2018 Vegas Summer League

lovegtm

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Figured I'd make a catch-all for this, since it looks to be a fun summer with this rookie class. Bummed that Doncic is out, even though that makes sense.

There's less to watch on the Celtics side this year, but I'm very curious to see how Williams looks in terms of motor and playing under NBA rules. I'm also excited for Jabari Bird--if he looks meh against summer league competition, it probably indicates he was a flash in the pan this spring, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
 

ifmanis5

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Celtics schedule:
Boston will then play at least two games in tournament play. Tournament play begins on Wednesday, 7/11/18 and continues through to the championship game on Tuesday, 7/17/18.
 

Imbricus

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Williams and Bird are also the two I'm keen to watch. Anyone know when the summer roster will be released?
 

TripleOT

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Williams and Bird are also the two I'm keen to watch. Anyone know when the summer roster will be released?
Me too. I'd like to see if Bird can make Nader dispensable.

Other storylines -

Can Kadeem Allen fit the third PG role, if Larkin goes elsewhere.

Can Yabusele show out, now that he has a year of NBA life under him (assuming he plays SL)

Can Semi put up points, making threes and actually driving to the basket.
 
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JCizzle

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Me too. I'd like to see if Bird can make Nader dispensable.

Other storylines -

Can Kadeem Allen fit the third PG role, if Larkin goes elsewhere.

Can Yabusele show out, now that he has a year of NBA life under him (assuming he plays SL)

Can Semi put up points, making threes and actually driving to the basket.
Yabu better play and do well out there or his spot is going to get mighty hot come next year when we have a crap load of picks coming our way. I like him a lot from an athleticism perspective - for example, I thought he did a good job moving his feet and hanging with Giannis a few times. He doesn't seem to understand a lick of the schemes though, which is concerning.
 

MarkBT

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Aug 7, 2008
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I'm generally of the opinion that summer league doesn't really "matter"... but agree that Yabu needs to play well. If he doesn't dominate (or at least stand out) while he's on the court, he may well remain behind the ol' eight ball on the varsity roster
 

benhogan

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I'm going for 2 days. A business associates' brother is the Director of Ops for a Western division team. He's been involved for several years and says its a blast.
 

lovegtm

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Yabu better play and do well out there or his spot is going to get mighty hot come next year when we have a crap load of picks coming our way. I like him a lot from an athleticism perspective - for example, I thought he did a good job moving his feet and hanging with Giannis a few times. He doesn't seem to understand a lick of the schemes though, which is concerning.
Yeah, I don't like to say this about a player, and there definitely is room for different types of guys, but Yabu seems like he might just not be sharp enough or motivated enough to handle the modern NBA. It's a real pity, because he has real skill and athleticism, and seems like a nice guy, so I hope he proves me wrong.
 

chilidawg

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Yeah, I don't like to say this about a player, and there definitely is room for different types of guys, but Yabu seems like he might just not be sharp enough or motivated enough to handle the modern NBA. It's a real pity, because he has real skill and athleticism, and seems like a nice guy, so I hope he proves me wrong.
Seems to me we've seen far too little of him to make that kind of judgement.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Me too. I'd like to see if Bird can make Nader dispensable.

Other storylines -

Can Kadeem Allen fit the third PG role, if Larkin goes elsewhere.

Can Yabusele show out, now that he has a year of NBA life under him (assuming he plays SL)

Can Semi put up points, making threes and actually driving to the basket.
* Aren't both Bird and Nader dispensable without making each other such?

* I don't view 3rd PG as a role especially if we have both Rozier and Smart. We went many years without a backup PG as good as Larkin who will be playing rotation minutes somewhere in the league next year.

* Yabusele didn't show me any real improvement since two summers ago. I don't have much hope for him making it.

* Semi needs to show something. He saw minutes last year by default, wasn't very good despite some flashes, and barring trades/injury will be buried deep on the bench. Summer league is as important to him as anyone.
 

scottyno

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Not sure if there have been any updates since then, but Yabu had foot surgery just after they were eliminated and was expected to miss summer league
 

Big John

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I'm going for 2 days. A business associates' brother is the Director of Ops for a Western division team. He's been involved for several years and says its a blast.
I envy you. Best ticket in professional sports, in my opinion.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I mean, I'm sure it's a blast, but best ticket?
I'm with BigJohn…...if you're an NBA fan there is nothing better than a seat at Cox Pavilion for the day. The atmosphere is second to none, you will be sitting next to, in front of, or behind a professional you recognize along with hearing agent conversations (they are some funny bastards out there), etc.
 

Big John

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I mean, I'm sure it's a blast, but best ticket?
You get multiple games for not much money. The folks sitting next to you are all basketball junkies-- no casual fans. You can meet and chat with players, agents, scouts and coaches. Plus you get a sneak peek at the incoming draft class.
 

lovegtm

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I'm going for 2 days. A business associates' brother is the Director of Ops for a Western division team. He's been involved for several years and says its a blast.
I'm hanging out in Vegas a lot of this summer, so I'll be there. If anyone wants to do IRL meetups, PM me.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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Me too. I'd like to see if Bird can make Nader dispensable.
Crazy that Bird is only 10 months younger than Nader. I don't think Nader has much chance at all of making the roster unless there is a 3 for 1 deal coming. Even then, I think Bird has considerable more upside since he's a better athlete and is a pretty good shooter. If things work out well, I could see Jabari being a decent scoring option off the bench. I don't see anything with Nader but I've never liked him.

I'm excited to see Bird, Williams and Semi. I'd like to see the latter live at the 3 point line since that's where his offensive value is going to come. Hopefully he can be more active in the blocks and steals department too.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Not sure if there have been any updates since then, but Yabu had foot surgery just after they were eliminated and was expected to miss summer league
I don't think he has much to gain by playing in the summer league anyway. He's a skilled big man so he'd probably dominate the summer league like he did the G league. Whether he has a role in Boston or not, I don't know. He has a decent outside shot and is a pretty good passer so I could see him being used in certain situations. He'd offer something different than Robert Williams, anyway.
 

DJnVa

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You get multiple games for not much money. The folks sitting next to you are all basketball junkies-- no casual fans. You can meet and chat with players, agents, scouts and coaches. Plus you get a sneak peek at the incoming draft class.
I mean, I'm not saying it's not fun, but at the end of the day I'd rather watch Jayson Tatum in the Garden than Vegas. To each his own though.

I guess there was a time when I considered a weekend a my college's conference basketball tourney as pretty much the greatest thing ever.
 

Cesar Crespo

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You get multiple games for not much money. The folks sitting next to you are all basketball junkies-- no casual fans. You can meet and chat with players, agents, scouts and coaches. Plus you get a sneak peek at the incoming draft class.
And the quality of play is terrible. That's not really why people go though.
 

JCizzle

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Not sure if there have been any updates since then, but Yabu had foot surgery just after they were eliminated and was expected to miss summer league
It looks like he's on the roster, so I'm guessing he's good to go.

 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Full rosters here: https://hoopshype.com/2018/06/26/nba-summer-league-rosters-whos-playing-where-this-year/

Archie Goodwin is 18 points away from being all-time SL scoring leader. There will be an Antetokounmpo playing as well, only it's Kostas, not Giannis (Dallas).

Oldest player is Jeff Ledbetter (born 1988). Few guys born 1989 include Byron Mullens, Omari Johnson, and Justin Harper.

Will be interesting to see Harry Giles.

Other than this year's and last year's rookie classes, some other interesting (at least to me) names on the rosters are: Caris LaVert (Brooklyn); Josh Jackson (didn't see anything on whether he is or is not playing); old friend RJ Hunter (HOU); and KJ McDaniels (POR).
 

Sox Puppet

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Chinese player named Abudushalamu Abudurexiti has agreed to play for GSW SL team. Can't wait to hear someof the pundits try to pronounce his name.

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/report-chinese-prospect-abudushalamu-abudurexiti-will-play-warriors-summer-league

Funny things happen when a name is transliterated into a different alphabet. For instance, this guy's name should actually be pronounced "Abdul-Salaam Abdur-Rashid" but it looks very different when written "the Chinese way."

It was similar with the Greek Freak back in the day. His name is actually "Adetokunbo," but because of the way it's transliterated into Greek script, you get weird consonant combinations like "nmp."
 

TripleOT

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I'm looking forward to seeing URI's Hassan Martin on the Cs roster. He was a post player/shot blocker in college, is very physical, but needs some perimeter skills. I wonder if he expanded his game any in his one years overseas, in Japan.
 

Spelunker

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Funny things happen when a name is transliterated into a different alphabet. For instance, this guy's name should actually be pronounced "Abdul-Salaam Abdur-Rashid" but it looks very different when written "the Chinese way."

It was similar with the Greek Freak back in the day. His name is actually "Adetokunbo," but because of the way it's transliterated into Greek script, you get weird consonant combinations like "nmp."
*cough, cabin mirror, cough*
 

InstaFace

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Imbricus

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Bird supposedly drawing interest from Philly, Minnesota.
Smart will of course be the priority, but Bird has some role player potential, and the Celtics -- who will be sweating up against the luxury tax this season -- may have been hoping to bring him back for good value this offseason. That's still on the table, but a (relatively) big offer sheet from Minnesota or Philadelphia could price the Celtics out of Bird's services.
Ugh. What are the odds he gets a good offer and the Celtics choose not to match?
 

Cesar Crespo

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Why would anyone give Bird a good offer though? He hasn't proven anything. He's essentially an expensive 2nd round pick.
 

Imbricus

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Well, I think the understanding is it would be a good offer (relatively), as the quote says, because he hasn't done much. Still, it doesn't seem beyond the pale that someone would be willing to take a flyer on him. He showed some flashes of talent in late-season NBA stints. It looks like the Celts gave Nader $6 million for 4 years (and he hasn't shown much at all), so I could see someone offering Jabari $4.5-$6 million for 3 or 4 years, then making the Celts match.

Edit: Quick add that Summer League would obviously play into this, and how he does in games there, plus fixed the amount of the Nader contract.
 
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wade boggs chicken dinner

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One person's projections as to the players who will be the top 50 performers in SL. Based on their expected production in SL, not potential. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2783292-ranking-the-top-50-players-at-nba-summer-league

Of note, Giles is 48; Zhaire Smith is 47; Bender is 41 (just before Terrance Ferguson but behind Jonah Bolden); Ojeleye 30; Bell, Issac, and Bamba are 17-18-19'; and Ayton/Bagley/Trae Young/Jerome Robinson are 1-2-6-12, the rest of the top 14 being sophomores (Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith - discounted because he's not playing much if he plays at all - Fox, John Collins, Josh Hart, Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, OG Anunoby, Zach Collins, and Luke Kennard.
 

ifmanis5

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I like Jackson Jr. already.

UPDATE: Young ended up 4-20 and looked terrible. Jackson Jr. ended with 29 pts and looked very good.
 
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TripleOT

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Jaren Jacksin Jr scored more points, 29, in his debut that his father ever scored in one game. That's actually a higher point total than the father had in two season.