Summer League Thread

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

Anyway:

Dante Exum, Utah Jazz | Grade: B

Don’t let the uninspiring stat line 6-and-2 fool you.

 

This is where it's probably safe to stop reading and start laughing.

 

Exum was, at best, the fourth best player ON HIS OWN TEAM yesterday. Gobert was clearly better. So was Hood, who was seemingly unconscious. And Motum played better off the bench than Exum did. So that puts Exum's play last night on the same level as Burke and Malcolm Thomas. Giving Exum a B for that is roughly on par with giving Aaron Gordon an "A++ triple sparkle rainbow supreme" because he played solid defense, made that one ridiculous block in game 1, and had a couple really nice finishes at the rim so LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL!!!!!

 

And it's not like you can say Exum's low assist total was due to his teammate's poor shooting, either: the rest of his team shot >50% from the field(31/61).

 

Does Exum appear to have potential as a multi-talented offensive weapon? Sure. But so does Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Giannis is certainly not actually an offensive weapon right now(and I don't think he ever will be, but that's an entirely separate discussion). Combine that with the fact that Exum seems to be completely allergic to guarding his man, and I'm just now sure why anyone would think that, right now, he's an obvious superstar in the making.

 

I mean, you can say many things about Aaron Gordon's problems on the offensive end(he needs a lot of work as a shooter, he isn't as good a ball-handler as he thinks he is, he tends to dribble too high, and he puts the ball down off of offensive rebounds when he should go right back up with them, etc), but at least Gordon is already a plus level NBA player on one side of the ball: I legitimately believe he's in the top third of the NBA on man-to-man defense RIGHT NOW, and he could reasonably guard 2-3 positions with some level of effectiveness. So even if he never develops in ANY WAY on the offensive end, he's a poor man's Tony Allen. That's not just his floor, it's his basement floor.

 

Meanwhile, at present, I've yet to see anything that makes me think Exum could even be pre-injury Shaun Livingston, much less Penny Hardaway. So far he's demonstrated "a pretty good first step," "an allergy to defense," and a "fairly ghastly shooting line" through two games.

[KandiKane 136]

 

Does Exum appear to have potential as a multi-talented offensive weapon? Sure. But so does Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Giannis is certainly not actually an offensive weapon right now(and I don't think he ever will be, but that's an entirely separate discussion). Combine that with the fact that Exum seems to be completely allergic to guarding his man, and I'm just now sure why anyone would think that, right now, he's an obvious superstar in the making.

 

Meanwhile, at present, I've yet to see anything that makes me think Exum could even be pre-injury Shaun Livingston, much less Penny Hardaway. So far he's demonstrated "a pretty good first step," "an allergy to defense," and a "fairly ghastly shooting line" through two games.

 

My opinion before the draft from watching Australia play was just this (above). He did not seem interested in defense at all, like James Harden interested.

[CTMagicUK 1,491]

Yea defense is something I heard rumors about Exum pre draft but chose to ignore because at that point I had strayed too far into homerville. Apparently some people in Australia starting calling him 'Ante' because he never brings any 'D'. I guess defensive potential really means "if he gave a damn he might be good".

 

I think us not drafting Exum saved me from a lifetime of irrational, illogical thoughts about how good he actually was/could be. Since we didn't draft him I've taken off the homer glasses and I'm pretty happy with Gordon.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

I'm still pro-exum but he needs work just like the majority of the rookies.

[UEBERMORTAL 125]

I legitimately believe he's in the top third of the NBA on man-to-man defense RIGHT NOW, and he could reasonably guard 2-3 positions with some level of effectiveness.

 

And that's the point why we drafted him so high + he's a world class athlete. I hope he develop a kind of "Blake Griffin attitude" (running through people). And believe me or not, once you have seen him dunking on people, you will realize how much fun it is to have him on the team.

[CTMagicUK 1,491]

I'm still pro-exum but he needs work just like the majority of the rookies.

 

Oh yea, I still think he can be a great scorer in the league, I just have a more balanced outlook on him then I did a month or so ago.

[Catalina Maria 64]

I'm not trying to be a trouble-maker or a troll or anything else you guys wanna call me.......Grades from ESPN:

 

Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers | Grade: B

Watching the 76ers' summer league team is entertaining if only because this could end up being their actual regular-season roster –- and Noel only helps with that entertainment factor. There aren’t many guys who can re-jump quite like him. That’s part of what makes him so successful on the court -- his ability to leave the ground quicker than everyone else after the initial leap. Monday, he showed that off as a defender, blocking four shots. He also ran the floor as well as any big man in Vegas, finishing on a couple dunks in transition. --Katz

 

Dante Exum, Utah Jazz | Grade: B

Don’t let the uninspiring stat line 6-and-2 fool you. Exum was quick and decisive in the pick-and-roll, looking more like a veteran practitioner than the “unknown entity” he was labeled as leading up to the draft. While there weren’t nearly as many flashy displays as there were in his debut, Exum showed tonight that there’s some steak with his sizzle. --Foster

 

Also, ESPN has a video on the front page with Kevin Arnowitz chatting with David Thorpe and Ethan Strauss....He asks them who has been the most impressive and Thorpe immediately says Nerlens and compares him to Anthony Davis...Says he doesn't know if his offense will evolve like Davis but there isn't any reason it can't either.

 

I'll add that Noel is shooting free throws in summer league at about 75% last I checked...That's a good sign.

 

Strauss immediately says Dante Exum......And quickly rattles off comparisons to Kobe and Penny Hardaway.

 

We could have had both guys....Guess we'll all be evaluating the next couple years.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/69724/las-vegas-summer-league-day-4-grades

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/

 

So based on an ESPN grade of Exum you automatically assume Henny didn't do his homework on the PG the Magic wanted? Payton has shown maturity and versatility. Noel hasn't played one real NBA game and you are ready to throw out Oladipo after a successful rookie year? Think about your reasoning here.

[random 19]

I think you guys are just haters, Exum had a pretty sweet game. He pretty much got quadruple double with his 2/6 fg, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers. Also was very effective on defensive end, opponents starting guards only got to shoot 58% (7/12), which is not even that much higher then rest of their team shot (40%). Definitely a solid performance, we can only hope Payton will pick up his game and get to Exums level by the time preseason camp starts!

[Catalina Maria 64]

Anyway:

 

 

This is where it's probably safe to stop reading and start laughing.

 

Exum was, at best, the fourth best player ON HIS OWN TEAM yesterday. Gobert was clearly better. So was Hood, who was seemingly unconscious. And Motum played better off the bench than Exum did. So that puts Exum's play last night on the same level as Burke and Malcolm Thomas. Giving Exum a B for that is roughly on par with giving Aaron Gordon an "A++ triple sparkle rainbow supreme" because he played solid defense, made that one ridiculous block in game 1, and had a couple really nice finishes at the rim so LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL!!!!!

 

And it's not like you can say Exum's low assist total was due to his teammate's poor shooting, either: the rest of his team shot >50% from the field(31/61).

 

Does Exum appear to have potential as a multi-talented offensive weapon? Sure. But so does Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Giannis is certainly not actually an offensive weapon right now(and I don't think he ever will be, but that's an entirely separate discussion). Combine that with the fact that Exum seems to be completely allergic to guarding his man, and I'm just now sure why anyone would think that, right now, he's an obvious superstar in the making.

 

I mean, you can say many things about Aaron Gordon's problems on the offensive end(he needs a lot of work as a shooter, he isn't as good a ball-handler as he thinks he is, he tends to dribble too high, and he puts the ball down off of offensive rebounds when he should go right back up with them, etc), but at least Gordon is already a plus level NBA player on one side of the ball: I legitimately believe he's in the top third of the NBA on man-to-man defense RIGHT NOW, and he could reasonably guard 2-3 positions with some level of effectiveness. So even if he never develops in ANY WAY on the offensive end, he's a poor man's Tony Allen. That's not just his floor, it's his basement floor.

 

Meanwhile, at present, I've yet to see anything that makes me think Exum could even be pre-injury Shaun Livingston, much less Penny Hardaway. So far he's demonstrated "a pretty good first step," "an allergy to defense," and a "fairly ghastly shooting line" through two games.

 

Yeah, what he said.

[Catalina Maria 64]

I think you guys are just haters, Exum had a pretty sweet game. He pretty much got quadruple double with his 2/6 fg, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers. Also was very effective on defensive end, opponents starting guards only got to shoot 58% (7/12), which is not even that much higher then rest of their team shot (40%). Definitely a solid performance, we can only hope Payton will pick up his game and get to Exums level by the time preseason camp starts!

 

Lol!!!!!!!

[UEBERMORTAL 125]

we can only hope Payton will pick up his game and get to Exums level by the time preseason camp starts!

 

Please not!

[TreyMachine 399]

Yea defense is something I heard rumors about Exum pre draft but chose to ignore because at that point I had strayed too far into homerville. Apparently some people in Australia starting calling him 'Ante' because he never brings any 'D'. I guess defensive potential really means "if he gave a damn he might be good".

 

I think us not drafting Exum saved me from a lifetime of irrational, illogical thoughts about how good he actually was/could be. Since we didn't draft him I've taken off the homer glasses and I'm pretty happy with Gordon.

 

Perhaps it just takes a will-to-work mentality for his defense to become better (though I never think he will become the defender Air Gordon already is). I will say that I do not know the type of defender he is or will be, but I just watched the highlights from both games and damn - the dude leaves people in the dust when he decides to explode towards the rim. When he does so, he doesn't always look to score but to pass.

 

I'm happy with the AG and Easy E combo, but man - that crossover is silky smooth.

 

In my opinion though, he'll leave the Jazz as early as he can for a big market. He didn't even work out for the Jazz because he "didn't like the market." AG and EP seem to be guys who will stay loyal to an organization for the long haul.