For those of us still hung over on patriotism from the World Cup and the 4th of July, we can all relax and take in a fix of the basketball that we have so desperately missed ever since the Finals ended. (Still mad at you Spurs!) The Summer League officially kicks off with the ten teams participating being the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons. There are always a slew of young players to watch in the summer league as new draft picks make their pro debuts, but there are also some seasoned players who make a name for themselves, and of course the D-League standouts who get a chance to prove they can crack the rotation for a team in the NBA. This year is no different, and with the teams participating there is sure to be no shortage of storylines when games get going. With that said, here are the most interesting players to make sure you keep your eyes on this summer.
Nerlens Noel
Noel sat out the entire year last season with Philly in full tank mode, and his summer league debut will also be his professional debut. Last time we saw Nerlens play, he was swatting shots at Kentucky and was on the way to being the number one overall pick before he was sidelined with a torn ACL his rookie year. This year Noel will be looking to get a stranglehold on the rim protecting center position in Philly with the Sixers using the third pick in the draft on the injured Joel Embiid. Noel is a super athletic big man that can finish at the rim over anyone and has been known to posterize a few players in the past. Noel, of course is known as a defensive stopper and is every bit as good as the hype suggests when it comes to his shot blocking ability. Noel will see his first official NBA action in a Sixer uniform this summer and will be looking to show that his injury has not slowed him down one bit, and that he is still the best young big an on the Philly roster.
Marcus Smart
Smart will be looking to prove he is worthy of being picked 6th overall in this year’s draft, as if the chip on his shoulder needed any more motivation added on top. Marcus Smart is an absolute animal on the court and is as big a competitor as anyone in the entire league. Smart reportedly dominated in all of his pre-draft workouts with his fellow prospects and you can rest assured Smart will be looking to dominate the very same way in the Summer League. Smart would punch his Grandma in the face to beat you in a game of Connect Four, so you can bet your ass that when he knows the NBA community will be watching him against his peers this summer he will hold nothing back. His killer instinct made him one of the best and most entertaining players in college basketball the past two years. Smart will take the Summer League games more seriously than any other player on the court, and you can bank on at least one dunk-mean mug combo when he takes the court. Hopefully he keeps the swagger and angst on the court this time though.
James Young
James Young endured a slight draft day slide when he dropped to the Celtics at number 17, but in the end it may end up being the best thing that could happen to him. He gets to play with a distributor as elite as Rajon Rondo and gets to play with a basketball psychopath that is Marcus Smart. Like Smart, Young will be looking to prove he can play at the professional level and there is no doubt he can score with the best of them. The biggest questions coming into the draft were about Young’s defense on the perimeter and his passing both in the open court and into the post. With Smart playing alongside him it will allow Young to play off of the ball as he did the majority of his time at Kentucky, and if you leave him open from beyond the arc, he will score in bunches in the blink of an eye.
Deandre Liggins
Liggins is still in the early years of his career and has already bounced around a bit. Liggins had a solid run with the Thunder and had a cup of coffee with the Magic as well as the Heat last year before returning to the D-League. He was also the D-League’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and is with a new team this year in the Detroit Pistons. A long defensive wing is always welcome on a Stan Van Gundy team and Liggins knows this could be his best shot to stick in a rotation so far in his young career.
As a role player on a developing team, Liggins has a chance to play his way onto the team in Detroit and has been a standout in Summer League games for the past few years. He will need to show an improved three point shot this summer as well as show improvement of his movement without the ball as those have been some of the biggest factors leading to him not sticking with a team thus far. This is a crossroads in the career of Deandre Liggins and he could play his way onto a team or back into the D-League. Which will it be?
Shabazz Napier
LeBron James’ personal, hand picked point guard. No pressure right? With the lack of young players on the Miami squad, Shabazz is sure to be the focal point of the Summer League team for the Heat, and he will have the opportunity to show if he has the chops to come in and be the starting point guard right away for Miami. Napier was an absolute killer in college and boasted a 97.8% shooting percentage on open catch and shoot jumpers, which is simply out of this world. If you give him space on the offensive end, Shabazz can be absolutely destructive and when he goes off it is incredibly fun to watch for everyone who is not on the opposing team.
We all know he can score, but Bazz will need to show more than that in the Summer League games to cement his spot in the Heat rotation from day one. Napier will have to prove he can not only score himself, but run the offense, distribute and set up his teammates with good look at the basket, and not just himself. Napier will also have to improve defensively where he was very hit and miss even in his senior year at UCONN. His perimeter defense specifically will be tested with a plethora of young guards who were drafted by the teams participating in the Summer League this year. If he shows he can be an all-around point guard, or even be a bit more well rounded, his scoring is good enough for him to have a big role in the Heat system next year.
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