Summer League 2023 open thread
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
That Wemby jerkfest by ESCNN was TOUGH to watch and listen.
It reminded me how much I loathe what pro “team“ sports has descended into over the years. There’s 10 players out there on the court yet they spend the entire broadcast with one player in frame and gushing over every simple thing he does. It’s a joke.
I sure wish the media and fans would allow these players to “earn” their hype rather than manufacture it before it is deserved.
I get it. Wemby is a long limbed freak. Cool. But that alone doesn’t make everything he does (including standing still) special.
LMFAO at all the fans waving their Wemby jerseys as if they‘ve known about him and watched him for years. They simply heard about him and bought in just because it is the “thing” to do.
Nothing against the kid personally, as I’m confident he’ll develop into a really unique talent that will, at the least, be a defensive problem for years to come. But I prefer seeing overhyped things like this result in disappointment (9 points).
Leave the kid alone and let him develop. And most of all, cover all the other players equally deserving to get some of the attention and spotlight.
It reminded me how much I loathe what pro “team“ sports has descended into over the years. There’s 10 players out there on the court yet they spend the entire broadcast with one player in frame and gushing over every simple thing he does. It’s a joke.
I sure wish the media and fans would allow these players to “earn” their hype rather than manufacture it before it is deserved.
I get it. Wemby is a long limbed freak. Cool. But that alone doesn’t make everything he does (including standing still) special.
LMFAO at all the fans waving their Wemby jerseys as if they‘ve known about him and watched him for years. They simply heard about him and bought in just because it is the “thing” to do.
Nothing against the kid personally, as I’m confident he’ll develop into a really unique talent that will, at the least, be a defensive problem for years to come. But I prefer seeing overhyped things like this result in disappointment (9 points).
Leave the kid alone and let him develop. And most of all, cover all the other players equally deserving to get some of the attention and spotlight.
Questions to those more invested in SL than me.
Is this the 1st time ALL 30 teams are represented in the Vegas SL? I don’t recall that happening before.
What happened to the Orlando SL? When/why was it discontinued? I’d assume sometime after 2020.
Have all 30 NBA teams fielded a SL team for a while now? I ask because I know not all 30 teams have had a G-League affilliate and I believe a few still do not.
Also, because I am more familiar with the Vegas SL and rarely have followed the Orlando SL I don’t know if all 30 teams were represented among both.
Thanks in advance.
Is this the 1st time ALL 30 teams are represented in the Vegas SL? I don’t recall that happening before.
What happened to the Orlando SL? When/why was it discontinued? I’d assume sometime after 2020.
Have all 30 NBA teams fielded a SL team for a while now? I ask because I know not all 30 teams have had a G-League affilliate and I believe a few still do not.
Also, because I am more familiar with the Vegas SL and rarely have followed the Orlando SL I don’t know if all 30 teams were represented among both.
Thanks in advance.
Really? How so? Cause if you disagree with me I can easily flip it and say that’s a take for the ages.
Apparently you haven’t listened to any of Pops numerous politic-filled pre and post game pressers over the decades where he lectures everybody about what he believes to be right and wrong — instead of, you know, talking and coaching basketball.
Agree or disagree with his non-basketball takes, you are utterly naive and/or ignorant to deny that he does any of that. He is most definitely a sanctimonious blowhard. I could easily link to numerous examples to support that statement, but since they are of a political nature I’m sure they’d be removed by our moderator team.
Yes, Kerr does the exact same thing. No argument there. But where do you think Kerr learned the practice? Surely you are aware that Kerr played for Pop on two separate occasions and cites him as an influence.
To conclude, none of what I said above directly discusses politics or is siding with or against the things Pop has said. I’m only stating that he frequently deviates from the topic of basketball and drones on about his beliefs. Something many dislike in the world of sports and entertainment whether we agree or disagree with the message.
And before anybody jumps to conclusions to believe I am just on the opposite side of Pop’s beliefs, one of the many instances I am referring to was a political topic in which I largely agreed with Pop’s position. Like many others, I just didn’t believe he should be infusing it into sports nor did I believe his lecturing tone was appropriate. I’ll leave it at that.
Apparently you haven’t listened to any of Pops numerous politic-filled pre and post game pressers over the decades where he lectures everybody about what he believes to be right and wrong — instead of, you know, talking and coaching basketball.
Agree or disagree with his non-basketball takes, you are utterly naive and/or ignorant to deny that he does any of that. He is most definitely a sanctimonious blowhard. I could easily link to numerous examples to support that statement, but since they are of a political nature I’m sure they’d be removed by our moderator team.
Yes, Kerr does the exact same thing. No argument there. But where do you think Kerr learned the practice? Surely you are aware that Kerr played for Pop on two separate occasions and cites him as an influence.
To conclude, none of what I said above directly discusses politics or is siding with or against the things Pop has said. I’m only stating that he frequently deviates from the topic of basketball and drones on about his beliefs. Something many dislike in the world of sports and entertainment whether we agree or disagree with the message.
And before anybody jumps to conclusions to believe I am just on the opposite side of Pop’s beliefs, one of the many instances I am referring to was a political topic in which I largely agreed with Pop’s position. Like many others, I just didn’t believe he should be infusing it into sports nor did I believe his lecturing tone was appropriate. I’ll leave it at that.
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That’s all fair enough. I haven’t payed enough attention to remember him pulling the political stuff, and Kerr’s the most recent so that’s why he was right there.
But Overrated? No way. Sure he’s been blessed with some of the greats over the years, but there’s a reason SA has been the picture of stability for decades. The one constant. The man who’s gotten the greats, but also helped mold the relatively unheralded later picked like the aforementioned Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili into the guys we know them as today. Even Kawhi and their ugly divorce, his career probably looks a helluva lot different right now if the Kings ended up picking him like a lot of the mocks had that season.
But Overrated? No way. Sure he’s been blessed with some of the greats over the years, but there’s a reason SA has been the picture of stability for decades. The one constant. The man who’s gotten the greats, but also helped mold the relatively unheralded later picked like the aforementioned Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili into the guys we know them as today. Even Kawhi and their ugly divorce, his career probably looks a helluva lot different right now if the Kings ended up picking him like a lot of the mocks had that season.
You know, it’s possible to be good, even great, and still be overrated. But I digress.
You claim Pop is the “constant”, but that’s not the real reason for the Spurs long term success. Having Tim Duncan for 19 seasons was THE constant. Then add in Robinson, Ginobili, Parker, and Kawhi into that mix.
While lots of coaches could blow it with that talent, there are also a lot of coaches that could have won equally or better with that talent.
Show me where Pop has been winning or even over-performing with under-talented teams. It hasn’t happened. Just like Phil Jackson.
Pop took over as HC the year when Robinson when down with injury, then tanked to get Tim Duncan. Who they then had through the 2015-2016 season.
When TD retired, they still had a prime Kawhi with Ginobili and Parker for 2 more seasons into the 2017-2018 season.
But how has the “great and powerful“ Pop done since that time? 1 winning season and 4 consecutive losing seasons. 32, 33, 34, and a rock bottom 22 wins the past 4 years.
You give Mike Brown or Erik Spoelstra (among others) a Tim Duncan for 19 seasons all while having Robinson, Parker, Ginobili, and Kawhi over most that same span and the results would be similar.
When Pop shows he can take a team to the Finals with the same talent Spoelstra has had the past few years — then I’ll remove the “overrated” tag. But until then, the shoe fits. Because all he’s proven is that he can win with arguably a top 20 player of all time with a few other HOF talents added to the mix. Again, a long list of coaches could do that and have done that.
After losing TD, Manu, Parker and Kawhi, his teams have not been good. So now the NBA has seemingly handed him another #1 pick and potential” transcendent“ talent since he wasn’t getting it done w/o one.
You claim Pop is the “constant”, but that’s not the real reason for the Spurs long term success. Having Tim Duncan for 19 seasons was THE constant. Then add in Robinson, Ginobili, Parker, and Kawhi into that mix.
While lots of coaches could blow it with that talent, there are also a lot of coaches that could have won equally or better with that talent.
Show me where Pop has been winning or even over-performing with under-talented teams. It hasn’t happened. Just like Phil Jackson.
Pop took over as HC the year when Robinson when down with injury, then tanked to get Tim Duncan. Who they then had through the 2015-2016 season.
When TD retired, they still had a prime Kawhi with Ginobili and Parker for 2 more seasons into the 2017-2018 season.
But how has the “great and powerful“ Pop done since that time? 1 winning season and 4 consecutive losing seasons. 32, 33, 34, and a rock bottom 22 wins the past 4 years.
You give Mike Brown or Erik Spoelstra (among others) a Tim Duncan for 19 seasons all while having Robinson, Parker, Ginobili, and Kawhi over most that same span and the results would be similar.
When Pop shows he can take a team to the Finals with the same talent Spoelstra has had the past few years — then I’ll remove the “overrated” tag. But until then, the shoe fits. Because all he’s proven is that he can win with arguably a top 20 player of all time with a few other HOF talents added to the mix. Again, a long list of coaches could do that and have done that.
After losing TD, Manu, Parker and Kawhi, his teams have not been good. So now the NBA has seemingly handed him another #1 pick and potential” transcendent“ talent since he wasn’t getting it done w/o one.
No, all 30 teams have been represented for the last several years. I'd guess probably 5 years or so. For a long while there were holdouts and they filled it out with a G-League team and the like, but not anymore.
I don't have an exact time on that one, but around 2020 seems right. I don't know why it went belly up. Obviously Vegas was the big deal and I suppose that with Utah and now the California Classic there just wasn't the desire to keep it going. Also, I don't think the facility was all too great - from the looks of it on TV it made Cox Pavilion look like MSG. They might have been selling like 500 tickets, the place was tiny.
I don't have an exact time on that one, but around 2020 seems right. I don't know why it went belly up. Obviously Vegas was the big deal and I suppose that with Utah and now the California Classic there just wasn't the desire to keep it going. Also, I don't think the facility was all too great - from the looks of it on TV it made Cox Pavilion look like MSG. They might have been selling like 500 tickets, the place was tiny.
Thanks for taking the time to provide an answer.
During tonight's KINGS game, I looked up SL champs to look at the list of previous champs because the ESPCNN crew incorrectly stated that the KINGS were the defending SL champs. In looking it up to verify (KINGS won in 2021, not last season) I came across a wiki article that broke down the Vegas, Orlando and Cali Classic history. Sorry, I should have posted an update!
Anyway, what you say about all 30 is true. IIRC when looking at the data, they said all 30 have been in Veags since 2018. And that the Cali Classic has essentially replaced the Orlando SL.
WRT to G-League, the info I read indicated that only Portland and Phoenix are w/o affiliate teams. Apparently Portland has announced that they will launch a G-League affiliate next season leaving only PHX w/o one. Oddly PHX did have one a few years back but sold it to Detroit.
Why it took so long for so many to get on board baffles me.
Anyway, my apology for being lazy earlier and not researching myself.
During tonight's KINGS game, I looked up SL champs to look at the list of previous champs because the ESPCNN crew incorrectly stated that the KINGS were the defending SL champs. In looking it up to verify (KINGS won in 2021, not last season) I came across a wiki article that broke down the Vegas, Orlando and Cali Classic history. Sorry, I should have posted an update!
Anyway, what you say about all 30 is true. IIRC when looking at the data, they said all 30 have been in Veags since 2018. And that the Cali Classic has essentially replaced the Orlando SL.
WRT to G-League, the info I read indicated that only Portland and Phoenix are w/o affiliate teams. Apparently Portland has announced that they will launch a G-League affiliate next season leaving only PHX w/o one. Oddly PHX did have one a few years back but sold it to Detroit.
Why it took so long for so many to get on board baffles me.
Anyway, my apology for being lazy earlier and not researching myself.
I mean, the Pistons were starting two point guards, two centers, and Ausar, who some people think could eventually be a lead guard in the NBA, so this game pretty much went about as well as the Pistons could expect.
I will say the contrast of Jaden "Projected to be the next Wall/Ja/Russ/Fox in a weaker draft" Ivey and Scoot "Projected to be the next Wall/Ja/Russ/Fox in one of the stronger drafts in the past decade" Henderson is already stark.
On the plus side, Jaden made this nifty move:
On the minus side, I'm pretty sure he accidentally made this move as the momentum of him losing his dribble managed to carry him through traffic.
I'm also not sure what the hell he's going to be able to do when he's on the floor with Cade, who obviously is going to need the ball in his hands since he's their best player.
I will say the contrast of Jaden "Projected to be the next Wall/Ja/Russ/Fox in a weaker draft" Ivey and Scoot "Projected to be the next Wall/Ja/Russ/Fox in one of the stronger drafts in the past decade" Henderson is already stark.
On the plus side, Jaden made this nifty move:
On the minus side, I'm pretty sure he accidentally made this move as the momentum of him losing his dribble managed to carry him through traffic.
I'm also not sure what the hell he's going to be able to do when he's on the floor with Cade, who obviously is going to need the ball in his hands since he's their best player.
If I were Troy Weaver, I'd probably try to use Jaden and one of my ten centers (Wiseman is probably the most "moveable" of the bunch) to find an upgrade on the wing and roll with a Cade/Ausar backcourt (Ausar already living up to those Andre Iguodala comps).
Cade
Ausar
Wing who doesn't stink
Bojan
Duren
would at least be an entertaining basketball team to watch and could sneak into the play-in race if Cade manages to build off of his rookie season from before the injuries took hold.
As is, the potential
Cade
Jaden
Bojan? Bagley? Beef Stew?
Wiseman
Duren
starting lineup is not it.
Cade
Ausar
Wing who doesn't stink
Bojan
Duren
would at least be an entertaining basketball team to watch and could sneak into the play-in race if Cade manages to build off of his rookie season from before the injuries took hold.
As is, the potential
Cade
Jaden
Bojan? Bagley? Beef Stew?
Wiseman
Duren
starting lineup is not it.