanuel Mudiay. Since then, I’ve been polling NBA personnel about who they’d rather have. So far the consensus favors Dunn because of his superior defense. One scout noted that everything he wants Mudiay to do, Dunn already does. That might be a function of age — Dunn is almost exactly two years older — but for now Dunn has the upper hand.
— Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider
Training day for Denzel
As Valentine spoke to reporters after the Bulls-Sixers game on Sunday night, Simmons walked past the small scrum with a little message.
“Denzel said he was scared of me out there,” Simmons said with a bit of a smile. Valentine and the assorted media started chuckling. The two have gotten to know each other a little bit over time and the Michigan State alumnus certainly isn’t afraid of the spotlight that comes with playing against the No. 1 pick.
“You got to have poise out there because you’re going to be playing against great players every night,” Valentine said. “You can’t get too high or get too low. Just kind of got to stay level through all the good and the bad. I feel like that’s how you get better — is consistency. So I just try to stay poised.”
— Nick Friedell, ESPN
Trusting the process from afar
Simmons’ star-in-the-making potential has been the buzz of summer league, and although he may not have drafted him, Sam Hinkie is among those in attendance enjoying the atmosphere. Former GM Hinkie set upon an ambitious plan to tear down the Sixers and build a contender around a star from the draft.
Hinkie stepped down just three months ago, but his labor looks to have borne fruit as Simmons dazzles in the desert.
— Andrew Han, ESPN
Accelerated growth for Miami’s youth
Miami’s Briante Weber on the impact of Dwyane Wade’s departure on the Heat’s Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson: “Us young guys, we are trying to learn as much as we can from the legends like D-Wade and [Chris Bosh]. Just by him leaving, it took a lot out of us just because we don’t really know what to expect. I’ve only played 10 games in the NBA, JRich has played about 80 and Justise played the whole season, but we really only have about two years combined under us. With D-Wade leaving, we lost like 13 years of experience which we were trying to use and piggyback off. It looks like we are going to have to grow up faster than we thought.”
— Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN
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