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Pete’s Perspective: Summer League Wrap
For the first time, the veil was lifted on summer league, as we were able to watch the games from Las Vegas. Here are some random thoughts before I get back in the weight room to prepare for next season:
If you’re not excited about having Mike Conley, Jr. in Beale Street Blue, you had better check your pulse. Quick, fearless and heady, Conley served notice that he has the tools to be a very fine point guard in the NBA. Great moves off the dribble and the ability to change hands and finish at the rim while drawing contact will make him a fan favorite in Memphis.
Player-to-player comparisons are tricky, but those who mention Conley and Tony Parker in the same breath do so legitimately. To my eye, their games look similar though Parker is far more polished given his extensive professional experience. I also like Conley’s defensive ability at the point, a necessity in a Western Conference with Parker, Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
Kyle Lowry still plays without regard for life or limb, taking charges on a regular basis and scrambling around for every loose ball. His energy will also be much appreciated at FedExForum. Kyle will have to channel that aggressiveness; he cannot ring up quick and cheap fouls.
Rudy Gay is poised to make a big leap in production from his rookie to sophomore season. Without question, the talent is there but Rudy will have to work on consistency from night to night. In Vegas, Rudy oscillated between spectacular and ordinary. If he can clean up his spotty ballhandling and get his jumpshot to fall with regularity, he will be virtually impossible to guard.
The defensive mindset implemented by head coach Marc Iavaroni was evident, particularly in the blowout of Cleveland. Guys were scrambling and fighting on defense and you could just sense even watching on television, that the defensive intensity was much greater than it was most of last season. The emphasis on defense also proved that to be defensive-minded doesn’t always equate to halfcourt, walk it up basketball.
The signing of Darko Milicic, while not on the level of signing a Chauncey Billups or Rashard Lewis (an incredible overpayment by the Magic in case anyone wants my opinion), is a positive for the Grizzlies. Faced with a need on the front line, the Grizzlies were contemplating a financial game of chicken with Cleveland for Anderson Varejao’s services.
Memphis would have almost certainly needed to exhaust their remaining cap room to make an offer that Cleveland had pledged to match. Rather than devoting time and resources to assembling an offer sheet for Varejao that could have resulted in nothing, the Grizzlies turned their attention to the unrestricted Milicic and were able to secure his services for considerably less than what they would have had to pay for Varejao while keeping some financial flexibility going forward.
The troika of majority owner Michael Heisley, head coach Marc Iavaroni and GM Chris Wallace seem to be working seamlessly so far and that impression has not been lost on other NBA insiders or Grizzlies fans. I like what I see at the top.
The financial limits for next season have been set by the NBA. The salary cap will be $55.6 million. What sometimes flies under the radar is that the luxury tax doesn’t kick in the moment a team goes over the salary cap. The tax threshold for the 2007-08 season will be $67.9 million. So, teams have about $12 million of wiggle room between the cap and the luxury tax.
Teams that exceed $67.9 million in salaries (hey New York Knicks, are you listening?) will pay a dollar for dollar tax. Those tax monies are then distributed to those teams who don’t pay a tax. By the way, the Knicks just got a bill from the NBA for $45 million and change for last year’s non-playoff qualifier.
The next biggest tax hit? Mark Cuban has to find $7.2 million to send to his buddy David Stern. Makes last month’s electric bill seem like small change, doesn’t it?