Summer League Action Starts with Three Games in Sacramento Next Week
It’s the NBA, and basketball never really stops, even in the offseason. Two weeks ago, the Warriors were in the NBA Finals, last week was the NBA Draft and next week is the start of summer league, which is mainly geared toward giving young players some live game action in an NBA setting in front of executives and scouts of all levels of professional basketball. Here are a few notes for Dub Nation to study up on for the fast approaching summer leagues.
One Summer, Two Leagues
For the second year in a row, the Warriors will participate in the California Classic before joining the rest of the league in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Hosted by the Kings, the California Classic will take place at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento from July 1-3, and include the Kings, Lakers and Heat.
Following the three-day showcase in Sacramento, the Warriors will head to Sin City, where they are guaranteed to play at least five games. The first four Warriors’ games in Las Vegas are scheduled preliminary games, and depending how those go will determine if the Dubs are one of top eight teams to advance to the tournament or play in a consolation game.
View the Warriors’ full summer schedule and roster here, and note that audio from each Warriors game in both summer leagues will be available on Warriors Sound.
SCW Head Coach Aaron Miles to lead Summer League team
Former Warriors guard and current head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors Aaron Miles was tapped to coach this year’s Dubs summer squads. The former assistant coach of the Kansas Jayhawks just finished his second season with the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Miles owns a 57-43 record with the “Sea Dubs,” which includes last season’s 34-16 (.680) record that tied for the best record in the G League and second most regular season wins in franchise history.
First round pick Jordan Poole makes his Dubs debut
The 20-year-old Jordan Poole was selected 28th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Warriors. John Beilein, Poole’s former head coach at Michigan and now head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, said the young forward has an “overdose of swag,” which Poole later explained on Monday’s introductory press conference likely came from his desire of “[wanting] the big moment and [wanting] to shine.” He proved he can handle high-pressure situations as a freshman when he hit a buzzer-beating game-winning shot in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Will Alen Smailagić’s G League experience benefit him in the Summer League?
Though only 18 years old, Alen Smailagić already has some professional experience under his belt. He played in the Serbian U19 League where he averaged 21.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game and then was selected fourth overall by the Santa Cruz Warriors in last year’s G League draft. Miles praised the young talent on his abilities and work ethic with the Sea Dubs, and that work could be seen in games in which Smailagić played for at least 15 minutes: he averaged 12.4 points on 52.3 percent shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. The Dubs have already watched him develop for a year, and that was enough to warrant a draft night trade to acquire his rights from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Did Eric Paschall’s four years in NCAA prime him for the NBA?
In Eric Paschall's final three years of college ball, all spent with Villanova, he showed consistent improvement and versatility, finishing with averages of 16.5 points and 6.1 rebounds during his senior year. The question is: can his development continue as he transitions from college to professional basketball? As he said in the Dubs’ introductory press conference on Monday, he does not just want to perform well, but also wants to win the Summer League Championship, “because that’s just how I am.”
Dubs’ young vet getting ready for next season
Jacob Evans will enter the Summer League to receive some game action before the 2019-2020 season gets under way. Evans appeared in 30 games last season and logged just under seven minutes per game for Golden State, but with Santa Cruz he posted 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks in over 26 minutes per game in the G League.
A Look at the Rest of the Dubs’ Summer Squad
Ky Bowman: A guard who was a career 38.8 percent three-point shooter in college, he averaged 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game his junior year at Boston College.
Malik Dunbar: Dunbar just completed his second year with Auburn where he averaged 6.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 18 minutes per game; standing 6-foot-6, he brings size to the guard position.
Ebuka Izundu: The four-year center from Miami finished with 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks after starting all 32 games en route to a program single-season record 65.3 percent shooting from the field.
Dedric Lawson: The Kansas forward led the Big 12 in scoring (19.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.3 rpg) this past season.
Kevin McClain: The guard is coming off of a senior season at Belmont in which he had career-highs in points (16.8), assists (3.9), and steals (1.2); he also also averaged 24 points over two games in the NCAA Tournament.
Davon Reed: A point guard with two seasons of NBA experience with the Suns and Pacers, Reed averaged 14.9 points on 39.7 percent from beyond the arc, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals his senior year at Miami.
Malachi Richardson: A shooting guard with three seasons of NBA experience between the Kings and Raptors, Richardson averaged 20 points and five rebounds in 12 G League games last season.
Brandon Sampson: The guard out of LSU played 14 games for the Chicago Bulls last season where he averaged 5.1 points per game; averaged almost 17 points over last two seasons in the G League.
Juan Toscano-Anderson: A forward born in Oakland, played professionally in Mexico, then signed with the Santa Cruz Warriors last season where he averaged 7.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 24 minutes per game.
Travis Wear: A 6-foot-10 forward who played 51 games for the Knicks as an undrafted free agent during the 2014-2015 season, Wear spent the last three seasons with the Lakers’ G League affiliate and averaged 14.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.