Anyone who says Russ Smith is worth keeping might do well being reminded that basketball is a TEAM sport...
I think Booker and Dunn have looked NBA ready and Simmons made me eat crow...looked way better than at LSU from my view..I didn't get the hype watching his college games but he looks like a young Magic Johnson without a jump shot out there..amazingly quick and clearly 100 percent ambidextrous ..he's going to be a superstar...I'm happy for Philly..they might be fun to watch and Gerald Henderson is a good mentor
[Edit: this repeats my earlier post because my computer crashed and I thought it was lost. But I said it slightly differently so I'll keep this one too.] No he didn't. He looked like a pint-sized Corey Maggette. I watched all those games and I SO wanted to get excited about him, but he was a ball hog who got all his points from free throws. And, compounding my unease, he didn't play the last game and his replacement (who hadn't played at all up to that point and never made the league, and I can't even remember his name) scored 30 points. It's not about the boxscores (otherwise I might be more excited about Vonleh) it's watching the game. Tyreke Evans was a stat stuffer in SL and Steph Curry wasn't at all, but you could just tell (and this isn't revisionist history - I was saying this at the time) that Curry was oozing talent, while Evans, like Bayless, was a ballhog who was big but not a great player. And watching the games with these guys is just depressing. Connaughton above all: he should be the perfect complementary player because he has two valuable skills: rebounding and three point shooting. But you can't afford to have him in the games because he's a total liability at everything else, defense especially. It's a misnomer to call him "athletic". Yes, he can jump high. But he doesn't seem to have any twitch muscles - ANYBODY can get by him. And he can't dribble or hold on to the ball. If he was 7 feet tall he'd be interesting, but he's guard size and he doesn't have even SF skills.
Connaughton's athleticism is extremely overrated. I just don't see it. Layman looks more athletic to me.
What's the point of hanging on to (say) Connaughton? Where does he get minutes? We have: CJ Crabbe Evan Turner Aminu (possibly) Harkless (possibly) Montero at his position. And none of them should give up minutes, not even ONE minute, to Connaughton.
The other thing: Connaughton will be 24 in January. Compare him to Devin Booker, who is still a teenager, and Dejounte Murray, likewise. And Murray was taken with a LOW first round pick. And yet he was so much more talented than anyone on our roster, it was just dispiriting. And of course Devin Booker, that's true tenfold.
(While I'm ranting) People need to separate their necessary from their sufficient conditions. Bayless proves that looking good in a SL boxscore isn't SUFFICIENT for being a good NBA player. Batum proves that looking good in a SL boxscore isn't NECESSARY for being a good NBA player. BUT: that doesn't mean that there isn't some correlation. And it doesn't mean that actually watching the games won't give you some indication.
This is a different argument. You said: I was saying that we've had a number of guys stand out in summer league that went on to be successful in the NBA. Not sure why you're shifting gears and now playing the "Scrubs look good in the summer league" card.
I agree that it goes way beyond the box score. You could clearly see in SL that Lillard had intangibles that would translate to the league regardless of whether he hit shots at the same rate. OTOH you can see why a guy like Pierre Jackson can't hack it in the NBA. He has 1 vs. 5 scoring talent and can get hot but he can't adapt to fit an offense or make the right plays.
Definite NBA Talent: Vonleh Exciting Prospect: Montero Promising Rookie Longshot: Layman On the Cusp: Connaughton Euroleague or Bust: Cliff Yet to be determined: Napier Should be legally barred from ever playing basketball again: Smith The rest: Who?
Add him to the "not sufficient" pile. The "not necessary" pile is noticeably smaller, but you might include Derrick Rose on it.
Does that fact that he's 23 already (i.e. more than three years older than Devin Booker) make him less exciting?
Vonleh is primed to be a hell of a pf in the NBA Layman has me interested...I see a lot of potential in him...his play reminds me of the Blazers in the late 70s...ok maybe the chops have something to do with that. Connaughton has me disappointed. After hearing all the hype that he has been playing better then ever this summer and hadn't missed a shot since April, I expected more. But, it's just more of the same. Montero has something about him, like there is a great player trying to break out, but he just can seem to translate to the game. He has potential, he just hadn't had a chance to hone himself with what little playing time he has had. Alexander brings a great physicality to the game. But, he is clumsy and un balanced a big man as I have seen. Like Montero there is one hell of a player somewhere in there, that just can't get out, and won't unless he gets more experience. Russ Smith is an offensive firework, he can hit the three or attack the basket. But, he can't pass to save his life, not exactly a positive attribute if you are a pg Everyone else is no where ready to get near an NBA court
Since the SL guys haven't played together, new to the coach if they have one, they only have one chance to look like a ball player. They will look as good as their play-maker can quickly make a team of them. Usually don't have that on the team. Bayless buried Batum in SL while impressing everyone. Batum was the only keeper I saw though, even though he rarely was part of the Bayless show. No TV here in the boat yard so no SL games here. Are you sure there is not a player that can play but is just hidden by the play of the ball handlers?
