2018 Summer league Thread

[Lipoli390]

Egor just didn't play enough to get a feel for him either. If we are going off college stats etc most of the guys that got minutes were 3 point shooters. Maybe he and Barford didn't do something in practice that the staff wanted. Maybe they had some minor ankle tweak or got sick something we don know about. Andrew White seemed primed to take a step forward but he sucked...really bad. Almost shockingly bad not that he should be so good or anything but yeah. Meanwhile Josh Gray put up nearly 20ppg and shot over 40% from 3 in the g-league last year. It should not be shocking he got minutes on this team. Cousins shot 40% on 3's in the g-league also. Just sayin.

Last year it feels like the Wolves did pretty well with this level of their roster. Last year's Sumer league was pretty well stocked. 5 players from that team signed 2-way deals last year with NBA teams. Amile ended up as one of the best bigs in the entire G-league in his first year. The Wolves kinda started from scratch with their G-league team. One of their first moves was dealing their 1st overall pick in the G-league draft and some other guy to get Michael Bryson and Millsap. I looked back and the players the Suns got in that deal basically didn't do anything. Bryson was a nice complimentary player with some sweet highlight dunks and Millsap was (although iso heavy at times) a pretty good player when healthy. It seems like last year the guys in the g-league draft didn't do a whole lot. They signed Anthony Brown to a 2-way deal and he did what he has done for a few years at that level play fairly well. Some people wondered about signing Marcus Paige to a 2-way deal. They ended up with Melo Trimble who did cool off and Paige came on strong but one guy was just on the g-league roster and the othe rtook up a 2-way deal. Being able to sign Amile later was much preferred to having Paige.

I don't want to get carried away here but there are some signs of an organization that might actually have some clue about identifying and MAYBE even developing this level of talent. Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal but teams like the Spurs have supplemented their roster for years this way and with the G-League and 2-way players there is even more of a Path to finding these guys. If your franchise is above average at identifying that level of talent it's quite possible you will actually hit on some decent players that can actually help. Like a lot of things time will tell but to me there are some signs with being encouraged about. It won't hurt if they get a guy like Amile to actually become a rotation player and the Wolves can be like "See look at Amile we can develop you too" it's a different time but I remember hearing on a podcast a few months ago someone that worked for the Heat said they used to get some of the undrafted guys to come to the heat sometimes for less money because they would tell them something about look at Haslem we signed that guy and...

A G-league team like this was a bigtime thing for me for years because I think it's a real chance at developing guys. Sorry about getting a bit geeked up about it.

Some good points and information, Monster. I love your enthusiasm about the G-League and it's potential for player development.

I watched the second Denver game again tonight. Just finished watching. Actually, Gray and Cousins both looked really good in that game. They both got progressively better as the Summer League progressed. I didn't know until I read your post that both hit 40% of their threes in the G-League last season. I'm thinking that pehaps the Wolves should make one of them their other 2-way player. I like that both of them can handle the ball.

Watching Amile get back in there after losing his tooth shored up my view that the Wolves should make him part of their roster this season. I like your angle about the potential recruitment benefit of signing Amile as an example that working hard and succeeding with the Wolves G-League affiliate can earn you a spot on the big-League roster.

[Monster]

Egor just didn't play enough to get a feel for him either. If we are going off college stats etc most of the guys that got minutes were 3 point shooters. Maybe he and Barford didn't do something in practice that the staff wanted. Maybe they had some minor ankle tweak or got sick something we don know about. Andrew White seemed primed to take a step forward but he sucked...really bad. Almost shockingly bad not that he should be so good or anything but yeah. Meanwhile Josh Gray put up nearly 20ppg and shot over 40% from 3 in the g-league last year. It should not be shocking he got minutes on this team. Cousins shot 40% on 3's in the g-league also. Just sayin.

Last year it feels like the Wolves did pretty well with this level of their roster. Last year's Sumer league was pretty well stocked. 5 players from that team signed 2-way deals last year with NBA teams. Amile ended up as one of the best bigs in the entire G-league in his first year. The Wolves kinda started from scratch with their G-league team. One of their first moves was dealing their 1st overall pick in the G-league draft and some other guy to get Michael Bryson and Millsap. I looked back and the players the Suns got in that deal basically didn't do anything. Bryson was a nice complimentary player with some sweet highlight dunks and Millsap was (although iso heavy at times) a pretty good player when healthy. It seems like last year the guys in the g-league draft didn't do a whole lot. They signed Anthony Brown to a 2-way deal and he did what he has done for a few years at that level play fairly well. Some people wondered about signing Marcus Paige to a 2-way deal. They ended up with Melo Trimble who did cool off and Paige came on strong but one guy was just on the g-league roster and the othe rtook up a 2-way deal. Being able to sign Amile later was much preferred to having Paige.

I don't want to get carried away here but there are some signs of an organization that might actually have some clue about identifying and MAYBE even developing this level of talent. Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal but teams like the Spurs have supplemented their roster for years this way and with the G-League and 2-way players there is even more of a Path to finding these guys. If your franchise is above average at identifying that level of talent it's quite possible you will actually hit on some decent players that can actually help. Like a lot of things time will tell but to me there are some signs with being encouraged about. It won't hurt if they get a guy like Amile to actually become a rotation player and the Wolves can be like "See look at Amile we can develop you too" it's a different time but I remember hearing on a podcast a few months ago someone that worked for the Heat said they used to get some of the undrafted guys to come to the heat sometimes for less money because they would tell them something about look at Haslem we signed that guy and...

A G-league team like this was a bigtime thing for me for years because I think it's a real chance at developing guys. Sorry about getting a bit geeked up about it.

Some good points and information, Monster. I love your enthusiasm about the G-League and it's potential for player development.

I watched the second Denver game again tonight. Just finished watching. Actually, Gray and Cousins both looked really good in that game. They both got progressively better as the Summer League progressed. I didn't know until I read your post that both hit 40% of their threes in the G-League last season. I'm thinking that pehaps the Wolves should make one of them their other 2-way player. I like that both of them can handle the ball.

Watching Amile get back in there after losing his tooth shored up my view that the Wolves should make him part of their roster this season. I like your angle about the potential recruitment benefit of signing Amile as an example that working hard and succeeding with the Wolves G-League affiliate can earn you a spot on the big-League roster.

I thought Cousins showed nice ability to score. He seemed to look bigger than I expected also. We saw guys on this roster but there are guys playing for other teams as well. I'm not sure how everything works with G-League players but I'll be interested to see who all ends up back at Iowa.

Bryson is a guy i hope is back. He signed and played in a pro league in Mexico and based on a few box scores it looks like he did well. His team was in the semifinals for that league. It's not a real high league in terms of talent but he probably made a few thousand for a couple months of work...ESPN said an article last year $15,000 a month was the most anyone makes. I was wondering what he was doing since I couldn't find him on a SL roster. Anyway there are likely some guys that aren't on a summer league roster that are worth considering as well not Bryson specifically but there is talent out there.

Anyway here is a link to the guys that have signed a 2-way deal for the upcoming season. About half the spots have been filled. A couple guys on there are players that signed 2 year two-way deals last season. What a bargain that is for a guy like Alex Caruso. Eventually we are gonna see 2-way players as small trade chips.

https://gleague.nba.com/players-under-two-way-contract-2018-19-season/

In case you are wondering what Anthony Brown is up to he played for the Kings summer league and the stats don't exactly blow anyone away and you would think they would look better but looking at his past SL numbers they never seem to look very good.

[kekgeek]

The main purposes of Summer League are to get a further sense of the potential of your draft picks and identify other young players to add to your organization as a regular roster player or a two-way G-League player. Now that Summer League has ended for the Wolves, here are my thoughts on those two objections as they relate to the Wolves for this upcoming season.

DRAFT PICKS:

The overall performance of our two draft picks has confirmed for me that both are definitely NBA material. I see both ultimately becoming rotation players in the NBA. I also think both have the ability to eventually be solid starters while Okogie has the potential in my view to be an allstar. The three questions for both are (1) how soon they'll reach their floor as rotation players; (2) whether they'll ever reach their respective ceilings; and (3) how long it will take to reach their ceilings if they every get there.

How about this season? I think both might eventually be able to help the Wolves this season, but I think it's more likely KBD will be able to help this season. It would be a huge lift for the Wolves if at least one of these two can become positive contributors as part of the rotation at least by mid-season this year.

Regarding Okogie, I love his high-reving motor, his toughness and his tenacious defense. He displayed a shot-blocking ability I haven't seen from a SG since Dwayne Wade in his prime. At a minimum, Okogie should and likely will become a highly disruptive defender, harassing opposing ballhandlers, jumping passing lanes, blocking shots and forcing turnovers. If he is used properly, as Cam explained, he can also give us some much-needed perimeter shooting as a spot-up shooter. If he eventually tightens his handle and develops at least a little shake in his dribble-drive game, then we're talking about an elite player.

Regarding KBD, I like his basketball IQ and his expansive 7'3 wingspan. We already knew he had great length for a SF or even a PF, but now we know that he plays long. What I really liked about his play in Summer League was how he defended and I particularly liked how he resisted falling for pump fakes. Watching him guard Anunoby effectively was the clincher for me in concluding that KBD is ready to defend at the NBA level. He also showed a nice long-range shooting touch and seemed comfortable from NBA 3-point range. Finally, he has very good rebounding instincts. He doesn't have an NBA-caliber handle for a SF yet, but he should be able to improve that part of his game to some extent. In the meantime, he has the length and rebounding ability to be an effective stretch 4.

OTHER YOUNG PROSPECTS

The only other member of our G-League squad I'd consider adding to the Wolves roster would be Amile Jefferson. It's frustrating to watch his lack of explosiveness and difficulty finishing at the rim. And he clearly lacks any shooting range beyond the paint. But I absolutely loved his hustle, his high basketball IQ and his nose for the ball. And while he's not particularly long or strong, he has a real knack for rebounding. He also seems like such as solid guy, which has been his reputation throughout his college career. I'm thinking the Wolves ought to give the 15th roster spots to Amile. Otherwise, I'd definitely give him the other 2-way contract assuming League rules allow us to do that two seasons in a row.

I was down on Terrell initially, but the more I saw of him the more I could see why Thibodeau gave him one of our 2-way contracts. He has an NBA body to go with a nice NBA-caliber handle and a decent shot. I don't think we've seen the best of him yet. He looks like a player and it will be interesting to see how he performs and develops in the G-League.

Other than Jefferson and Terrell, I didn't see any other NBA-caliber players on our Summer League squad. I like Starks defense. He has very quick hands, is very quick laterally and gets in the ballhandler's space consistently the way I wish current Wolves guards would. He has a decent floater and not a bad looking shot. So he could perhaps become an NBA bench player some day. Gray and Cousins weren't bad and should preform well in the G-League. But I don't see either one playing in the NBA yet and I don't think the Wolves should use a two-way on either one.

I'm really disappointed that Igor didn't get more of a run. I think the organization make a serious mistake by not giving him substantial playing time. He was a bona fide 3-point marksman in college and he actually looked decent in his limited Summer League minutes. I would have also liked to see more minutes from Barford. I know Monster thought he looked a bit clunky, but he just didn't get enough playing time to get a rhythm. Cousins, Gray and Terrell looked clunky the first game that I saw live in Vegas. They got better game to game. Barford's college stats tell he deserved more of a shot and I think the Wolves organization short-changed itself by not failing to do so.

There you have it. Nothing to get overly excited about, but I though there were some good things for the Wolves coming out of Summer League. The real key for the Wolves is whether Thibodeau/Layden spotted any hidden gems on other Summer League squads.

I think it is crucial for the Okoogie and KBD to at least become solid role players down the road. I know I defend Thibs on this site more than a lot of people and that is not because I think Thibs is the greatest coach of all time but because I feel like it is so one side against him that I try to bring the perspective that it is not as bad as many of you think. But the one thing I think Thibs has been bad at is bringing in young talent. He has had 2 drafts and there are 0 positives from either of those 2 drafts. I mean Dunn was ok and maybe could of played a role but he was traded and unlucky or not Patton has not been a positive contributor to the team. (not saying he can't but at this second he has not been).

For the wolves to have continual success in the future we need players that can come in and take over our older players spots when their contracts are up. Hopefully KBD and Okogie can be those players.

[Lipoli390]

The main purposes of Summer League are to get a further sense of the potential of your draft picks and identify other young players to add to your organization as a regular roster player or a two-way G-League player. Now that Summer League has ended for the Wolves, here are my thoughts on those two objections as they relate to the Wolves for this upcoming season.

DRAFT PICKS:

The overall performance of our two draft picks has confirmed for me that both are definitely NBA material. I see both ultimately becoming rotation players in the NBA. I also think both have the ability to eventually be solid starters while Okogie has the potential in my view to be an allstar. The three questions for both are (1) how soon they'll reach their floor as rotation players; (2) whether they'll ever reach their respective ceilings; and (3) how long it will take to reach their ceilings if they every get there.

How about this season? I think both might eventually be able to help the Wolves this season, but I think it's more likely KBD will be able to help this season. It would be a huge lift for the Wolves if at least one of these two can become positive contributors as part of the rotation at least by mid-season this year.

Regarding Okogie, I love his high-reving motor, his toughness and his tenacious defense. He displayed a shot-blocking ability I haven't seen from a SG since Dwayne Wade in his prime. At a minimum, Okogie should and likely will become a highly disruptive defender, harassing opposing ballhandlers, jumping passing lanes, blocking shots and forcing turnovers. If he is used properly, as Cam explained, he can also give us some much-needed perimeter shooting as a spot-up shooter. If he eventually tightens his handle and develops at least a little shake in his dribble-drive game, then we're talking about an elite player.

Regarding KBD, I like his basketball IQ and his expansive 7'3 wingspan. We already knew he had great length for a SF or even a PF, but now we know that he plays long. What I really liked about his play in Summer League was how he defended and I particularly liked how he resisted falling for pump fakes. Watching him guard Anunoby effectively was the clincher for me in concluding that KBD is ready to defend at the NBA level. He also showed a nice long-range shooting touch and seemed comfortable from NBA 3-point range. Finally, he has very good rebounding instincts. He doesn't have an NBA-caliber handle for a SF yet, but he should be able to improve that part of his game to some extent. In the meantime, he has the length and rebounding ability to be an effective stretch 4.

OTHER YOUNG PROSPECTS

The only other member of our G-League squad I'd consider adding to the Wolves roster would be Amile Jefferson. It's frustrating to watch his lack of explosiveness and difficulty finishing at the rim. And he clearly lacks any shooting range beyond the paint. But I absolutely loved his hustle, his high basketball IQ and his nose for the ball. And while he's not particularly long or strong, he has a real knack for rebounding. He also seems like such as solid guy, which has been his reputation throughout his college career. I'm thinking the Wolves ought to give the 15th roster spots to Amile. Otherwise, I'd definitely give him the other 2-way contract assuming League rules allow us to do that two seasons in a row.

I was down on Terrell initially, but the more I saw of him the more I could see why Thibodeau gave him one of our 2-way contracts. He has an NBA body to go with a nice NBA-caliber handle and a decent shot. I don't think we've seen the best of him yet. He looks like a player and it will be interesting to see how he performs and develops in the G-League.

Other than Jefferson and Terrell, I didn't see any other NBA-caliber players on our Summer League squad. I like Starks defense. He has very quick hands, is very quick laterally and gets in the ballhandler's space consistently the way I wish current Wolves guards would. He has a decent floater and not a bad looking shot. So he could perhaps become an NBA bench player some day. Gray and Cousins weren't bad and should preform well in the G-League. But I don't see either one playing in the NBA yet and I don't think the Wolves should use a two-way on either one.

I'm really disappointed that Igor didn't get more of a run. I think the organization make a serious mistake by not giving him substantial playing time. He was a bona fide 3-point marksman in college and he actually looked decent in his limited Summer League minutes. I would have also liked to see more minutes from Barford. I know Monster thought he looked a bit clunky, but he just didn't get enough playing time to get a rhythm. Cousins, Gray and Terrell looked clunky the first game that I saw live in Vegas. They got better game to game. Barford's college stats tell he deserved more of a shot and I think the Wolves organization short-changed itself by not failing to do so.

There you have it. Nothing to get overly excited about, but I though there were some goo

The main purposes of Summer League are to get a further sense of the potential of your draft picks and identify other young players to add to your organization as a regular roster player or a two-way G-League player. Now that Summer League has ended for the Wolves, here are my thoughts on those two objections as they relate to the Wolves for this upcoming season.

DRAFT PICKS:

The overall performance of our two draft picks has confirmed for me that both are definitely NBA material. I see both ultimately becoming rotation players in the NBA. I also think both have the ability to eventually be solid starters while Okogie has the potential in my view to be an allstar. The three questions for both are (1) how soon they'll reach their floor as rotation players; (2) whether they'll ever reach their respective ceilings; and (3) how long it will take to reach their ceilings if they every get there.

How about this season? I think both might eventually be able to help the Wolves this season, but I think it's more likely KBD will be able to help this season. It would be a huge lift for the Wolves if at least one of these two can become positive contributors as part of the rotation at least by mid-season this year.

Regarding Okogie, I love his high-reving motor, his toughness and his tenacious defense. He displayed a shot-blocking ability I haven't seen from a SG since Dwayne Wade in his prime. At a minimum, Okogie should and likely will become a highly disruptive defender, harassing opposing ballhandlers, jumping passing lanes, blocking shots and forcing turnovers. If he is used properly, as Cam explained, he can also give us some much-needed perimeter shooting as a spot-up shooter. If he eventually tightens his handle and develops at least a little shake in his dribble-drive game, then we're talking about an elite player.

Regarding KBD, I like his basketball IQ and his expansive 7'3 wingspan. We already knew he had great length for a SF or even a PF, but now we know that he plays long. What I really liked about his play in Summer League was how he defended and I particularly liked how he resisted falling for pump fakes. Watching him guard Anunoby effectively was the clincher for me in concluding that KBD is ready to defend at the NBA level. He also showed a nice long-range shooting touch and seemed comfortable from NBA 3-point range. Finally, he has very good rebounding instincts. He doesn't have an NBA-caliber handle for a SF yet, but he should be able to improve that part of his game to some extent. In the meantime, he has the length and rebounding ability to be an effective stretch 4.

OTHER YOUNG PROSPECTS

The only other member of our G-League squad I'd consider adding to the Wolves roster would be Amile Jefferson. It's frustrating to watch his lack of explosiveness and difficulty finishing at the rim. And he clearly lacks any shooting range beyond the paint. But I absolutely loved his hustle, his high basketball IQ and his nose for the ball. And while he's not particularly long or strong, he has a real knack for rebounding. He also seems like such as solid guy, which has been his reputation throughout his college career. I'm thinking the Wolves ought to give the 15th roster spots to Amile. Otherwise, I'd definitely give him the other 2-way contract assuming League rules allow us to do that two seasons in a row.

I was down on Terrell initially, but the more I saw of him the more I could see why Thibodeau gave him one of our 2-way contracts. He has an NBA body to go with a nice NBA-caliber handle and a decent shot. I don't think we've seen the best of him yet. He looks like a player and it will be interesting to see how he performs and develops in the G-League.

Other than Jefferson and Terrell, I didn't see any other NBA-caliber players on our Summer League squad. I like Starks defense. He has very quick hands, is very quick laterally and gets in the ballhandler's space consistently the way I wish current Wolves guards would. He has a decent floater and not a bad looking shot. So he could perhaps become an NBA bench player some day. Gray and Cousins weren't bad and should preform well in the G-League. But I don't see either one playing in the NBA yet and I don't think the Wolves should use a two-way on either one.

I'm really disappointed that Igor didn't get more of a run. I think the organization make a serious mistake by not giving him substantial playing time. He was a bona fide 3-point marksman in college and he actually looked decent in his limited Summer League minutes. I would have also liked to see more minutes from Barford. I know Monster thought he looked a bit clunky, but he just didn't get enough playing time to get a rhythm. Cousins, Gray and Terrell looked clunky the first game that I saw live in Vegas. They got better game to game. Barford's college stats tell he deserved more of a shot and I think the Wolves organization short-changed itself by not failing to do so.

There you have it. Nothing to get overly excited about, but I though there were some good things for the Wolves coming out of Summer League. The real key for the Wolves is whether Thibodeau/Layden spotted any hidden gems on other Summer League squads.

I think it is crucial for the Okoogie and KBD to at least become solid role players down the road. I know I defend Thibs on this site more than a lot of people and that is not because I think Thibs is the greatest coach of all time but because I feel like it is so one side against him that I try to bring the perspective that it is not as bad as many of you think. But the one thing I think Thibs has been bad at is bringing in young talent. He has had 2 drafts and there are 0 positives from either of those 2 drafts. I mean Dunn was ok and maybe could of played a role but he was traded and unlucky or not Patton has not been a positive contributor to the team. (not saying he can't but at this second he has not been).

For the wolves to have continual success in the future we need players that can come in and take over our older players spots when their contracts are up. Hopefully KBD and Okogie can be those players.

d things for the Wolves coming out of Summer League. The real key for the Wolves is whether Thibodeau/Layden spotted any hidden gems on other Summer League squads.

I think it is crucial for the Okoogie and KBD to at least become solid role players down the road. I know I defend Thibs on this site more than a lot of people and that is not because I think Thibs is the greatest coach of all time but because I feel like it is so one side against him that I try to bring the perspective that it is not as bad as many of you think. But the one thing I think Thibs has been bad at is bringing in young talent. He has had 2 drafts and there are 0 positives from either of those 2 drafts. I mean Dunn was ok and maybe could of played a role but he was traded and unlucky or not Patton has not been a positive contributor to the team. (not saying he can't but at this second he has not been).

For the wolves to have continual success in the future we need players that can come in and take over our older players spots when their contracts are up. Hopefully KBD and Okogie can be those players.

I agree that we need KBD or Okogie (preferrably both) to become a net positive rotation player this season. Our bench last season was our biggest weakness and so far we haven't added anyone who is likely to significantly improve our bench. We lost our best and only true bench scorer in Crawford and Tolliver for Belly is pretty much a wash.

I also agree that Thibodeau has come up empty in adding productive young talent to our roster. His judgment on young talent so far hasn't proven to be very good. Most of us rubes on this Board showed better judgment two years ago when we wanted Murray or Hield over Dunn. And many of us wanted John Collins or Anunoby last year. Thankfully, the jury's still out on Patton so maybe he'll pan out. But I have more hope for Okogie and KBD than I do for Patton. Let's hope they come through this year.

[MikkeMan]

I don't want to go all crazy about KBD but he looks good. I think he can play some 3 but he looks like a guy with talent to play as a complimentary starting PF. I'm not saying he WILL BE that good but its not that hard to imagine it happening. He had some closeouts (also fouled a jumpshooter) where guys blew past him but he did keep them from getting up a 3 so at least he accomplished that. I think there is enough there to have real optimism about having selected a real NBA player in the 2nd round. That's somewhat foreign to us around here.

I agree that KBD looked good in summer league. I also watched some of his college high lights and got even more excited. I have been trying to think NBA players that he reminds based on his physical profile and game and thought he could be in best case something between Kyle Kuzma and Al-Farouq Aminu. Kuzma had a really good rookie season but as a draft prospect he was pretty comparable to KBD. Both were tweener forwards with unreliable jump shot and questionable handle. KBD has little more length and jumps higher but Kuzma was more agile. Aminu was a better prospect than either KBD or Kuzma because he was much younger but it seems that he just didn't improve that much in pros.