Sixers Orlando Summer League Preview

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

It’s been exactly one week since many fans’ hopes of the Sixers grabbing Andrew Wiggins and the major on-court pieces of the rebuild in the draft were dashed by lottery balls and a Joel Embiid injury. Instead, the team took one lottery pick who will be over in Europe for a couple years (Saric) and another that might be held out the entire season Nerlens-Noel style to both allow him to fully recover from injury and keep the team from winning an extra game or two (Embiid). For better or for worse, year 2 of the tank is officially on.

So whatever happens this year of a positive nature will have to come from the continued growth and development of the young players littered throughout the roster. We’ll get our first glimpse of some of those guys when the team begins play in the Orlando Summer League this Saturday. Unlike years past, the Sixers will also be competing in the Vegas Summer League, so some of the recent draftees and second-year guys on the roster will be on that team and not down in Orlando. However, what better place to reignite the hope and optimism for a better Sixers tomorrow than down in Disney World: where dreams come true.

Here are the 3 players I’m most looking forward to seeing in action starting this weekend:

1. Nerlens Noel – Finally! Close to 14 months after the draft night trade sent Jrue Holiday out the door, fans will get to see someone on the court the team received in exchange for trading away their all-star point guard. Noel looked good in a suit and doing some strength and agility workouts on the sideline before games last year, but what’s he going to look like running up and down the court in live game action. All indications from practice are that he’s back to being a defensive menace with the offensive game very much still a work in progress, all very much to be expected. With no lottery picks taking the floor for the Sixers this season (at least to begin the year), Noel is the number one reason to watch both the upcoming regular season, and the Orlando Summer League squad.

2. Hollis Thompson – Did the Sixers unearth a diamond in the rough or was last year a small sample size aberration? At 40.1%, Thompson led all rookies in 3PT% a season ago and with his 6’10” wingspan, he certainly has the potential to be a valuable 3-and-D guy, a term/role incredibly en vogue right now throughout NBA circles. He reportedly put on some weight this offseason and I’m excited to see if Thompson worked on other parts of his game (ball-handling, being more fundamentally sound defensively). With an NBA season already under his belt, some of that time as a starter, I want Thompson to look like a polished product in relation to many of these rookies and undrafted free agents taking the floor.

3. Pierre Jackson – The Sixers have already drafted, traded away, and traded for Jackson, so there’s clearly something the organization likes that they can’t get away from. It’s pretty obvious what that thing is: the man gets buckets. Jackson set a D-league single-game record in February with 58 points and averaged 29.1 ppg over 31 contests. At 5’10”, even a fully realized Jackson probably isn’t a starter in the league, but could he be a valuable scoring spark off the bench? With a dearth of such options currently on the Sixers roster, I’m certainly intrigued to find out.

The rest of the Sixers Orlando Summer League roster is rounded out as follows:

Casper Ware; Ronald Roberts, Jr.; Aaron Craft; Travis Bader; Jerami Grant; JaKarr Sampson; Talib Zanna; Ed Daniel; Jamelle Hagins; Melvin Ejim; Isaiah Sykes

The two other names that really jump out at me are recent 2nd-round draft pick Jerami Grant and St. Joe’s products Ronald Roberts, Jr. Both players are similar 3/4 tweener-types who, while lacking an outside shot and the size to really bang with power forwards, have crazy athleticism and skills to finish around the hoop. Grant obviously has the leg up being drafted 39th overall but I like Roberts, Jr. as a dark horse candidate to make somebody’s roster.

Here’s the Sixers’ league schedule. Let us know who you’re most excited about watching over the next week.

Saturday, July 5 vs. Orlando – 1 PM

Sunday, July 6 vs. Oklahoma City – 5 PM

Tuesday July 8 vs. Houston – 7 PM

Wednesday, July 9 vs. Brooklyn – 5 PM

Friday, July 11 – Championship