SUMMER LEAGUE 2023 - Vegas 7/7-7/17

I thought Wemby's floor would be Ralph Sampson. I know it's one game but wow - that was brutal.

 

In 2 years Wemby will be Rudy Gobert with dexterity, agility, a great 3pt shot and good enough handles/driving to destroy closeouts. Plus he has no ego about being crap in his debut. He'll be just fine. That's max to super max territory. His debut wasn't great, but let's not be bitter haters. The only risk with Wemby is development time and injury. I guess if we discover he refuses to be a paint protector then his superstardom could be in jeopardy.

Scoot hated being guarded by Amen. I feel like that could be a 15-year rivalry brewing right there. Henderson is a lock to be a max player with only average gradual improvement. He's closest to being a star of the top 4, but doesn't have a higher ceiling than Wemby or Amen. Still would have preferred him in the draft as the safer path to a star with a slightly lower ceiling than Amen.

Miller's two games were very unimpressive to me. Paul George minus the defensive IQ is not a great player.

As for Amen, I absolutely loved watching him out there. Keep in mind he went up against Henderson and Sharpe which is an NBA starting backcourt next season. I'm now fairly certain that his defense and passing will be on the elite side. I'm not hopeful of his finishing being very good in the next few years. If he's to blossom early, that 3pt shot will have to surprise us. Regardless, I loved what I saw from him in effort, transition, playmaking and defense. What an amazing athlete to add to our core. My type of player.

Whitmore was atrocious. His energy on the court was coming from a place of insecurity. He says he has a chip on his shoulder but he looks tired and frustrated from carrying that chip at the moment. To me, it's clear he was shattered by what happened on draft night. I saw it in his intro press conference also. Udoka needs to talk to him about how to manage that motivation/energy and then give him a very clearly defined offensive role where he can channel that energy like a laser without having to think too much. That will bring the joy back to his game that we see in his college highlights. That joy will make it easier to carry that chip. Give him time, he's very young and his game is still raw. We can afford to give him time.

There's my way too early predictions based off 1-2 games.

 

Unicorns are extremely rare. Like one in a ten million rare. His physique is rare yes there is probably 100 ppl in the entire world taller than 7'3 but not his skillset. Not a good 3pt shooter, not a post god, not unusually good playmaker for a big. Sure he blocks a lot of shots but that's because he is tall. If every single conversation about a player revolves around his height then he's not a unicorn. 99% of the things i hear about him all year was about his wingspan and height. Man if you can't shoot from behind the arc them not being able to block your shot won't matter. Dude airballs threes his percentage is like 27 or sth. Like the things ppl bring up about him is so out there it's getting funny yeah we know he is tall tell us sth else. What part of his game makes him a unicorn. You can buy it i don't.

 

Preach it! Chet and Wemby both need to hit the all you can eat Vegas buffets or something. They get in the lane and get bent over like Gumby. No core strength or sand in their pants. Now they will both be good players based on their defense and semi competent shooting forms, but I think they need a few years in the weight room before I listen to the Unicorn talk again. Scoot and Amen looked so much better - you already see what they bring right now at current skill levels because they are physically ready for the NBA.

 

I think you underestimate Ralph’s talent and ability.

 

French scammer allegations after the first summer league game?!?

 

Chet is way different than Wemby IMHO. I saw a lot of defensive things I didn't like from Wemby yesterday, mostly avoiding contact on defense, cherry picking and ball watching. Wemby's positional defense was amateur at best.

Chet on the other hand is a certified dog. Defensively, Chet seems to always be in the right place and always brings effort. Also, neither player needs to gain weight if they want to stay injury free, especially Wemby.

 

The year we drafted him was the year I became a Rockets fan. Worked UPS at nights, UofH during the day and recording the games on my wired 3 button remote controlled Betamax - lol. While he did well his 1st year as the C (enough for ROY) but not so well that we didn't get a repeat to #1. Moving him to PF didn't really do him any favors but what could you do when you have Akeem - who was less of a PF. The twin tower era was fun to watch but I always felt a little bad for Ralph because you could tell he was trying hard but his natural position would always be C. I didn't underestimate Ralph but I certainly overestimated Wemby. I bought the hype.

 

Ausar's game tipping off now

 

Man i wish we couldve traded up for Ausar.

Also Jaden Ivey having a terrible start.

 

Maybe I'll watch Ausar now that Amen's out for the Summer League. I guess 90% Amen is better than nothing.

 

Ausar already with a great Amen pass. lol.

 

Is it too early to proclaim Anthony Black >>> Jalen Suggs?

 

I selfishly wanted Black and Amen in this draft. lol. Still just summer league, but damn, that's a potentially huge and skilled lineup they're building in Orlando. Cason Wallace was looking like Steph Curry out there. Can't wait to see how this class turns out.

 

nah

 

Watching Pistons right now. Ausar is basically as advertised, close to Amen in terms of skillset but a bit worse at everything.

Also Pistons Ivey is a chucker, strange how NBA fans don't clown him like they do Jalen Green on social media.

 

I see a way in the future that our team would trade for Ausar. Two years from now, after trading Dillion Brooks we would have to give them a FRP and maybe Cam? However, having the twins on the team would be special, national media would push for it and having Jabari, Tari and Ausar as our wings? Perimeter defense?

 

Ausar dribbling into a turnover. Amen would nevah.


(yes... being sarcastic)

 

This game is so funny, entire Pistons team freezing out Ausar. It's like they have no idea who he is.

Pretty sure Ivey hates Ausar because he knows they competing for the same spot. Sucks that Ausar got drafted to that welfare franchise..

Also, unlike other summer league teams.. Pistons literally starting their entire regular season roster minus Cade.

Pistons roster construction makes zero sense... they got 5 point guards and 3 centers