Summer League 101

The Clippers are about to leave for Las Vegas to participate in the annual summer league. New Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro will be evaluating a 2010 Clippers Summer League team that includes Al-Farouq Aminu, Ryan Ayers, Rod Benson, Marqus Blakely, Eric Bledsoe, Nik Caner-Medley, Trey Johnson, DeAndre Jordan, Jeremy Richardson, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Willie Warren and DaShaun Wood. There is a varying level of name recognition, so I’ve scoured my brain and the internet to help you get an idea of the group of guys playing in the Las Vegas Summer League.

The More Familiar
DeAndre Jordan- The 3rd year pivot out of Texas A&M has always been a project. In 2008, the Clippers were ecstatic to get him in the second round. Based on potential alone, he could have easily gone much higher. He’s agile and long limbed making him a tremendous immediate defensive talent. As of now, he’s fairly limited in his game, relying on a great alley-oop and putback option. That’s nothing to scoff at though as Marcus Camby has made a solid career out of a similar profile. However, Jordan will improve greatly with even one or two consistent post moves. He should get some touches in the Summer League so that the Clippers can see how much he’s developed. Most likely, it will be small increments because big men are like turning around the economy, it’s lots of work for something that might not turn around for a few years.

Al-Farouq Aminu – The heralded rookie from Wake Forest comes in with all those slippery, vague words attached to him: talented, potential, upside, athletic. No one is sure how good he will be, but what’s sure is that he could be very good. He does have a lot to like: the rebounding champ of the ACC (the first Demon Deacon since Tim Duncan) can play both the small forward and, when in a small-ball lineup, the power forward positions. What makes him incomplete has been his outside shot. Over the course of his last season at Wake Forest, he took 66 three pointers and made only 18. That’s only 27% and it’s from the college three which is only 20’9’’, well short of the NBA’s 23’9’’. What should be noted is the fact that he both increased his percentage from the year before and took more shots (in 2009 he made only 7 of 39, for 18%), so he’s progressing. And if he combines an improving long-range game, he could be nasty to cover.

Eric Bledsoe- The 18th pick in this year’s draft is the most intriguing summer league player. Going into his freshman year at Kentucky he was one of the highest rated point guard prospects but he had to play alongside THE highest rated point guard prospect in John Wall. So he was relegated to shooting guard, being the tweener, out of the team’s need. Usually, it’s the other way around, when the player is undersized but has the scoring instinct. For Bledsoe, it pegged him as a score first PG when that might not have been the case considering he averaged over 11 assists a game in high school. Of concern is that he’s had turnover problems at Kentucky, but those problems winnowed. In January, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress noted that Bledsoe coughed up the ball on 30% of his possessions, way too much for a player trying to take over point. However, that same analysis at the end of the season revealed Bledsoe turned the ball over 22%. Still not good, but a clear improvement. For summer league, he’ll probably get a lot more time at point, allowing the Clippers to evaluate his performance in the point position. He should be able to dole out shots, break down defenses at will. If he learns to handle the ball well, he could have an impact on the Clippers right away. But the turnovers are something that could come back to bite them.

Willie Warren- The former Sooner, Warren played great his first year alongside Blake Griffin at Oklahoma, but struggled last year as the focal point of the offense. His point production increased (14.6 to 16.3 points per game) as well as his assist totals (3.1 to 4.1), but that was at the expense of his FG% (which dipped from 47.3% to 43.8%) and turnovers (2.2 to 3.3 TOs per game). He has a scorer’s instinct, which could shine in the summer league and should he improve his efficiency, he could provide a great jolt of energy off the bench for the Clips in the season.

Sofoklis Schortsanitis – If anyone is a big Team USA fan, and they suddenly had flashbacks after seeing Sofo’s name, it’s because he was a part of the 2006 Greece team that stunned the United States. Three years before, the Clippers drafted him in the second round but never signed him to a contract. Now, only 25 years old, it appears that Big Sofo wants to jump to the NBA. He’s a massive player at 6’9’’, 345 lbs. and he has that bouncy athleticism reminiscent of Big Baby Davis. When you see him standing still, you just can’t imagine him moving with any remnant of agility. But then you may happen upon on a youtube link and you’re impressed how a man this big bops around. It’s been questioned whether he’ll ever be in the kind of shape that will allow him to play starters’ minutes, but he’s an intriguing player on many fronts.

And the less familiar…

Marqus Blakely – A University of Vermont alumnus, Blakely played bigger than his frame in college due to his strength and athleticism. Only 6’5’’ but he banged around like a power forward. He poured in 17 points and pulled down 9 rebounds per game last year, great numbers, but he’ll have to play the 2 or the 3 in the pros to make it. And he’s not a great shooter. For his career he averaged 15.4% from 3 (and 6.7% last year), 59% from the free throw line (66.7% last year) but a healthy 57% from the field for his career. His field goal percentage reflects his ability to finish around the basket, at which he’s very good. What makes Blakely very interesting are the combination of his awards: America East Player of the Year and America East Defensive Player of the Year. Blakely averaged 2 blocks and almost 2 steals a game for his career at UVM. So, he has the capability to be a defensive specialist now, with the potential of developing into something more. PS: Marqus was part of a pre-draft workout (link: http://www.nba.com/clippers/features/10draft_workouts.html#june11) at the Clippers training center in June 2010.

Ryan Ayers – He spent the last year in the NBA’s Developmental League as a member of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (gotta love those D-League names) after going undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft and then failing to play a single game in the D-League. He’s known for drawing tough defensive assignments and knocking down perimeter shots. He is streaky though, the kind of player that will have much better games in a win than in a loss, typical of a 4th/5th/bench option. Since he didn’t get too many minutes on last year’s Wizards summer league team, he may have to make the most out of his minutes on this year’s Clippers summer league team.

Rod Benson – In addition to creating an entertaining blog (www.toomuchrodbenson.com), the big man out of Cal has definitely proved himself in the NBDL (14.1 pts., 9.7 rbs. 1.9 blks. in only 30.4 minutes), but he’s has had a hard time gaining traction in the NBA. He has stated that he’s going to leave the NBDL, and maybe this all-in approach can lead to a roster spot. He may or may not see minutes, depending on the coach, but he’s a player that has thrived in just small minutes in the Summer Leagues of the past, maybe he’ll get a break. Boom Tho! (Benson’s signature phrase.)

Trey Johnson – The 25 year old out of Jackson State is looking to finally stick with a team. He’s had two call-ups (with the Cavaliers in ’08-’09 and the pre-season with the Hornets in ‘07) but has failed to stick. He was the former Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year because he was a gifted scorer. He’s not terrific on defense due to his lack of athleticism and while he’s a good shooter he’s not known to have great range, both huge reasons why he hasn’t stuck at the elite levels of the NBA. He has developed a little, picking up a floater that helps him on his drives to the rim. Skilled, definitely, but it remains to be seen if he’s skilled enough to one day hang in the NBA.

Jeremy Richardson – He’s bounced around, getting called up to the NBA six different times (Portland ’06-‘07, San Antonio ’07-‘08, Memphis ’07-‘08, Orlando ’08-’09 and twice by Atlanta in ’06-’07 and ’07-‘08) but he’s never played more than 22 games in one stint. He’s an athletic swingman but didn’t stick right away due to his shoddy ball-handling which prevented him from drawing fouls. It’s been noted that he’s started to clean up his ball-handling and draw more fouls, but he still hasn’t settled in the league due to defensive problems and it’s not helping him that he consistently averages under a single assist a game.

DaShaun Wood – A smart, shifty scorer out of Wright State, Wood excelled in his first year abroad but he’s since been hampered by knee problems. He has sat out much of this year with tendonitis and looks to be a long-shot to make the team. If healthy, he gets into the lane often and leads a team well, but that’s a big if.

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