The Summer League Scoop‘s intent is to educate, entertain and recap everything attention-grabbing that occurs at the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League.

From any extraordinary individual performances or memorable highlight plays that happen, Dan Savage and I will analyze and expound on the events that transpire at the RDV Sportsplex from July 5-9.

It will be a lot like when you return home from an unforgettable vacation to your favorite tropical destination. It will feel like Dan and I are reflecting on all the amusing and important details that happened so that you can share these stories with your friends at work or school.

Last season, for example, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and Kyle Weaver each thought Dan and I were some kind of NBA officials. Westbrook, for one, asked Dan if a certain ball he was holding was the “official” game ball. Weaver, similarly, asked me if he was allowed to wear an undershirt that he had on behind his uniform.

The Summer League Scoop will honor the best player at the end of the event with the Summer League Scoop MVP Award. Last season, the tribute was given to Indiana’s Roy Hibbert for his outstanding performance throughout the week.

Our recaps will also offer fans an in-depth look at how some of the players competing in this year’s Summer League will impact the 2010-11 NBA season.

Even though the majority of these young players will not make an NBA roster to start the season, many will be in the D-League and called up to their NBA affiliate from time to time.

Summer League reminds me of a big family picnic.

First off, although the event is closed to the general public, there are still a reasonable number of people that are in attendance. There are, for instance, plenty of NBA scouts, general managers and other team basketball operations personnel. There are also many members of the local and national media to go along with any team representatives like communications coordinators and other public relations ambassadors.

Just like a family festival, attendees hang out, grab some delicious chow and talk hoops all day. There is always the “Uncle Joe” who has an opinion for everything and “Cousin Sam” who loves to spill gossip to the rest of the “family.”

The players are kind of like the children who play to see who the “best” athletes are in the family. The rest of the attendees are like the “parents” who crowd around the kids and watch all the action. There is some cheering, scrutiny and amaze that circles around the competition.

But just like a family picnic, ultimately the results of the games don’t matter and the whole purpose is to further develop the youngsters and give everyone an opportunity to enjoy basketball during the offseason.

There will be plenty of greetings to go around just like you would witness at a family celebration. You know there will be a “John Smith,” for example, who hasn’t seen “Bob “Corn on the Cob” Johnson” in years and they will chill and chat for a while about how they have been over the last decade.

Summer League, furthermore, is the perfect opportunity to get reacquainted with everything that happens over the course of an NBA season – except in a more confined environment. It’s just like a family picnic, but probably a lot more exciting (depends on your family, laughs). And you never know who may show up to watch and analyze the competition (ex. Dwight Howard).

Magic fans will finally get the opportunity to see Orlando’s two 2010 NBA Draft picks in action when the AirTran Airways Pro Summer League begins on Monday.

Daniel Orton, who was selected 29th overall out of Kentucky, and Stanley Robinson, the 59th pick out of Connecticut, will get the opportunity to showcase their talents in a Magic uniform (sort of).

On draft night, Magic General Manager Otis Smith was “shocked” that Orton was still available when they were on the clock. He said that if the Oklahoma City native had stayed in school for at least one more season, he could have potentially been a lottery pick in the draft.

``We wanted to take a big guy with some upside and with Dwight (Howard) and Marcin (Gortat) he’s not a guy that we have to use today,’’ Smith said.

Orton, though, didn’t get much playing time during his freshman season at Kentucky since his position was occupied by DeMarcus Cousins, the fifth overall pick in the draft taken by the Sacramento Kings.

He averaged just 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game in 2009-10. Orton missed most of his senior season in high school with a knee injury.

Robinson, on the other hand, is a seasoned rookie who played all four years in college at UConn. The Birmingham, Ala. native helped the Huskies reach the NCAA Final Four during his junior campaign.

He is expected to compete for a roster spot on the Magic, especially with Matt Barnes likely to opt out of his contract and test free agency. Should Barnes sign elsewhere, Robinson may be a reasonable replacement in the future.

Just like any pick-up game at the park or local recreation center, there is always that one player who you just stop and say, “I think this person needs to be playing against better competition.”

It was like that last year with Russell Westbrook, who went on to have a remarkable season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009-10. Westbrook showed during Summer League that he was, by and large, the most ready NBA player at the event.

Thus, who will be the Westbrook-like player this year? It may be his teammate, James Harden, who will be returning to Orlando for summer league action. Harden played very well in his rookie campaign for OKC and had some strong performances against the Lakers in the First Round of the playoffs.

It may, on the other hand, simply be Evan Turner or Derrick Favors, the No. 2 and 3 selections in the 2010 NBA Draft, respectively. Turner demonstrated at Ohio State that he was extremely poised to step into the league and make a difference right away. Some suggest Favors, meanwhile, could be the next Amar’e Stoudemire, who won NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2003.

Or could it be a veteran of Summer League like Philadelphia’s Marreese Speights? The former Florida Gator played in the Las Vegas Summer League prior to his rookie season in 2008 and then competed in the Orlando Pro Summer League last year. He is scheduled to partake in the event this season as well and may very well be a key interior presence for the 76ers in 2010-11 since they no longer have Samuel Dalembert.

Nevertheless, there are many young prospects that are worth keeping an eye on throughout the week. And who knows, maybe the next future 10-time All-Star will be front and center for all of us to see for the first time.