Grizzlies set for summer opener Saturday

Team looking for individual improvement

Grizzlies assistant coach Bob Thornton talks about summerleague basketball in terms of being a lab.

There will be plenty of experimenting, but there will be a method to the Grizzlies’ summer madness.

Essentially, that is what key players on the team’s summer league roster must understand. The main goal for the players, however, is to grasp how Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger wants to play and to improve individual skills.

“We’ll be looking at ideas to see how they flow,” said Thornton, who will coach the Griz- zlies’ summer league team in Las Vegas, which opens play Saturday. “We’ll see if some of the stuff we want to do offensively can translate to training camp. We want the players to improve and see how we can improve as a team.”

Several Griz players under contract will play, including second-year guard Tony Wroten, forwards Jon Leuer, Donté Greene and Willie Reed, and 2013 second-round draft picks Jamaal Franklin (No. 41 overall) and Janis Timma (No. 60).

Leuer could miss the opener after spraining an ankle Thursday during practice.

The mission for Leuer, Greene and Reed is to gain more experience and versatility.

“We want to see how well they play and what they can do to help us win games,” Thornton said. “It’s different for a guy like Franklin. We just want to see what he can do and find out where he’ll fit in.”

Wroten, however, has more specific objectives.

He’ll be getting more playing time this season with the hope that he can be an able backup to point guard Mike Conley.

“It’s about getting him to work on his right hand, to be able to go both ways in the pick-and-roll and just run the team,” Thornton said. “We want him to just make good decisions and not settle for difficult shots and difficult passes.”

The summer league season also gives the Grizzlies’ coaching staff an opportunity to work with veteran players.

Several rotation players, including forward Ed Davis, will participate in private team practices early next week.

Davis, who declined a summer league invitation from former coach Lionel Hollins, said he’s looking forward to working on developing a go-to, low-post offensive move.

Thornton worked with Davis twice last week and is encouraged by the 24-year-old’s com- mitment.

“He’s already improved his shooting a little,” Thornton said. “His footwork is better. He looks good. We want him to continue working on his game.”

Memphis opens its summer league schedule with preliminary-round games Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT against Chicago and Sunday at 7 p.m. against Cleve- land. The preliminary schedule concludes Tuesday against Phoenix at 7:30 p.m.

The Griz will then enter a tournament- style schedule that will result in crowning of the first NBA Summer League champion on July 22.

The summer league features 22 teams, and NBA TV will televise the games.