2016 Summer League

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This year’s Summer League has come to an end, and what a time to be alive it was for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The team started out 0-3 before making an unlikely run to the championship game as the No. 24 seed before falling to the Chicago Bulls in a game full of clutch shots.

Summer League is difficult to assess. It’s almost impossible to judge what will translate to the NBA game and what won’t. For example, Josh Selby won the Summer League MVP in 2009 and played in just 38 games in his NBA career. Summer League was peak Selby.

On the flipside of that, All-Stars like Blake Griffin, John Wall and Damian Lillard have also been named MVP.

Here, I’ll try to weed through what you should take away from the Timberwolves' 2016 Summer League.

Jones averaged 20.4 points, 6.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from the 3-point line and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line on his way to the Summer League MVP trophy.

What does this mean for Jones going into his second year?

I think it says a lot that Jones was doing the majority of his work against NBA-caliber guards. His matchups were against guys like Emmanuel Mudiay, Delon Wright, Kay Felder, Wade Baldwin IV and Jerian Grant. These guys aren’t All-Stars (yet), but it’s safe to say that they belong in the NBA.

If there’s one stat that you can probably take away from Summer League with Jones, it was his ability to shoot from deep. Jones hit 40 percent of his shots from deep on 32 attempts. It’s only eight games, I know, but if you can hit 40 percent of 3-pointers in game at any level (especially when you’re one of very few scoring options), that’s saying something. In four Summer League games last season, Jones hit just 25 percent from deep, and in 37 games during his rookie season, he hit 30.2 percent from deep.

I can confirm that Jones has been putting plenty of time in at The Courts at Mayo Clinic Square this summer, which brings us to the next point.

We did a sit-down interview with Jones (will be released on the site at some point) and he looked incredibly stronger. When watching players on the court constantly, you can’t really point out any changes with their body unless they broke their leg or something. Then it's pretty obvious.

After not seeing Jones for a few months, it was evident he did some lifting this summer to bulk up for his second season. It looked like it paid off in Summer League as he was able to take more contact and get to the rim. When he got there, he either finished or got to the free-throw line. Jones got to the free-throw line nine or more times in the last four Summer League games, including 13 times in Sunday’s win over the Suns.

 After the Wolves drafted Kris Dunn, it looked like he and Ricky Rubio would assume most of the point guard duties. Don’t be surprised if Jones gets some run there as well.

Dunn was the darling of Summer League until he suffered a concussion in the second game against the Raptors.

In two games, Dunn averaged 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field.

There’s plenty to get excited about after watching Dunn at Summer League. His competitiveness was off the charts, which is awesome to see at Summer League and you know that Tom Thibodeau had a smirk on his face while watching.

Most of the time, Dunn looked like the best player on the court. He attacked like a mad man, almost young D-Wade style.

His handles looked solid. He crossed JaKaar Sampson back to Philadelphia in the first game (we should mention he missed the shot, but this is Timberwolves.com so we're just gonna ignore that). Defensively, he’s going to be able to guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player. Some of this is stuff we already knew, but it was reassuring to see it against NBA rotational players like Mudiay, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Norman Powell.

There are things that Dunn could improve upon. He shot just 16.7 percent from the 3-point line (1-for-6), but his shot, by no means, looked broken.

I said to a few people that the only thing that really concerned me was how hard he played. It was 140 miles per hour. Wait, playing too hard? There’s that Thibs’ smile again. Minnesota fans will love him.

Summer League was a bit of a roller coaster for third-year power forward Adreian Payne.

Payne averaged 15.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game through eight games. Those numbers seem impressive, but don’t necessarily tell the whole story. He did have a 22-point, 16-rebound game against the Bulls on Monday night. That was nice. But he also had a nine-point game against Cleveland on July 11 in which he shot just 2-for-12 from the field. That was not so nice.

With Payne’s physique and age (25), he should be able to man-handle some of the guys he’s going up in Summer League. And sometimes he does. But at other times, he inconsistent.

He’s at his best when he lets the game come to him. If the offense is flowing nicely and Payne gets an open jumper, a shot he can hit, he should take it. But there was a play in Monday night’s championship game when Payne backed down his defender and tried to throw up a shot, only to get blocked almost immediately.

He has the physical tools to be good, and we saw that. He closed out Summer League with three straight double-doubles and shot a combined 5-for-12 from the 3-point line. There’s an opportunity for Payne at the power forward position this season with the Wolves. Whether he capitalizes on it will depend if he can consistently play within the offense.

Three players without an NBA contract who really impressed me on the Wolves were Coty Clarke, Xavier Silas and Devin Thomas.

Clarke was a solid player off the bench, averaging 8.4 points per game, including a combined 31 points in Minnesota’s first two tournament games. He’s an undersized power forward, but he showed glimpses of being able to shoot from deep, shooting 2-for-4 from deep against Memphis and 2-for-5 against Chicago.

Silas emerged as a scoring option alongside Jones and Payne after the first game. In six out of eight games, Silas hit double-digits, including a 22-point performance against the Raptors in a tight 81-79 win. In eight games, he averaged 10.9 points and shot 37 percent from deep.

And then we move to Thomas. Thomas has virtually no game outside of the paint. But inside the paint, watch out. Thomas crashes the boards like a mad man. He averaged six rebounds per game and nearly 12 per 40 minutes.

I’m not sure if any of these guys will get invites to training camp from the Wolves or another team, but they can leave Summer League knowing they left a good impression.

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What To Take Away From 2016 Summer League

Unfortunately for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Chicago Bulls ended with the last clutch shot on Monday night, as the Wolves fell 84-82 in overtime in the Summer League Championship.

Second-year guard and Summer League MVP Tyus Jones hit a deep 3-pointer to give the Wolves a 3-point lead with less than four seconds left, but former Michigan State standout Denzel Valentine fired back with a 3-pointer of his own to force overtime.

Jones hit a layup with 43 seconds left in overtime before he dished it to Xavier Silas’ 3-pointer to tie things up with 11.7 seconds left, but at the buzzer, Valentine hit a tough fade-away shot for the win. Those two Valentine shots accounted for five of his seven points.

This shouldn’t take anything away from the Wolves, besides the trophy of course. The Wolves rallied after losing their first three games, to advance to the championship game.

Jones led the way for Minnesota, finishing with 27 points and 10 assists. Through eight games, Jones averaged 20.3 points.

His teammate with the Wolves last season, Adreian Payne, was solid as well, finishing with 22 points, 16 rebounds, one block and one steal. He shot 7-for-16 from the field and 3-for-6 from the 3-point line. Silas rounded things out for the Wolves, finishing with 10 points.

Second-year forward Bobby Portis finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Jerian Grant also had a double-double, adding 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bulls finished Summer League with a perfect 7-0 record, while the Wolves finished at 4-4.

For the Bulls, obviously the highlight is Valentine’s 3-pointer to force overtime and fade-away to win the game. But for the Wolves, it was when Jones pulled up from deep to hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to give Minnesota a 77-74 lead with 3.6 seconds left in the game. Teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine celebrated plenty from the stands.

Jones, again, dominated this game. The guard finished with a game-high 27 points to go with 10 assists, two rebounds and two steals. Jones shot just 9-for-21 from the field, but got to the line 10 times, making eight of them.

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Despite Clutch Play From Jones And Payne, Wolves Fall To Bulls In Championship

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Gallery | Wolves vs. Bulls In Summer League Championship

On Sunday night, the NBA that second-year point guard Tyus Jones had been named the Summer League MVP. Of course that's no surprise that he received plenty of love via social media. Jones averaged 19.4 points, 6.3 assists and four rebounds per game throughout the tournament. Of course, the Wolves and Jones still have one more game on Monday night against the Chicago Bulls for the championship.

Below are a few tweets from players and media members reacting to Jones's solid performance in Summer League.

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Twitter Reacts To Jones Winning Summer League MVP

The Minnesota Timberwolves are hoping their fascinating run in the Summer League Tournament ends with a championship. 

Minnesota earned the 24 seed (last) after going 0-3 in the preliminary round. Since then, the Wolves have rattled off wins in four straight tournament games and now they find themselves in the championship.

Now the Wolves will have their final test against No. 2 Chicago. The Bulls have yet to lose in Summer League, sitting at 6-0. 

A few tidbits going into tonight’s game:

The Wolves are coming off a 93-83 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday evening. Tyus Jones was spectacular again, finishing with a game-high 29 points to go with six assists. Payne added 18 points and 10 rebounds, the game’s only double-double. Scott Suggs and Clarke added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Bulls are coming off of an 85-79 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. Six players hit double-digits for Chicago.

Felicio led the way with 18 points and six rebounds. Valentine added 13 points and eight rebounds, but shot just 5-for-14 from the field. Grant, acquired in the Derrick Rose trade, also scored 13 points. Portis finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Dez Wells and Dinwiddie added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Chicago came away with the win despite shooting just 28-for-77 (36.4 percent) from the field.

Key Matchup: Tyus Jones vs. Denzel Valentine 

Jones was named Summer League Tournament MVP on Sunday night and rightfully so. The former NCAA National Champion is averaging 19.4 points, 6.3 assists, four rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from the 3-point line and 85.1 percent from the free-throw line in Summer League.

He will probably matchup defensively against Grant, but all the attention will be on Jones and another big-time college player. 

Valentine, the No. 14 pick in the 2016 Draft, is averaging 12.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in six games. In his last two games, he’s shot 7-for-14 from the 3-point line.

Bulls: PG- Grant, SG – Valentine, SF – Wells, PF – Portis, C - Felicio

Wolves: PG- Jones, SG – Silas, SF – Suggs, PF – Thomas, C - Payne

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Summer League Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Bulls

LAS VEGAS, July 17, 2016 – Tyus Jones of the Minnesota Timberwolves was named Most Valuable Player of the Samsung NBA Summer League 2016, while nine additional players highlight the Samsung All-NBA Summer League First and Second teams, as selected by a panel of media members.

The 11-day, 67-game event featured 23 NBA teams and the NBA D-League Select team and will culminate tomorrow night with the Championship game between the second-seeded Chicago Bulls and the 24th seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. The Championship game will air live on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET.  

Jones led Minnesota to four consecutive wins during the tournament to advance to the Samsung NBA Summer League’s Championship game after losing the opening three games in Las Vegas. In seven games in Las Vegas, Jones averaged 19.4 points on 45.7 percent shooting to go with 6.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals. On July 17, he scored 29 points on 9-for-17 shooting to go with six assists and three rebounds.

Joining Jones on the Samsung All-NBA Summer League 2016 First Team are Jordan McRae (Cleveland), Bobby Portis (Chicago), Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) and Alan Williams (Phoenix).

Jaylen Brown (Boston), Thon Maker (Milwaukee), Kelly Oubre Jr. (Washington), Normal Powell (Toronto) and Tyler Ulis (Phoenix) round out the Second Team.

Samsung NBA Summer League 2016 featured a tournament-style schedule for the fourth-consecutive summer, with the Golden State Warriors having won the inaugural championship in 2013, the Sacramento Kings being crowned champions in 2014, and the San Antonio Spurs taking home the title in 2015.  Each of the participating teams played three games apiece between July 8 and 12 before being seeded in the tournament, which tipped off on July 13.

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Tyus Jones Named Summer League 2016 MVP

The Cinderella story continued on Sunday for the No. 24 seed Minnesota Timberwolves as they took down the No. 5 seed Phoenix Suns, 93-83.

The game was all about former Final Four Most Outstanding player Tyus Jones. Actually, the entire Summer League has been about Jones. Jones finished with a game-high 29 points to lead the Wolves. Eleven of those points came after Jones left with a left wrist injury. Jones returned at halftime with tape on his wrist, but didn’t miss a beat.

Through seven tournament games, Jones is averaging 19.4 points per game and he’s eclipsed 20 in each of the last three games.

Another familiar face for Wolves fans played well, as Adriean Payne finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Scott Suggs finished with 11 points, nine coming from the 3-point line, while Coty Clarke added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench to round things out for the Wolves.

Phoenix was led by Troy Williams and his 24 points. Askia Booker led the bench with 19 points, while rookie Tyler Ulis added 11.

Tom Thibodeau wasn’t coaching, but he had to be happy with the team’s defensive performance from the stands. The Wolves held the Suns to just 35.7 percent (25-for-70) from the field.

With 24 seconds left in the game, Payne put the icing on the cake, hauling in an offensive rebound and then throwing down a monster slam to give the Wolves a 92-83 lead, clinching them a spot in the championship game.

This award goes to Jones again. If this were a real award with a trophy and all, Jones would have three of these. But it’s not, so here we are.

Jones finished with a game-high 29 points to go with six assists, three rebounds and a steal. He had full control of the game, turning the ball over just once. He shot 9-for-17 from the field and 11-for-13 from the field.

Jones will likely headed for an appearance on the Summer League All-Tournament Team.

The Wolves will play the Chicago Bulls on Monday night at 8 p.m. The game will air on ESPN2.

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Jones Leads Wolves To Championship Game

After starting out 0-3, it looked like the Wolves were going to have an early flight out of Las Vegas to end 2016 Summer League.

After being seeded No. 24 to start the Summer League tournament, the Wolves have rattled of wins over the No. 9 Spurs, No. 8 Spurs and No. 1 Raptors.

With a trip to the championship game on the line, the Wolves will go up against the No. 5 Phoenix Suns on Sunday evening.

A few tidbits going into Sunday’s game:

The Wolves are coming off an 81-79 win over the Toronto Raptors thanks to two clutch free throws at the end of regulation from Tyus Jones. Jones finished the game with 21 points and eight assists. Xavier Silas finished with a game-high 22 points while shooting 5-for-11 from the 3-point line. Big man Adreian Payne added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Minnesota shot 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from the 3-point line.

The Suns are coming off of an 82-81 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. Former Kentucky guard Tyler Ulis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Phoenix the win. Ulis finished with 19 points, shooting 3-for-5 from the 3-point line. Forward Troy Williams finished with a team-high 22 points to go with three steals. Big man Alan Williams finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds, while Kyle Kuric also scored 11 points.   

This will likely come down to the battle of the point guards.

Jones has had a phenomenal Summer League, averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six games. He’s shooting 44 percent from the field, 48 percent from the 3-point line and 85.3 percent from the free-throw line. He’s had 15 or more points and eight or more assists in each of his last three games. 

Ulis, the No. 34 pick in the 2016 Draft, is averaging 15.2 points and 6.2 assists through five games. He’s shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent from the free-throw line. He has yet to not hit double-digits in the scoring department.

Suns: PG- Ulis, SG – Kuric, SF – Williams, PF – Bender, C - Williams

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Summer League Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Suns

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