Minnesota Sports Forum

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 7:36 am

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 2:34 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2026 6:03 pm

I'd call him an outlier. I would also say that while it's not brute athleticism, his ability to use his stocky body and elite footwork to get shots off or draw fouls is also very unique.

I'll add that Pullin is 6'3.5" without shoes but has less impressive wingspan at 6'5.75". That's a lot bigger than Brunson and a pretty solid size for a PG especially since he is far from a skinny dude.

He reminds me of Jamal Murray, both in his physical profile and his actual game when I watch him play. Just a really smooth game with a deadly pull-up 2-pt jumper and solid 3-point shot. Both had similar measurements at the combine in terms of height, wingspan, weight, etc. But Jamal Murray out-jumped him by 5+ inches in the vertical and that tells you a lot about where Pullin stands athletically, as I don't view Murray as having elite athleticism by NBA standards.

He's getting too good for the G-League, so I just have to wonder what else could be holding him back from landing a standard contract and the only thing I can come up with is that the size, speed, and athleticism of the NBA trumps his skill-set, at least for now. May be he's even more skillful after another offseason and can make the leap, IDK.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 8:17 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 7:36 am

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 2:34 am

I'll add that Pullin is 6'3.5" without shoes but has less impressive wingspan at 6'5.75". That's a lot bigger than Brunson and a pretty solid size for a PG especially since he is far from a skinny dude.

He reminds me of Jamal Murray, both in his physical profile and his actual game when I watch him play. Just a really smooth game with a deadly pull-up 2-pt jumper and solid 3-point shot. Both had similar measurements at the combine in terms of height, wingspan, weight, etc. But Jamal Murray out-jumped him by 5+ inches in the vertical and that tells you a lot about where Pullin stands athletically, as I don't view Murray as having elite athleticism by NBA standards.

He's getting too good for the G-League, so I just have to wonder what else could be holding him back from landing a standard contract and the only thing I can come up with is that the size, speed, and athleticism of the NBA trumps his skill-set, at least for now. May be he's even more skillful after another offseason and can make the leap, IDK.

Something appears to be holding him back and I can’t come up with anything other than his lack of athleticism. If i were in charge of an NBA teams’ basketball operations I’d give Zyon a try at the NBA level. That’s the only way to find out if his impressive skill set isn’t enough to overcome his athletic limitations.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 8:26 am

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 8:17 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2026 7:36 am

He reminds me of Jamal Murray, both in his physical profile and his actual game when I watch him play. Just a really smooth game with a deadly pull-up 2-pt jumper and solid 3-point shot. Both had similar measurements at the combine in terms of height, wingspan, weight, etc. But Jamal Murray out-jumped him by 5+ inches in the vertical and that tells you a lot about where Pullin stands athletically, as I don't view Murray as having elite athleticism by NBA standards.

He's getting too good for the G-League, so I just have to wonder what else could be holding him back from landing a standard contract and the only thing I can come up with is that the size, speed, and athleticism of the NBA trumps his skill-set, at least for now. May be he's even more skillful after another offseason and can make the leap, IDK.

Something appears to be holding him back and I can’t come up with anything other than his lack of athleticism. If i were in charge of an NBA teams’ basketball operations I’d give Zyon a try at the NBA level. That’s the only way to find out if his impressive skill set isn’t enough to overcome his athletic limitations.

In 22 games in the G-League last year (he was injured in the middle of the season for a spell) this is what he did:

25.3 PPG, 58 FG%, 53 3PT%, 82 FT%, 4.2 RPG, 6.2 APG, 2.2 TOs, +9.5 Net Rating

I mean, just a sparkling stat line and winning basketball when he was on the floor. What more can he gain from the G-League?

May be he just needs an extended chance somewhere. Otherwise, he'd easily be able to play for one of the top European teams.

FNG wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 9:29 am Every year there seems to be one player who dominates summer league and gets us all really excited, but never really has much of a chance of contributing to the big club. Who is your pick for the Summer League God this year?

I'm going with the other Trey...Kaufman-Renn. Parker Fox said he is the strongest player he has ever faced, and he's also older than many of the guys he'll be playing against. I think he'll be a man among boys in summer league.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:24 am This is such an awesome site Tim has put together. I went back to our Summer League thread from 2019. That's when we had Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop, McLaughlin, Naz Reid among others. Such a fun read because we know what Naz Reid ultimately became for us and even McLaughlin contributed some valuable minutes for us down the line.

Here are some of the comments from that thread:

Wildwolf - "KBD isn't gonna last long in the NBA if he can't hit open 3's."

Lipoli (who was there in person) - "Reid has great potential. He's big, strong and smart with a nice-looking 3-point shot."

Q12543 - "Naz Reid is an interesting player. The dude is really big and strong, but also has quite a nice touch from outside. I'm just not sure about his overall fitness level and ability to play at an NBA speed."

Kekgeek - "Okogie has been out of control again."

Lipoli - "I'm trying to figure out why McLaughlin is getting so many minutes. He's the worst player on the floor!!"

Lipoli - "Jordan McLaughlin has totally won me over with his great handle, quickness and high basketball IQ. I'm embarrassed by my initial negative reaction to him. I'm serious when I say I'd like to see him get a 2-way contract from us."

Q12543 - "McLaughlin is growing on me. Totally did nothing to distinguish himself in game 1, but since then has just gotten better and better."

Camden - "Get Naz Reid on the Kevin Love diet and he could be a really nice player in this league."

Kekgeek - "Herro lighting up the wolves. 9 straight pts all on 3s"....."Herro looks like the real deal, just torching the wolves in every aspect of the game."

Monsterpile - "Naz looks like a terrific find. If he gets in better shape and develops...he has some real upside. Damn I'm excited about him."

Camden - "Prigioni (2019 Summer League Head Coach) and Vanterpool >>> Saunders. Glad we have all three in some capacity, but yeah, it's very likely that the "worst" of the three is the actual head coach."

Lipoli - "I should note also that my guy, Alexander-Walker, had 34 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, hitting 5 of his 12 three-point attempts. He's one of the guys I would have preferred at #11 to Culver at #6. It's only one summer league game fo course. We'll have to see how A-Walker and Culver perform throughout the season. But I saw nothing in Culver's college stats or physical profile that distinguished him as better than A-Walker."

KG4Ever - "Sure guys like Martin, McLaughlin, Reid and Creek played well, but none of them are likely to be impactful NBA players."

Monster wrote: ↑Thu Jul 09, 2026 11:49 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:24 am This is such an awesome site Tim has put together. I went back to our Summer League thread from 2019. That's when we had Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop, McLaughlin, Naz Reid among others. Such a fun read because we know what Naz Reid ultimately became for us and even McLaughlin contributed some valuable minutes for us down the line.

Here are some of the comments from that thread:

Wildwolf - "KBD isn't gonna last long in the NBA if he can't hit open 3's."

Lipoli (who was there in person) - "Reid has great potential. He's big, strong and smart with a nice-looking 3-point shot."

Q12543 - "Naz Reid is an interesting player. The dude is really big and strong, but also has quite a nice touch from outside. I'm just not sure about his overall fitness level and ability to play at an NBA speed."

Kekgeek - "Okogie has been out of control again."

Lipoli - "I'm trying to figure out why McLaughlin is getting so many minutes. He's the worst player on the floor!!"

Lipoli - "Jordan McLaughlin has totally won me over with his great handle, quickness and high basketball IQ. I'm embarrassed by my initial negative reaction to him. I'm serious when I say I'd like to see him get a 2-way contract from us."

Q12543 - "McLaughlin is growing on me. Totally did nothing to distinguish himself in game 1, but since then has just gotten better and better."

Camden - "Get Naz Reid on the Kevin Love diet and he could be a really nice player in this league."

Kekgeek - "Herro lighting up the wolves. 9 straight pts all on 3s"....."Herro looks like the real deal, just torching the wolves in every aspect of the game."

Monsterpile - "Naz looks like a terrific find. If he gets in better shape and develops...he has some real upside. Damn I'm excited about him."

Camden - "Prigioni (2019 Summer League Head Coach) and Vanterpool >>> Saunders. Glad we have all three in some capacity, but yeah, it's very likely that the "worst" of the three is the actual head coach."

Lipoli - "I should note also that my guy, Alexander-Walker, had 34 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, hitting 5 of his 12 three-point attempts. He's one of the guys I would have preferred at #11 to Culver at #6. It's only one summer league game fo course. We'll have to see how A-Walker and Culver perform throughout the season. But I saw nothing in Culver's college stats or physical profile that distinguished him as better than A-Walker."

KG4Ever - "Sure guys like Martin, McLaughlin, Reid and Creek played well, but none of them are likely to be impactful NBA players."

This was a fun look back Q!