forgot Donte Greene moment on Saturday night so he was walking by and I yelled at him Donte! what I am I supposed to with your Rockets jersey! he told me to put it up on Ebay I said it wasnt signed, he said Do you have it here I'll sign it for you but I didnt bring it with me, if he is at there next year I am definitely bringing it to sign and put up on ebay.
Summer league is a worthwhile trip for the basketball-obsessed for sure. Where else can you check out draft picks high and low, and get within touching distance of everyone from Daryl Morey to Darrell Armstrong to Clipper Darrell (yes, he was there in midseason form to check on Blake Griffin's first game in Clippers uniform)? There are all kinds of NBA denizens (coaches, front office, etc.), foreign basketball operations folks (i.e. talk people talking foreign languages), and groupies scouting prospects. Good times.
Awesome stuff. Great stories and pics. Gives us a real good feeling of what it was like to be there. Very nice.
yo yo you are the man! thank you for the detail and the effort to do all this. i feel like i was there!
Overall, Summer League is a great experience. For $25 bucks you get to watch four games and interact with the players in a way you could never do during a pre- or regular season game. Lots of other NBA players showed up just to hang out. I bumped into Andre Miller and didn't even realize it was him until a little later, and then a groupie almost ran me over to get to him I think. RAID and I were sitting literally behind Morey and I was tempted to bring up the Amare trade, but didn't. Adelman was standing behind me for like 5 mins before I realized he was there talking to the Portland GM, and then The_YoYo talked to Adelman too. For some reason I kept on running into Jamal Crawford. Everyone from the scouts to the front office guys to players to the coaches was real cool and approachable for the most part (although Don Nelson was a bit grumpy). Carl Herrera and I were at the Summer League today as well to watch the two LA teams go at it and then we saw the Bucks and Kings play and I was told about a bball hall of fame exhibit that we visited at Planet Hollywood. Blake Griffin is the real deal. He can do everything. What really surprised me was his ball handling abilities and shooting range. The only weakness I see is what Carl Herrera pointed out. His arms are short. This causes him to hunch over when he dribbles or dribble too high, which leads to turnovers. DeAndre Jordan looks like he improved a lot. He's very athletic, gets up and down the court real well, contests shots well, good rebounder, and he even added a nice jump hook with either hand. Rockets should've drafted him instead of Dorsey. Brandon Jennings looked good. His outside shooting is weak, but he is a good playmaker and can penetrate well. He's also a guy who gets lots of steals by making good reads on defense and by gambling some as well. Tyreke Evans looked real good too. Good outside shot, solid passer, and used his height to his advantage by posting up Jennings and either scoring, setting someone else up, or getting to the line. He needs to improve his ball handling a little though. Jennings ripped him a few times. Carl's little brother, Marcus Landry, looked solid. I think he has a decent shot of making the Kings team. Donte Green didn't really show me anything. You're probably wondering how all this is Rockets related. Some of the pics should take care of that concern. It was nice meeting The_Yoyo, RAID, and Carl Herrera. All three were real cool dudes. Kobe's shoes from his 81 pt game: Wilt's jersey from his 100 pt game: Clipper Daryl: Random shot of Blake Griffin shooting a jumper and Clippers huddle:
Pics continued... Dictator Stern: Former Rocket Chucky Brown coaching the Lakers summer league team: Mario Elie: Sam Cassell (sorry these pics didn't come out too good): Floyd Mayweather:
Kwame, u and CH didn't debate about Battier and his scrub like play? Just kidding, but what you're saying about Jordan, I was talking about last year. If your going to take a project, why did morey pass a 7ft 20 yr old project who could possibly replace Yao in a couple years for a 25 yr old 6'6 center? Never understood that one. Jordan would be very,very nice right now with Yao's health.
The_Yoyo for MVP! Unless, of course, he blows off rehab during the summer and shows up out of shape, then sinks half the season going in and out of the lineup, after which he announces his microfracture surgery through the press.
Lol CH did say in a joking way that I was the one who hates Battier, but I explained to him that I don't hate anyone and it's just that I don't value Battier as highly as others do. In the end, differences were put aside for the sake of unity! On a serious note, I don't follow much college bball so my exposure to both Dorsey and Jordan was initially limited. But after hearing your explanation right after the draft, it made logical sense. From what I saw during the summer league, Jordan looks good and he looks better than Dorsey. DeAndre showed signs last year, but I think he'll be more consistent this season. I always give credit where credit is due, no matter who or what it is. I know a lot of people won't for one reason or another, but, I gotta say you were right about this one too.
Thanks, but it was really simple if you ask me. I think you always take the guy with the higher upside. Also, you should always try to get starters and not just bench players. If you just do the simple math and common sense, Jordan made sense any way you cut it. Did he have maturity issues? Yes, but who doesn't at 20 yrs old. Dorsey was 25 and had the same issues, but morey took a guy who will always be a bench player vs a guy who can be a starter. Yao was just out for another season ending injury and the backup was 40 yrs old, what didn't add up? Morey has made some good moves but giving away a high lotto was a big mistake and drafting dorsey over jordan was another. The elements we needed to transition our team was right there and on rookie deals. Oh well, I am glad you guys had some bonding, lol.
