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Posted: August 26, 2008
The Southwest Division team site writers are sharing their thoughts about their respective team’s offseason activities. The second of the three-part series examines the Summer League performances of the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Rockets, Hornets and Spurs. The first dealt with the team’s Major Moves and the series finishes with Outlooks for the upcoming season.
The
official ledger for the Mavs at the end of Summer League reads
7-4. Though winning games is always the point when they bother
to keep score, the real winners are those who earned invites to
training camp. The list: rookies Reyshawn Terry, Charles Rhodes
and JuJuan Smith, along with veterans Gerald Green, James
Singleton and Keith McLeod. Terry, a second-round pick in 2007,
was expected in Dallas come October. Rhodes and Smith are
undrafted free agents.
Terry (6-8, 232) showed the consistency the coaching staff hoped for during his second summer league stint. He averaged nearly 10 points and 6 rebounds. Terry benefited from getting stronger over the last 12 months and a shift in position to power forward.
Rhodes (6-8, 245) isn’t a training camp lock. The rugged forward is weighing various European offers, but the Mississippi State product impressed by averaging nearly 10 points and 5 boards, while shooting a robust 62 percent. Rhodes has been compared favorably to Brandon Bass, last year’s summer league find.
The three with NBA experience didn’t hurt their stock. Green was easily the standout during summer league, averaging 16 points and knocking down 17 3-pointers.
The
2008 NBA Summer League started the beginning of the O.J. Mayo
era for the Memphis Grizzlies, and he did not disappoint. The
20-year-old posted 18.8 points, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals a
game. He also made highlight reels for his 69-foot buzzer beater
against the San Antonio Spurs and his monstrous dunk over Hilton
Armstrong against the New Orleans Hornets. Mayo was then
selected to the 2008 USA Basketball Select Team to play against
the USA Men’s Basketball Team in preparation for the upcoming
Olympics in Beijing.
Memphis’ other draft night acquisition, Darrell Arthur, also faired well putting up 13.2 points and nearly 4 rebounds a game. Last year’s fourth overall selection Mike Conley enjoyed another successful Summer League stint averaging 11.0 points and 3.0 assists while only playing in three games. Second year player Javaris Crittenton also put up good numbers with 8.0 points, 4.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds a game.
Two former Big 12 players made their presence felt for the Grizzlies also. Former Texas Longhorn P.J. Tucker filled the box scores with averages of 10.2 points, 1.2 steals, and led Memphis in rebounds at 6.6. Ebi Ere, an Oklahoma University product, posted 8.2 points a game.
The
most notable event which took place during the Rockets’ Summer
League schedule was the dynamic 40-point debut by rookie Donté
Greene. How much did that offensive explosion factor into
Greene’s inclusion as part of the Artest swap? Would the Rockets
still have been able to swing the deal if the sharpshooter from
Syracuse had not been able to light up the Las Vegas scoreboard?
Maybe. Then again, maybe not. Either way, the Rockets dealt
Donté while his stock was high; a smart move considering that,
for all his offensive gifts, he remains a project who likely
would have been buried on the Houston bench this season.
As for Summer League players who actually will wear Rockets red this season: Joey Dorsey lived up to his promise to be “Ray Lewis with a basketball,” bounding and bullying all over the court. He should have no problem racking up rebounds and fouls once the real games begin. Meanwhile, second-year guard Aaron Brooks produced mixed results in his campaign to claim the Rockets’ back-up point position, while his former Oregon teammate Maarty Leunen opened eyes with his steady, heady play. Leunen likely will spend next season in Europe, but the Rockets’ brain trust is excited about his future.
The
focus of the team’s 12-day trip to Las Vegas was the development
of two-year backup center Hilton Armstrong and one-year reserve
forward Julian Wright. Neither turned in what could be described
as a great performance. Armstrong was inconsistent from game to
game, while Wright struggled with turnovers and his perimeter
shooting. “I was not extremely impressed with the way they
played,”
Hornets coach Byron Scott observed. “Being in your second and third year (in the NBA), you don’t have to necessarily dominate summer league, but you should be up there (as one of the better players participating). But they showed signs of improvement.”
Little-known undrafted guard Bobby Brown was arguably the biggest surprise of the entire league, leading the Hornets in scoring and assists, but Brown signed a guaranteed two-year contract with Sacramento four days after the final game in Las Vegas.
The
Summer League was a chance for Ian Mahinmi and George Hill to
prove themselves and convince coaches they deserved to see the
court more often than just during warmups in the regular season.
It was also an opportunity for second-round draft picks Malik
Hairston and James Gist to play their way onto the team. Other
than those four, only Anthony Tolliver received significant
playing time, eventually signing with San Antonio.
Unfortunately both Mahinmi and Hill played inconsistently. Hill struggled with his shot, making an embarrassing 8 percent of his field goals. However, he showed potential on the defensive end. Mahinmi also shot poorly but averaged 14 points and 9 rebounds, but he didn’t always play with energy.
Gist and Tolliver were both pleasant surprises. Gist, an athletic 6-9 power forward, played with energy and looked like he might make the team. Instead he signed with Angelico Biella in Italy. Tolliver was the Spurs’ second-leading scorer and made 61.5 percent of his threes. The Spurs like to have a three-point shooting big man on the team and Tolliver could compete with Matt Bonner for this role. Hairston has yet to sign with anybody.
In the end, it was a somewhat disappointing showing with neither Mahinmi nor Hill having great performances, but it was a learning experience for both.