SUMMER DREAMS
RJ Barrett is among key storylines to watch during the NBA’s summer league
NBA Summer League has officially started, which means if you needed a break from basketball after a long season and playoffs, it’s not happening. The NBA has a monopoly on your attention. They’ve created a product that runs 24/7, 365 days of the year.
Summer League starts two weeks after the NBA Finals, right in the middle of free agency. But after it ends on July 17, there’s no more action until training camp in September, then preseason in October. This is your first look at the new prospects, but it’s also your last serving of basketball before things really get ramped up.
Enjoy it while it lasts. While you do, here are some things to look out for.
1. Zion bully-ball
OK. High school was absolutely pickon-someone-yourown-size basketball. College was more even competition, but Zion Williamson was still bigger and stronger than everyone on the floor more often than not. Now, he’ll be up against the cream of the crop of players in his class, as well as a few other young guys fighting for roster spots. These are the players Williamson will grow with for the rest of his NBA career. Can he dominate them in Summer League?
Williamson’s talent lies on his ridiculous mix of athletic ability and brute strength. He was able to bully his way to highlight reel finishes because no one could stop him from getting to his spots. If he can do the same at the next level — and there’s no evidence that says he won’t be able to — it’s a signal to the NBA: Williamson is every bit as good as you think he is. You should be scared.
2. Reaching or teaching?
The Wizards made Rui Hachimura the first Japaneseborn first-round pick in NBA history, but they took him at No. 9 when several mock drafts had him going later in the round. The Suns reached even further, when they traded back from pick No. 4 to 11 to select Cam Johnson, a super shooter out of North Carolina who wasn’t projected to go until the 20s.
These were bold moves. Hachimura is a two-way talent, one possible Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups compared to Kawhi Leonard. That could be another reach, but the world will see what the Wizards’ latest pick is made of when he touches the floor for the first time. Johnson might already be better than Justin Jackson, another North Carolina shooter currently on the Mavericks. A scary early comparison floating around Johnson was Klay Thompson.
This is what happens when teams take players earlier than they’re projected. The pick has to be justified.
3. Porter hive
Kevin Porter Jr. might be the most polarizing player in this year’s draft class. Reports raise questions about his work ethic and maturity. He only played in 21 games, sitting out an indefinite suspension for a “personal conduct issue.” But his game tape paints pictures of a crafty athlete with superior athleticism. As a result, Porter fell to pick No. 30, and the Cavaliers gave up three second-round picks to trade up and get him.
Porter is from Seattle, a basketball factory with a pipeline that has pumped Jamal Crawford, Dejounte Murray, Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Allonzo Trier. Some compare Porter to James Harden, but that’s a bit misleading: Harden showed elite passing skills and court vision in college. Porter is a straight-up scorer.
He was also only seventh in minutes per game on his USC team. It’s tough to get a read on him, but the one certainty is the talent. It’s there. It just
needs to be honed.
4. Carsen Edwards
Carsen Edwards is six feet flat, on paper, but averaged 24.3 points per game at Purdue. He had two 42-point games in the NCAA Tournament. First Isaiah Thomas. Then Kyrie Irving. Now, it’s Kemba Walker, with Edwards as the heir. Danny Ainge has a crush on score-first point guards. At this rate, can you blame him?
Edwards was one of the most fun-to-watch players in college basketball last season, and if there’s no other reason to turn on some Summer League basketball, it’ll be to see the undersized guard torch whoever’s trying to stop him from scoring. Consider yourself warned. This one is going to get really good, really quick.
5. What’s RJ Barrett made of?
The world saw RJ Barrett as Zion Williamson’s sidekick at Duke last season. Now, he’ll have his own team, and the one he’ll play with in Summer League is one he’ll spend a lot of minutes with during the regular season.
Allonzo Trier, Mitchell Robinson and Kevin Knox are also on New York’s Summer League roster, and they’re expected to log plenty of minutes when the real deal rolls around. That means Barrett will debut in a role he’ll need to get used to. It’s also a fair first look at a player the Knicks will be building around for years to come.