5 things to watch in Las Vegas
Summertime is development time for these young Warriors
Thanks to a chaotic freeagency period, Warriors fans might have forgotten about summer league. Golden State, fresh off three games at the California Classic in Sacramento, opens play in Las Vegas on Friday. With the Warriors’ roster in flux after Kevin Durant’s departure for the Nets, they might need some of their summerleague players to fill meaningful roles next season.
Here are five things to watch in Las Vegas: 1. Jacob Evans’ transition to point guard.
Summer league is a time to push players out of their comfort zone, and the Warriors are doing just that with Evans. After playing his rookie season almost exclusively as a swingman, Evans is running the point this summer.
This was a move made out of necessity. With Shaun Livingston expected to be traded or waived before his $7.7 million contract for next season becomes fully guaranteed Wednesday, the Warriors’ only true point guards projected on the 201920 roster are Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell.
Curry and Russell almost definitely will start, with Russell playing off the ball. Golden State probably will sign a backup point guard to a minimum contract, but it’s worth seeing whether Evans can sub at the point when necessary. Keep in mind: Andre Iguodala, who was traded to Memphis so the Warriors could accommodate
Russell’s fouryear, $117 maximum contract, was a valuable ballhandler capable of initiating the offense.
Evans played some point guard in high school and college. But in his three appearances at the California Classic, he showed he still has a long way to go before he can be trusted as an NBA point guard. In 25.3 minutes per game, Evans averaged just three assists, often making questionable decisions.
It should help that his summerleague head coach is Aaron Miles, a former passfirst point guard who left Kansas as the Big 12 Conference’s alltime assists leader. Miles has been working closely with Evans on reading defenses and making the right play. 2. Alen Smailagic’s development.
Smailagic was somewhat of a mystery when the Warriors took him No. 39 overall in last month’s draft. Although he played last season with Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team purposely limited his exposure to help ensure another franchise wouldn’t draft him before the Warriors could.
Any questions about how high Golden State was on Smailagic were answered on draft night, when it traded two future secondround picks and $1 million to New Orleans just to select him before Sacramento could at No. 40 (the Warriors had the No. 41 pick). It’s not hard to see why the Warriors like Smailagic. In his three games at the California Classic, he made some of the showcase’s most exciting plays, including a drive to the rim capped by a onehanded dunk over Sacramento forward Caleb Swanigan.
Smailagic is still quite raw, which is to be expected from an 18yearold big man who hadn’t played at any level higher than the Serbian third division or the under19 junior league until last season. His understanding of angles and defensive positioning needs work. Smailagic is also inconsistent offensively, shooting 29% from the field at the California Classic.
Although he likely will spend most of next season with Santa Cruz, Smailagic’s development could be key for a team with an aging core. Las Vegas offers him a chance to showcase his strides on a bigger stage than the Sacramento event. 3. Eric Paschall’s readiness to contribute in NBA games.
Paschall was the last of the Warriors’ three draft picks in June, but he might have the best shot at cracking the rotation as a rookie. His combination of strength, quickness, tenacity and shooting ability has earned him comparisons to Draymond Green and P.J. Tucker.
As the roster stands, Paschall is Golden State’s only backup power forward other than Smailagic. Paschall’s upside might not rival Smailagic’s, but he is much more NBA ready.
The Warriors aren’t necessarily looking for Paschall to dominate summer league. To feel comfortable playing him meaningful minutes next season, head coach Steve Kerr needs to know Paschall will make hustle plays, knock down open jumpers and play solid positional defense. In Sacramento, Paschall did just that. 4. Jordan Poole’s jump shot.
The Warriors took Poole at No. 28 — earlier than where most mock drafts projected him — largely for his shotmaking ability. With Klay Thompson expected to miss the start of next season with an ACL injury, Golden State hopes that Poole can help make up some of Thompson’s floorspacing.
Because Poole is a belowaverage defender, his minutes will hinge on whether he makes shots. There isn’t much other reason to have him on the floor. In the California Classic, Poole struggled, shooting 20% from the field. His mechanics looked good, but his shots just weren’t falling.
If Poole can start knocking down 3pointers at a high rate in Las Vegas, he’ll buoy his chances of cracking the rotation. It helps him that, with Thompson out, Poole and Evans are the Warriors’ only true shooting guards. 5. Whether Ky Bowman has promise as a twowaycontract player.
Bowman was widely projected to go in the early to midsecond round of last month’s draft. But when teams called during the second round asking if he’d be interested in a twoway contract, Bowman declined. His goal when he left Boston College after his junior year had been a guaranteed NBA roster spot.
With no such offer available, Bowman agreed to a twoway contract this week with the Warriors. His ability to rebound, score in a variety of ways and defend multiple positions could make him a lowrisk, highreward prospect.
Though Bowman has secured one twoway contract, the Warriors still have another available. Summer league is a key opportunity for a littleknown player to impress Golden State enough to command such a deal. That’s what happened last year with Marcus Derrickson, who is back in summer league with the Kings.
One twowaycontract possibility on the Warriors’ summerleague roster is forward Dedric Lawson. As a junior at Kansas, he averaged 19.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.3 steals.