It's pretty early to project that to the next level, but the fact that he's a willing passer and a committed defender is a start ... they get to scrimmage (unofficially) against John Wall and the Wizards tomorrow apparently; I'd love to find out how Johnson matches up with him.
In my opinion niether of these guys really matter, EWill is better than both! PG - Miller, Bayless, Williams SG - Roy, Mathews, Rudy SF - Batum, Cunningham, Babbitt PF - LA, Pendy C - Oden, Camby Thats 13 and the other 2 spots shoud be big guys. Freeland? Whats his deal?
Przybilla is under contract. Howard is apparently gone, though I don't know why we have to fill up on rookies as usual. He saved our lives last season.
Can't believe so many of you are getting worked up over those who will be DNPCE... and at best will be 5-7 minute guys.
SL can be a good indicator of future talent. CAN being the operative word. Do all guys who play well in SL translate into the NBA? No, but there have been some great players in the SL who have gone on to do very well in the NBA. Joe Johnson is one, John Salmons is another. Zach Randolph dominated the SL. Even Brandon Roy showed early indications that he was going to be the well balanced player that he is today. Are any of the guys on our SL team future stars? Probably not, but we see some promise from Johnson, and that is encouraging. We have needed a good defensive point guard for a while now.
EWill may well be better than both, but that doesn't mean that the Johnson/Mills discussion doesn't matter. VG's right about Bayless/Williams not being PGs, but one will probably need to be part of the PG rotation. I'd expect (absent another deal) a depth chart more like this: PG - Miller, Bayless, Johnson SG - Roy, Rudy, Williams SF - Batum, Mathews, Babbitt PF - LA, Cunningham, Pendy C - Oden, Camby, Przybilla
I'm surprised to hear so many people down on Mills. He has impressed me a lot. He's way better as PG than Bayless was in Summer League last year, and he's our ONLY PG who can shoot the three worth a damn (a bit important if you're playing off Brandon Roy). Some praise from outside:
I am not down on Mills at all. Kid has a very valuable skill in this league. He can put the ball in the basket and he is fast as hell. If Aaron Brooks can succeed in this league, so can Mills. As I expect Rudy to be gonzo - and the Williams draft indicate that JB might be on the block as well - I think there is a good chance both these kids are going to make the roster.
I agree he's looked better than Bayless (faint praise) when actually running the point, and his outside shot is useful, but the elephant in the room is _efense; there's no effing way he sniffs the court under Nate (and most NBA coaches) with an absolute inability to contest shots. If a starting point guard to replace Miller is going to be found this off-season it's going to come through a trade, it will never be Mills, even if he makes the roster. Maybe it's my distaste for short stature guards in general and memories of Damon haunting my dreams, but at best I see him as a Mo Williams type, and that isn't going to get it done in the playoffs.
I think you are. And you are not alone. I did not see the horrible defense that some of you mentioned by Mills. He certainly would not play against DWill, but Steve Blake? (Blake could never stay with small quick PG's and doesn't post up. CP3 or Westbrook? At least he is quick enough to stay in front of them. (In spurts) I did like the fact he stood in and took 2 offensive fouls. He is sturdier than someone like Brooks or Damon
I remember when Qyntel Woods was MVP of summer league. =) I also remember Batum looking so bad and lost I though he was a sure bust. The summer league game is very different. I think Babbitt is stuggling, but I am not too worried at this point.
Obviously Summer League tends to reward ball hog chuckers. But Zach was also king of Summer League, and that was impressive, and proved that indeed, he could be a ball hog chucker who could get the ball for himself. And hey, Aaron Brooks was also MVP of summer league. I think Mills has looked more like a serviceable NBA player in this Summer League than Bayless did in his first, because he was just out to score for himself, while Mills is actually helping the team. You need to watch the games. I remember being hugely impressed with Stephen Curry last year, and rather bemused that most people thought he looked bad. It seemed to me he was just smooth as hell and even if his shots weren't falling, he looked like he got it. (Conversely, I was NOT impressed with Tyreke Evans, while others were drooling, because he was being a ball hog and not a PG. Of course, most people would say I got that wrong, but I still think he's not really a PG, and the fact that he played most of the season alongside Udrih backs me up. Like other "big points" before him (Steve Smith, Penny Hardaway, Dwyane Wade et. al.), and undersized gunners (Iverson), he's really a SG and eventually everyone will stop pretending otherwise.)
"Terrible" or "Sucks" are not words I would use to describe Babbitt so far. I don't see him playing much this year, another reason Matthews is needed, but certainly don't think he has looked bad. The guys has skills, seems to have a good BB IQ, is not a stiff, so I think he will improve throughout the year.
I liked what I saw from Babbit as well. Sure, he looks a little slow, especially in the 2nd game (but his injury could have been a big factor there) - but he is not lost on the court, he can pass, he can create shots for himself - and at least the mid-range shots were just money so far. Kid is going to be a very nice NBA player once he gets healthy and experienced, imho.
Mills is not quick on defense. He couldn't stay in front of Aubrey Coleman most of the time. Several times Coleman just ran right by him to the hoop. He also can't contest any shots. He is absolutely terrible at defense.
I will have to re-watch it. Seems to me his quickness was not the problem on D. I recall most of Coleman's shots coming from about 22 feet and not at the hoop. I agree that he can't contest shots like Johnson though. But i also remember Bayless in summer league not closing on shooters either. I think it was more lack of concentration than being slow on D. But there is no doubt he is small. Although he is the same size as CP3.
Well for all of Bayless' intensity on the court he's really not much of a defender -- foul prone, doesn't generate a lot of steals, doesn't really disrupt passing lanes and doesn't seem to play at that end instinctively -- but he does give a lot of effort (now).
Not true at all. Mills stayed infront of Coleman almost all the time, he just backed off way too much, and allowed Coleman to shoot over him. In the last quarter Mills had obviously had a chat with the coaches, and made much more of an effort to body up agaist Coleman, and looked alot better. The only times Coleman got past him were when we were trying to trap further up the court; but that's the risk of trapping. That said, Mills defence was bad most of the game (although I liked the effort to correct in the 4th), and Johnson looked way better defensively. I think Mills should be playing in the NBA. I think Mills would be a good fit next to Roy. I don't think Mills is a good fit under Nate.
