2006 Vegas Summer League (merged)
- Thread starter CruzDude
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Rocky Mountain Review in Salt Lake City takes place 14-21 July at the Salt Lake Community College gym at 4600 South Redwood Road. For more info see: http://www.nba.com/jazz/Revue/2006_Rocky_Mountain_Revue.html
Teams participating are Hawks, Mavs, 76ers, Spurs, Sonics and Jazz
Teams participating are Hawks, Mavs, 76ers, Spurs, Sonics and Jazz
Rod Benson scored 24 points and pulled down 7 boards in the SPDL All Star game tonight, playing roughly 1/2 the game. Benson mostly scored inside but also showed some nice form on some 15 foot jumpers.
And FYI, for those of you worried about KMart injuring himself, he did not play in the SPDL All Star game tonite.
And FYI, for those of you worried about KMart injuring himself, he did not play in the SPDL All Star game tonite.
Guys have to play, especially young guys. SPDL? Its a joke. The danger there is negligble. Not even sure if anybody runs back on defense. Summer leagvue isn;t much better. These are not overwhlelmingly intense do or die competitons. You have a basketball player, he's got to play to get better, keep sharp, etrc. Its both a passion and a job. If its not in these sorts of things, it'll be pickup or whatnot. Major tournaments? Sure, becomes a problem. But not this piddly stuff.
More of my concern wiht Kevin in summer leagfue is just now all the other guys who need it more than he does. But injuries? Just a waste of time to worry about that at this level. Might happen. But could happen anywhere.
More of my concern wiht Kevin in summer leagfue is just now all the other guys who need it more than he does. But injuries? Just a waste of time to worry about that at this level. Might happen. But could happen anywhere.
Guys don't have to play THERE when we have others we need to look at. Bibby needs to play too, but I would be more than a little annoyed if he showed up at summer league "just to keep in shape" and we didn't get to see what Price or Douby could do because of it.
Kevin committed to this before we had all of these guys to look at, and when it was just our normal summer league bunch of scrubs approach, why not. But things have changed a bit now, and it would be nice to know heading into free agency and then trade season whetehr we can count on any of the various kiddies to be roster pr rotation guys.
Kevin committed to this before we had all of these guys to look at, and when it was just our normal summer league bunch of scrubs approach, why not. But things have changed a bit now, and it would be nice to know heading into free agency and then trade season whetehr we can count on any of the various kiddies to be roster pr rotation guys.
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Vegas Summer League roster update. Kevin will be playing.
Here are some thumbnails on Justin, Yemi, Amundson and Taj. Yemi seems a real possible diamond in the rough:
JUSTIN WILLIAMS
Strengths: Long, athletic post player with great leaping ability ... Tremendous shot blocker. Great timing and long arms make him a menace inside the paint for opposing players ... Alters a lot of shots ... Runs the floor well ... Has a huge wing span ... Quick feet and great reflexes ... Strong rebounder. Big hands. Good at attacking the glass and scoring on put backs ... Hard worker, his offensive game has shown solid improvement ... Does a good job of playing to his strengths ... Could fit a role on an NBA team due to his rebounding and shot blocking ability ...
Weaknesses: Lacks great body strength ... Can probably add some weight, but will always likely be on the thin side for a post player ... Lacks great offensive skills ... More of a defensive and rebounding type of player ... Below average free throw shooter ... Lacks great range on his shot ... Offensive moves inside are weak ... Rebounding could improve with better positioning and technique ... Turnover prone, must cut down on turnovers ... Can be foul prone, since he is so aggressive on the defensive end, but has improved at cutting down on fouls ... Lacks great passing and ball handling skills ... Should develop a go to move, lacks the ability to create shots for himself ...
Note: Second in the nation this year in blocks at 5.4 per game. Also averaged a double double with 11 ppg and 11 rpg
YEMI NICHOLSON
Notes: Wingspan: 7-4 1/4, Standing reach: 8-11, Maximum vertical jump: 26 inches
Positives: Unlike most of the big guys in the draft, Nicholson has the size and the body of an NBA center and put up great numbers, averaging 19.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.8 bpg, shooting 60.3 percent from the field.
Negatives: So why isn't he ranked higher? First, he's put up those numbers in the Sun Belt conference, not stellar competition for a big man like Nicholson. Second, scouts question his conditioning and overall athleticism. He's big, but he plays big and doesn't get up and down the floor as well as scouts want.
• majoring in communications • expected to graduate one quarter early in March 2006
• aspires to become a computer scientist after graduation
• won the Louis Armstrong Award for his stellar play of the jazz saxophone
LOUIS AMUNDSON
Strengths: Tremendous rebounder at the small forward position ... A late bloomer who has long been an extremely athletic player and has worked very hard to add offensive abilities to his game ... An energy player who gives great effort every game ... Plays within himself ... Extremely quick and explosive, plays the game with passion ... Long arms and great leaping ability ... Crashes the boards especially hard, a tenacious rebounder on both ends of the floor ... Tough to guard close to the basket ... Very good defensively with quick feet and the desire to work hard on the defensive end ... Wiry strong athlete who absorbs contact well ...
Weaknesses: Limited offensively, he has little range on his shot past 12 feet (although it has greatly improved in the past year) ... His ball handling skills are weak ... He gets most of his points in close to the basket with garbage (rebound and putback) buckets ... Lacks the strength to play power forward and is not highly skilled on the perimeter, however his foot speed makes him solid defensively ... Poor free throw shooter, but has showed some improvement ... Lacks great vision and passing ability ..
TAJ GRAY
energetic, versatile and skilled PF, scary to think that this is just his first year of playing Division I, extremely athletic and will likely thrive in an up-tempo offense; he runs the floor very well and has an outstanding vertical leap, fantastic player to have in transition, ery good court demeanor, he is unselfish and very energetic, but: FT @ 60%, emotion=foul trouble, shooting mechanics are bad, needs to work on boxing out his man
As to Rob Benson, it was hard finding any scouting report other than some data from Cal. Seems he fell off the radar screen with the surgery in January. In 20 games with Cal this past year he averaged 20min, shot well, was poor FT (61%), and had minimal Reb and Blk.
Here are some thumbnails on Justin, Yemi, Amundson and Taj. Yemi seems a real possible diamond in the rough:
JUSTIN WILLIAMS
Strengths: Long, athletic post player with great leaping ability ... Tremendous shot blocker. Great timing and long arms make him a menace inside the paint for opposing players ... Alters a lot of shots ... Runs the floor well ... Has a huge wing span ... Quick feet and great reflexes ... Strong rebounder. Big hands. Good at attacking the glass and scoring on put backs ... Hard worker, his offensive game has shown solid improvement ... Does a good job of playing to his strengths ... Could fit a role on an NBA team due to his rebounding and shot blocking ability ...
Weaknesses: Lacks great body strength ... Can probably add some weight, but will always likely be on the thin side for a post player ... Lacks great offensive skills ... More of a defensive and rebounding type of player ... Below average free throw shooter ... Lacks great range on his shot ... Offensive moves inside are weak ... Rebounding could improve with better positioning and technique ... Turnover prone, must cut down on turnovers ... Can be foul prone, since he is so aggressive on the defensive end, but has improved at cutting down on fouls ... Lacks great passing and ball handling skills ... Should develop a go to move, lacks the ability to create shots for himself ...
Note: Second in the nation this year in blocks at 5.4 per game. Also averaged a double double with 11 ppg and 11 rpg
YEMI NICHOLSON
Notes: Wingspan: 7-4 1/4, Standing reach: 8-11, Maximum vertical jump: 26 inches
Positives: Unlike most of the big guys in the draft, Nicholson has the size and the body of an NBA center and put up great numbers, averaging 19.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.8 bpg, shooting 60.3 percent from the field.
Negatives: So why isn't he ranked higher? First, he's put up those numbers in the Sun Belt conference, not stellar competition for a big man like Nicholson. Second, scouts question his conditioning and overall athleticism. He's big, but he plays big and doesn't get up and down the floor as well as scouts want.
• majoring in communications • expected to graduate one quarter early in March 2006
• aspires to become a computer scientist after graduation
• won the Louis Armstrong Award for his stellar play of the jazz saxophone
LOUIS AMUNDSON
Strengths: Tremendous rebounder at the small forward position ... A late bloomer who has long been an extremely athletic player and has worked very hard to add offensive abilities to his game ... An energy player who gives great effort every game ... Plays within himself ... Extremely quick and explosive, plays the game with passion ... Long arms and great leaping ability ... Crashes the boards especially hard, a tenacious rebounder on both ends of the floor ... Tough to guard close to the basket ... Very good defensively with quick feet and the desire to work hard on the defensive end ... Wiry strong athlete who absorbs contact well ...
Weaknesses: Limited offensively, he has little range on his shot past 12 feet (although it has greatly improved in the past year) ... His ball handling skills are weak ... He gets most of his points in close to the basket with garbage (rebound and putback) buckets ... Lacks the strength to play power forward and is not highly skilled on the perimeter, however his foot speed makes him solid defensively ... Poor free throw shooter, but has showed some improvement ... Lacks great vision and passing ability ..
TAJ GRAY
energetic, versatile and skilled PF, scary to think that this is just his first year of playing Division I, extremely athletic and will likely thrive in an up-tempo offense; he runs the floor very well and has an outstanding vertical leap, fantastic player to have in transition, ery good court demeanor, he is unselfish and very energetic, but: FT @ 60%, emotion=foul trouble, shooting mechanics are bad, needs to work on boxing out his man
As to Rob Benson, it was hard finding any scouting report other than some data from Cal. Seems he fell off the radar screen with the surgery in January. In 20 games with Cal this past year he averaged 20min, shot well, was poor FT (61%), and had minimal Reb and Blk.
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Justin Williams draftexpress profile is a lot more informative and deep... as are most of their profiles in general:
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=346 - J-Will
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=342 - Nicholson
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=550 - Amundson
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=338 - Gray
No profile on Rod Benson at DX...
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=346 - J-Will
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=342 - Nicholson
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=550 - Amundson
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=338 - Gray
No profile on Rod Benson at DX...
It's great to see all the big guys battling it out in the Summer League. I hope we sign a few of them. How does this group compare to prior years? Did we have any big guys besides maybe Sampson and that tall ginger Aussie...didn't he play with the Bulls last year? How do other teams compare with who they have playing for them this summer? This is great news, but I'm hoping to get some perspective as to what we did in prior years and what the other teams are doing. It seems that we did grab a good group of undrafted guys that worked out with us.
Musselman definitely has had an influence on this. No way Adelman would be bringing in these defensive-minded, athletic bigs. 
Last year? No, nothing like this. I remmeber Rob Archibald, and that's it. For training camp, we had Luke Schenscer/Anwar Ferguson/couple others, Jamal Sampson was actually signed in August.
Last year? No, nothing like this. I remmeber Rob Archibald, and that's it. For training camp, we had Luke Schenscer/Anwar Ferguson/couple others, Jamal Sampson was actually signed in August.
Thanks for the reply. I read we scooped up some of the best talent big guys not drafted, but who do the other teams have that are decent bigs that went unsigned as well? Just trying to put this in perspective. Also can we stash a bunch of these guys away in the minor league etc to keep them Kings eventhough they aren't on the official game roster? I sure hope we sign a few of them eventhough it does take bigs longer to develop we sure need the help as everyone knows around the basket. We could even keep Brad if we have some stud pup coming in off the bench to give us some interior D. I sure hope we shed K9 now hopefully in favor of Shareef starting or a new veteran PF starting, Shareef coming off the bench as a 6th man and a few young bigs to back up C as 2nd/3rd string and PF 3rd string or some combo....just give us some pulse and energy at the 4 and 5 with shoot blocking, rebounds, etc...how nice that would be for a change.
That's great to hear. When a player doesn't get drafted, he cannot go into another year's draft can he? I know how many teams don't carry more than 12-13 players and I can see why every year the college players only have 60 spots to fill since we only have 2 rounds of drafting. I hope these young guys give it everything they have in the summer league and still around our franchise if they are good, but many not ready yet. Hopefully then we can send them down to a minor league and still keep them around.
It must be so nerve racking to sit there waiting to be drafted knowing the # you are drafted and if you are drafted at all means so much $ now and in the future. Going from rags to riches just like that is amazing.
It must be so nerve racking to sit there waiting to be drafted knowing the # you are drafted and if you are drafted at all means so much $ now and in the future. Going from rags to riches just like that is amazing.
Realistically, there's only room for one guy -- maybe -- from summer league, and even more realistically, that guy's not going to get much playing time. I have a feeling it will be Gray because he's more polished and flew under the radar for some reason, but these guys probably aren't the real answer inside, at least not yet.
Musselman has a history of playing 9 or 10 guys in the beginning and if Sampson isn't back and Potapenko gets traded and Monia plays in Europe this year then Miller and SAR are our only true 4/5.
So roster WAS 14 with Monia inactive and Sampson not playing plus Potapenko brings us down to 11 if Wells stays. Add 3 from summer league and put one on NBDL and they get to the 13 minimum they have to have. But check back around the 12th when the Kings have finished summer league to see who deserved a training camp shot.
So roster WAS 14 with Monia inactive and Sampson not playing plus Potapenko brings us down to 11 if Wells stays. Add 3 from summer league and put one on NBDL and they get to the 13 minimum they have to have. But check back around the 12th when the Kings have finished summer league to see who deserved a training camp shot.
Another thing to remember about Muss is that he has played guys that you really wouldn't think many coaches would play and then they succeeded beyond expectations. Like Boykins, Cardinal, Claxton, etc. Of course who knows what he does but I wouldn't put it past him seeing a young guy get minutes if he hustles.