Official 2019 Summer League Thread.

Fishy1

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So much to like here! Williams is going to be an NBA player for a long time starting with the fact that he knows where everyone is and should be. Edwards is a microwave scorer, Waters has insanely good hands, Fall is fun. I'm stunned.

Having way more fun watching summer league than I am the actual fucking Celtics from last. Stakes are lower, obviously, so I'm easier to please.
 
RoDaddy

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Fishy1 said:
So much to like here! Williams is going to be an NBA player for a long time starting with the fact that he knows where everyone is and should be. Edwards is a microwave scorer, Waters has insanely good hands, Fall is fun.
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So true. I can't ever remember 4 Celt rookies this good in the same year. And how was Tacko not drafted? He's a late first/early second rounder to me with what he brings to both ends of the court despite some limitations
 
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Koufax

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Pretty surprising that we chose to watch a summer league game over the MLB All-Star game, but there's no doubt in my mind where the entertainment value was to be found. Biggest problem is, where is Danny going to stash all the young talent? Can he have an 18 man roster?
 
lovegtm

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Koufax said:
Pretty surprising that we chose to watch a summer league game over the MLB All-Star game, but there's no doubt in my mind where the entertainment value was to be found. Biggest problem is, where is Danny going to stash all the young talent? Can he have an 18 man roster?
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They've already fit everybody except Tacko--if they want to do him, they need to do some kind of 2-for-1 with Yabu and another guy to keep the salary slot. I don't know who they'd do with though, or whether they should.
 
wade boggs chicken dinner

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DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Nice game by the much maligned Abdel Strus too.
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Abdel had 12 points in 15 minutes, 2-3 from 3P and both 3s were well beyond the line IIRC (although one hit the front of the rim and bounced in.

Strus is Nader with a legit 3P shot, which I think would have made people happier about Nader when he was with the Cs if my recollection of the 2017 SL game thread is accurate.
 
Jimbodandy

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lovegtm said:
They've already fit everybody except Tacko--if they want to do him, they need to do some kind of 2-for-1 with Yabu and another guy to keep the salary slot. I don't know who they'd do with though, or whether they should.
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I'm sold. I realize that he probably won't make it, but he's fun to dream on. Coaching and matchup management could turn him into something sometimes valuable in 2 years.

wade boggs chicken dinner said:
Abdel had 12 points in 15 minutes, 2-3 from 3P and both 3s were well beyond the line IIRC (although one hit the front of the rim and bounced in.

Strus is Nader with a legit 3P shot, which I think would have made people happier about Nader when he was with the Cs if my recollection of the 2017 SL game thread is accurate.
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Strus was better today. He's clearly more athletic than Nader ever was. His size and build is reminiscent of Nader still for sure, and I'm still not sure why Danny promised him anything. But he didn't look like ass, which is basically minimum requirement for SL.

I don't remember who posted it a couple of years ago, but I hope that I remember this correctly. Historically if you suck at SL, you suck. But if you're good at SL, you may or may not suck.

So far, GW, CE, and TW don't suck. Same for TF and RW (limited minutes). Hoping Green catches on somewhere, since he has entertained.
 
wade boggs chicken dinner

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Jimbodandy said:
I don't remember who posted it a couple of years ago, but I hope that I remember this correctly. Historically if you suck at SL, you suck. But if you're good at SL, you may or may not suck.
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I'm pretty sure it was Bowiac who posted it. But that doesn't preclude Strus from putting up better numbers next year.

One thing about Strus - he's not hunting for shots like Edwards or Green are. Maybe that's because he's already signed something.
 
The Mort Report

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lovegtm said:
They've already fit everybody except Tacko--if they want to do him, they need to do some kind of 2-for-1 with Yabu and another guy to keep the salary slot. I don't know who they'd do with though, or whether they should.
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So I have a question about this. Can’t they just cut/buyout Brad Wanamaker instead before the season starts? Put Waters on the 15 and Tacko and Strus on 2 ways. And they can still send Waters to Maine correct? Yes they would be thin in the backcourt but would any of use be happy is BW is playing important minutes?
 
Eddie Jurak

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Gash Prex said:
Edwards sounds like he was drafted by the Patriots - going to be a player in the league. Time to get on the bandwagon - none of this it’s summer league, he’s only 6’1” etc....
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There's a simple difference between Edwards and a lot of other guys who put up numbers in Summer League and go nowhere. He's got a set of skills that can play in the NBA. It's not just being able to hit threes, but being able to get them off quickly without much room, and being able to take advantage of the opportunities to drive that that kind of shooting buys you. That's what a smaller guard needs to do to score in the NBA. It's a staple of the offensive games of IT, Kyrie, and Kemba, though they all have their own spins on it.
 
lexrageorge

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The Mort Report said:
So I have a question about this. Can’t they just cut/buyout Brad Wanamaker instead before the season starts? Put Waters on the 15 and Tacko and Strus on 2 ways. And they can still send Waters to Maine correct? Yes they would be thin in the backcourt but would any of use be happy is BW is playing important minutes?
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They could, but I'm not sure I see anything like that happening until 12/15 when trades start opening up.

If the Celtics waive Tacko, he gets a $50K bonus if he reports to Maine and spends 60 days there. They wouldn't technically have his rights, so he could sign an NBA contract or with a team overseas. I think there's a reasonable chance Ainge will be able to stash Tacko in Maine at least through the end of 2019. Come January rosters become more fluid as trade moratoriums are eased and injuries mount. By then, there may be a 2-way spot open on the Celtics roster.
 
Koufax

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Thank you for that explanation of the options regarding Tacko. Having heard them, I'm comfortable cutting Wanamaker if that's what it takes to avoid exposing Tacko. If the lack of an experienced backup PG turns out to be an issue, Danny can find another one mid-season.

On an unrelated note, let's give some love to the fans who showed up last night dressed up elaborately as tacos and signs saying Taco Tuesday. That brightened up my evening.
 
EL Jeffe

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Strus put up a 12/5/3 line in ~15 minutes, and he was efficient (12 pts on 5 FGA). I'm guessing the first game was just jitters and his shot wasn't falling. He's a good player. I'm not sure he's an NBA player just yet, but he was written off way too quickly.

In very SOSH-esque tangent fashion, since Nader keeps getting mentioned, he's kind of a fascinating guy to discuss. Nader was a 5th year senior (2 years at N. Illinois, transfer/sit out, 2 years at Iowa St) who only put up 13/5/1.5 numbers as an over-aged senior. He wasn't a freak athlete or a high pedigree type guy (like, say, JR Giddens who at least put up 16/9/3 numbers as a 5th year senior). There is nothing in Nader's profile that would suggest he'd ever step on the court as an NBA player. And yet, here we are. I still have no idea how Nader ever made it. Production? Nope. Traits? Meh.
 
CoffeeNerdness

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Was ESPN in charge of the uniform design too? Great choice putting the names under the numbers to make it as hard as possible to tell who is who.
 
wade boggs chicken dinner

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EL Jeffe said:
Nader was a 5th year senior (2 years at N. Illinois, transfer/sit out, 2 years at Iowa St) who only put up 13/5/1.5 numbers as an over-aged senior. He wasn't a freak athlete or a high pedigree type guy (like, say, JR Giddens who at least put up 16/9/3 numbers as a 5th year senior). There is nothing in Nader's profile that would suggest he'd ever step on the court as an NBA player. And yet, here we are. I still have no idea how Nader ever made it. Production? Nope. Traits? Meh.
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Nader had a 40 inch vertical leap and a 7'1" wingspan (source) so he was athletically better than most people thought. Also, he apparently shot well in workouts. Also, if people recall, that was the roster crunch year so there was a consensus opinion that DA drafted him because he agreed to sign with Maine and not cost a roster spot (remember, there was a minor controversy because Nader performed better in SL than expected and was exploring signing overseas instead of signing with Maine).

Look, I can see the Nader comps but Nader's biggest problem is that his outside shot wasn't consistent (I never thought his mechanics were clean so I wasn't surprised when his shot was inconsistent). My initial reaction to Strus is that he has better mechanics (Nader shot .767 and .736 from the FT line in his two years at Iowa State; Strus shot .803 and .842). If - and this is a big if - Strus can shoot threes at a high rate and from past the arc, he should be able to stick around the NBA.
 
wade boggs chicken dinner

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lexrageorge said:
They could, but I'm not sure I see anything like that happening until 12/15 when trades start opening up.

If the Celtics waive Tacko, he gets a $50K bonus if he reports to Maine and spends 60 days there. They wouldn't technically have his rights, so he could sign an NBA contract or with a team overseas. I think there's a reasonable chance Ainge will be able to stash Tacko in Maine at least through the end of 2019. Come January rosters become more fluid as trade moratoriums are eased and injuries mount. By then, there may be a 2-way spot open on the Celtics roster.
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Thanks for the info and (as I mentioned above), I think the two most likely scenarios is that (i) he signs with Maine or (ii) some overseas team sees how popular he is and wants to tap into some of this. Nothing the Cs can do about the second scenario.
 
lovegtm

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wade boggs chicken dinner said:
Nader had a 40 inch vertical leap and a 7'1" wingspan (source) so he was athletically better than most people thought. Also, he apparently shot well in workouts. Also, if people recall, that was the roster crunch year so there was a consensus opinion that DA drafted him because he agreed to sign with Maine and not cost a roster spot (remember, there was a minor controversy because Nader performed better in SL than expected and was exploring signing overseas instead of signing with Maine).

Look, I can see the Nader comps but Nader's biggest problem is that his outside shot wasn't consistent (I never thought his mechanics were clean so I wasn't surprised when his shot was inconsistent). My initial reaction to Strus is that he has better mechanics (Nader shot .767 and .736 from the FT line in his two years at Iowa State; Strus shot .803 and .842). If - and this is a big if - Strus can shoot threes at a high rate and from past the arc, he should be able to stick around the NBA.
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Didn’t realize Strus was that good at the line. I probably overreacted with the Nader comparisons, and I can see why the team was eager to lock him down. His best-case is a highly valuable one.
 
DannyDarwinism

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The Pelicans are gonna be such a fun team to watch- smart, skilled two-way young guys (Alexander-Walker, Lonzo, Hart, Frank Jackson, Kenrich Williams and Zylan Cheatam) plus the All-NBA upside guys in (Zion and Jaxson Hayes), along with savvy vets (Jrue, Redick, Favors, Etwaun Moore), a couple of reclamation projects (Jah, Ingram and Stanley Johnson) and the wildcards (Silva, Wood and Diallo). I don’t know if I’ve ever been as excited to watch a non-Celtics team as this.

NAW and Jaxson Hayes look so, so good so far in SL. I loved that trade for them at the time, now I think there’s a chance it’s the move that makes them a contender for a long time, starting in 3-4 years. Zion really, really needs to learn to shoot.
 
Kliq

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DannyDarwinism said:
The Pelicans are gonna be such a fun team to watch- smart, skilled two-way young guys (Alexander-Walker, Lonzo, Hart, Frank Jackson, Kenrich Williams and Zylan Cheatam) plus the All-NBA upside guys in (Zion and Jaxson Hayes), along with savvy vets (Jrue, Redick, Favors, Etwaun Moore), a couple of reclamation projects (Jah, Ingram and Stanley Johnson) and the wildcards (Silva, Wood and Diallo). I don’t know if I’ve ever been as excited to watch a non-Celtics team as this.

NAW and Jaxson Hayes look so, so good so far in SL. I loved that trade for them at the time, now I think there’s a chance it’s the move that makes them a contender for a long time, starting in 3-4 years. Zion really, really needs to learn to shoot.
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Hayes has looked awesome in his first two SL games; it looks like he is playing against high school players. He has so much energy and is just a pogo stick out there. I'd buy a ton of stock in him right now.
 
Jed Zeppelin

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DannyDarwinism said:
The Pelicans are gonna be such a fun team to watch- smart, skilled two-way young guys (Alexander-Walker, Lonzo, Hart, Frank Jackson, Kenrich Williams and Zylan Cheatam) plus the All-NBA upside guys in (Zion and Jaxson Hayes), along with savvy vets (Jrue, Redick, Favors, Etwaun Moore), a couple of reclamation projects (Jah, Ingram and Stanley Johnson) and the wildcards (Silva, Wood and Diallo). I don’t know if I’ve ever been as excited to watch a non-Celtics team as this.

NAW and Jaxson Hayes look so, so good so far in SL. I loved that trade for them at the time, now I think there’s a chance it’s the move that makes them a contender for a long time, starting in 3-4 years. Zion really, really needs to learn to shoot.
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With the benefit that (relative) success for this team would mean good things for the Celtics re: the Memphis pick.
 
DannyDarwinism

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Grayson Allen and the Griz try to trip up the likewise undefeated Celtics late tonight, with the Battle of the Undersized Bigs undercard: Grant Williams v. Brandon Clarke. Should be fun.
 
Jed Zeppelin

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Man I am so excited to just chill and watch this tonight. The home buying stuff is accelerating and I just need something fun with maybe a drink in hand.
 
Kliq

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Jed Zeppelin said:
Man I am so excited to just chill and watch this tonight. The home buying stuff is accelerating and I just need something fun with maybe a drink in hand.
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You can do it!

I am excited for the late start; as a night owl this is going to be the perfect time to just chill and watch this team.
 
Jed Zeppelin

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He missed the layup but Grant used his leverage so well on the block there to set up the spin move.
 
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