NBA Las Vegas Summer League a Balancing Act Between Illusion and Reality

- The Season's Over -

NBA Las Vegas Summer League a Balancing Act Between Illusion and Reality

July 17, 2009

DaJuan Summers First-round picks perform like future All-Stars. Undrafted prospects play like first-round picks. And unwanted cast-offs long labeled busts finally look like the players they were born to be.

It’s the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, where most everything you’ll see on the court is nothing more than another passing mirage in the dusty desert.

History has proven that Summer League performance is more often than not hardly an accurate barometer of how a given player’s talents will translate to the professional level. Last summer, Vegas MVP Jerryd Bayless dominated the competition to the tune of per-game averages of 29.8 points (48% FG), 4.8 boards, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 steals.

With only journeyman Steve Blake to compete with on the Blazers’ PG depth chart (sorry, Sergio Rodriquez didn’t count), Bayless looked to be in store for immediate PT and impact in his rookie season.

It never happened, with Bayless playing in just 53 games and averaging 4.3 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in just over 12 minutes per… and it doesn’t sound like he’s in store in for more burn this season either (which is somewhat puzzling). Of course, Bayless faired much better than Vegas’ second (Donte Greene), third (Quincy Douby), and fourth (Alando Tucker) leading scorers did combined.

DaJuan Summers Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Watcher beware: the player you see this summer more than likely won’t be the same player you see come November when the big boys join the fray.

That doesn’t mean these glorified scrimmages aren’t fun to watch; they are. And that also doesn’t mean we can’t learn at least a little bit about these guys, or that we can’t help but be enamored by the standout performances and dream about it actually carrying over into the regular season, the playoffs, the careers. We’ll be the first to admit that Golden State’s Anthony Randolph has officially found his way to ETB’s mancrush list—the only thing holding this kid back from greatness is time, and unlike many of the prospects currently in Vegas, time is on Randolph’s side.

Two more crushes: Detroit Pistons’ rookies Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers.

On Wednesday gainst the New York Knicks’ underwhelming summer crew, Daye and Summers were both covered in that magical Vegas shroud that makes unproven talent look like bankable commodities. Both had already gotten high marks for their summer play, especially 6-8 second-round pick Summers, who could render Jason Maxiell irrelevant if he keeps this up.

More on DaJuan Summers and Austin Daye after the break…

Against the Knicks he scored from almost everywhere on the court: in the paint, from the top of the key, from behind the arc, finishing with 26 points (11-21 FG) in just over 35 minutes. Tweeners like Summers tend to fall on draft day, but as seen in undersized forwards like Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap, drive, determination, and talent can more than make up for it. In his pro career’s very early going, Summers seems to have “it,” but again, it’s important to remember he was matched up against the likes of Nikoloz Tskitishvili (no shit), Jordan Hill (not impressed), and Yaroslav Korolev (double no shit).

Railed on draft day as being too rail-thin to withstand the pounding of NBA life, 6-11 Austin Daye has been very good in Vegas and was spectacular against the Knicks. Showing a surprising willingness to bang in the post and flashing the sort of diverse skillset we see in another long, lanky Piston ironman who critics once said was too thin to succeed (do I even need to name him?), Daye blew me away in racking up 27 points (9-17 FG), 13 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block in about 36 minutes.

He deflected passes, he took flat-footed defenders off the dribble and to the hole, he brought the ball up the flooor and initiated the offense, he nailed difficult jumpers with a hand in his face. It’s easy to see what Dumars sees in the 21-year-old: a potential starter at the small forward position who at 6-11 can probably rotate over and play short spells at all five positions. That’s insane versatility, kids. It’s also insane to think that Daye, at his age and 200 pounds soaking wet, will be ready to contribute more than backup minutes in his rookie and perhaps even sophomore seasons.

After all, this is the Las Vegas Summer League, where half-baked dreams of stardom and unrealistic expectations are hatched by fans, coaches, GMs, and players alike. But hey, if millions of tourists can walk the Vegas Strip entertaining dreams of striking it rich, the NBA world is allowed to do it too.