At the point
Guards to have chance to shine during Summer League
SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA is loaded with top-tier point guards, and talented players at the position will get good looks during Summer League play.
Games begin today in Orlando, Fla., on Monday in Salt Lake City, and July 8 in Las Vegas. Although there are about 90 roster spots for point guards in the NBA, a strong pedigree no longer is enough.
Players such as Marcus Paige, a McDonald’s All-American who led North Carolina to the national championship game, face an uphill climb to make a team.
The Utah Jazz haven’t reached the playoffs since 2012, and Paige still remains a long shot with six other point guards on the team.
“It’s kind of a great era for point guards right now in the NBA,” said Paige, the No. 55 overall pick. “There’s no nights off. You’ve got elite talent almost at every spot, especially in the West.
“You want to be a competitor. You want to accept that challenge. You know you’re not on that level right away, but you can aspire to work every day and work to get to that level. I’m just excited for the different challenges. “
Gone is the physical style in which the ball is mostly dumped into the post for centers to go to work. Now teams must deal with Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, John Wall, Kyrie Irving and a host of other skilled ballhandlers on a nightly basis.
The Minnesota Timerbwolves drafted Providence point guard Kris Dunn with the No. 3 overall pick despite Ricky Rubio coming off his best year as a pro. General manager Scott Layden said it’s difficult finding a good point guard who also holds his own on the defensive end.
“In the NBA it’s so hard to find two-way players,” Layden said. “The other thing is, how hard it is to find a good point guard. … Kris, when you watched him play, he made others better. When you’re leading a team, that’s so important. The toughness factor, when you get that from your point guard, it seems to resonate to the rest of the group.”