By Josh Cohen

Game 1: Several of Oklahoma City’s rising stars sat out of Thursday’s contest, but that didn’t stop the rest of the multifaceted Thunder to secure a victory.

James Harden, Eric Maynor, D.J. White and Serge Ibaka all watched their teammates survive a furious Orlando Magic rally to earn an 80-78 triumph at the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League.
FULL RECAP

Game 2: The Indiana Pacers wouldn’t surrender, and ultimately, their heart and determination paid off.

Paul George converted on a game-winning three-point play with 4.5 seconds remaining as the Pacers overcame a 27-point deficit to edge the Boston Celtics.
FULL RECAP

Game 3: The Utah Jazz were all smiles as they walked off the court on Thursday.

Not only did they dominate the New Jersey Nets from start to finish in a 91-74 blowout victory, but their two featured Summer League stars continued to shine.
FULL RECAP

Game 4: Gerald Henderson has thrived all week long.

But clearly, his most shining moment was on Thursday night when he connected on a game-winning layup at the final buzzer to catapult the Charlotte Bobcats past the Philadelphia 76ers.
FULL RECAP

Game 5: Well, there wasn't a Game 5 at Summer League, but it certainly felt like a game when LeBron James announced he was heading to Miami.

By Dan Savage

After spending two seasons with the Washington Wizards in 2005-06 and 06-07, Donell Taylor knows what it takes to stick to an NBA roster.

And he’s hoping he can do enough in the 2010 AirTran Airways Orlando Pro Summer League to find his way on to another squad in the association.

Taylor did his best to put his talent on display Thursday, firing off 18 points in the Magic’s 80-78 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The former University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazer connected on six of his 11 attempts from the field, while grabbing seven rebounds.

Over his three games with Orlando – he didn’t play on Wednesday – Taylor is averaging 14 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.

Still, the versatile guard knows it takes a lot more than scoring to make it on to an NBA roster.

“I try to score a little bit, but I also try to rebound and help on the defensive end as much as possible,” he explained. “I try to showcase everything, because teams want a guard who can play the point, but also play the two. They also want guys who can defend and rebound, so I try to do a little bit of everything.”

With that attitude, Taylor’s dream just might come true.

WATCH TAYLOR SPEAK TO MEDIA

By Josh Cohen

Fellow OrlandoMagic.com writer Dan Savage and I decided to hold a hypothetical draft using participants at the 2010 AIrTran Airways Pro Summer League. The purpose was to get a hint at what teams would look like if only these Summer League players competed in a league. Here were our draft rules:

• Selections were made in a snake format
• Our teams are designed to be the building block of our franchises
• This was NOT a fantasy draft (real-time only)

Check out our draft decisions and determine who you think has the better team. The number in parenthesis indicates when the player was drafted.

Savage
PG: Jrue Holiday (4)
SG: James Harden (1)
C: Daniel Orton (9)
PF: Derrick Favors (5)
SF: Paul George (8)
R: Gordon Hayward (12)
R: Josh McRoberts (13)
R: Jodie Meeks (16)

Cohen
PG: Eric Maynor (7)
SG: Evan Turner (2)
C: Marreese Speights (10)
PF: Derrick Brown (6)
SF: Gerald Henderson (7)
R: Terrence Williams (11)
R: Lance Stephenson (14)
R: Luke Harangody (15)

By Josh Cohen

While watching the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League, you can’t help but reflect upon each player’s past achievements. Sure, all of the competitors are young and aspire to one day be essential members on NBA franchises. However, many have already accomplished so much.

For example, several starred in front of thousands of spectators in the NCAA Final Four. Some even won an NCAA championship, including Philadelphia’s Marreese Speights (Florida), New Jersey’s Brian Zoubek (Duke), Charlotte’s Sherron Collins (Kansas) and Indiana’s Russell Robinson (Kansas).

Several of the competitors have flourished in the D-League. Charlotte’s Antonio Anderson, for example, won a D-League championship with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last season and Utah’s Othyus Jeffers had once earned D-League Rookie of the Year honors.

Others, meanwhile, have enjoyed tremendous success overseas. New Jersey’s Brandon Heath, for instance, played for one of the most storied and triumphant international clubs this past season. The former San Diego State star helped APOEL capture their 10th all-time Cypriot Championship.

Some are relatives of legendary NBA players. Orlando’s Patrick Ewing Jr., of course, is the son of the Hall of Fame center and Gerald Henderson is the son of the former Celtic great.

Keep an eye out for all of these young players as some will become NBA stars.

By Dan Savage

I must admit, even the OrlandoMagic.com staff fell victim to the LeBron James free agent saga on Thursday night. Instead of watching the finish of the Bobcats-76ers game on the RDV Sportsplex court, Josh Cohen and I rushed upstairs to the Web Center to watch the King hold court on ESPN. While the whole process was beyond absurd and resolved around the scripted mutterings of an egotistical, self-absorbed individual, the reality is that was the most important basketball moment of the summer. But even though the Heat became a lot tougher, they’re far from unbeatable and I’m looking forward to the first time Miami and Orlando meet in now the biggest rivalry Florida has to offer.

Downplayed in the hoopla of Miami’s signing trifecta was the addition of a valuable role player to Orlando’s roster. Chris Duhon officially agreed to a four-year deal with the Magic on Thursday, shoring up Orlando’s point guard position for the foreseeable future. “He’s a fine, young man who will fit into our system and will help us shore up our point guard spot,” GM Otis Smith explained. “He’s a player we’ve looked at all along and wanted on our team and in our system.”

Cohen and I dodged a bullet on Thursday. No Jerry Sloan didn’t try to take Cohen out as I predicted in yesterday’s scoop. Instead, we narrowly avoided a diving Gerald Henderson in Game 4 of the AirTran Airways Orlando Pro Summer League. Henderson came charging at the scorer’s table for a loose ball, smashed into our computers and sent our web camera flying into the air. Although no damage was done, I must admit, I’ll never feel safe again sitting in my summer league seat.

Who do you think was most impressive on Day Four of the 2010 AirTran Pro Summer League?

Kyle Weaver

Mustafa Shakur

Magnum Rolle

Derrick Brown

Jaycee Carroll

Were you surprised that LeBron James chose Miami?

Yes

No