Summer League 2018: who you excited about the most?

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TBpup said:
Collins - his development is about the only way I see the Blazers improving. You know what you get (or don't get) from Dame, CJ, Nurk Aminu, ET, etc, but with Collins you could see significant increases in production.
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I agree for the most part. I think Nurk has some improvement that could/will/should be made though. If he improves his under the rim attack and Collins takes a big step, we could be pretty good as is.
 
I want to see Collins. He's the guy that could have a significant impact on the team next season.
 
Call me an old sourpuss...but I long ago concluded the only thing you can learn from summer league is how well injured players are recovering. That kind of ratball environment makes evaluating player development very deceptive. I've seen too many guys like Outlaw or Woods look like future all-stars in this setting.
 
With Big Ed gone I'm actually excited to see Swanigan and Layman...see how they measure up at the 4...other than that..Trent jr....I'm still waiting for Simons to gain about 40 lbs....
 
Sure I want to see if last year's guys have improved. But if the question is who am I excited to see, it's Baldwin, because I hope he knocks our socks off this season, and Simons, because he's the great unknown.

:cheers:
 
oldmangrouch said:
Call me an old sourpuss...but I long ago concluded the only thing you can learn from summer league is how well injured players are recovering. That kind of ratball environment makes evaluating player development very deceptive. I've seen too many guys like Outlaw or Woods look like future all-stars in this setting.
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Or Batum look like a deer in headlights (we all assumed he’d go back to Europe for a couple years) and he actually was able to contribute his rookie year.
 
Collins, I think Simons is a couple years away from contributing anything.
 
It's hard to get excited when the team takes a step backwards.
 
Trent Jr. I'm hoping he will be this summer's (and next season's) Kyle Kuzma - the guy several GMs end up kicking themselves about passing on. I don't expect him to be a starter, like Kuzma was as a rookie, but POR isn't a sucky ass lottery team like the Lakers were. I'd love to see him crack the rotation from opening night, or at the very least work his way into the rotation by Christmas.

We haven't had anyone coming off the bench since Mo Williams who wasn't afraid to take a big shot. Crabbe was a good shooter, as long as he was wide open and had his feet set, but was WAY to passive to count on with the game on the line. Trent seems to be much more aggressive and plays with much more confidence. I want to see what this kid can do.

BNM
 
In this order:

Simons: I need to see this bark they're talking about. Need to see him pass the eye test. SL is guard oriented so I'm looking for him to too be aggressive.

Collins: Horrible 17'-18' SL. He'll be looking to make an impact. It'll be nice to see how much impact that "gained 20 in the off-season" narrative has.

Baldwin: Can he make the rotation?

Trent: Ditto
 
dviss1 said:
Collins: Horrible 17'-18' SL. He'll be looking to make an impact. It'll be nice to see how much impact that "gained 20 in the off-season" narrative has.
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Defensively I thought Collins played very well last summer...... offensively? Not so much.
 
I have a feeling that Swanigan is going to go the way of Vonleh. Hang around for a few years with his defenders always thinking that this is going to be His Year when in fact he doesn't have an NBA game/body. Hope I'm wrong, because he seems like a good kid, but what's the successful current NBA player who gives us hope for him?
 
BBert said:
Step backwards?

This Summer League team is going to contend for the championship!
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They could do that and still take a step backwards!

But it's good to remind ourselves of last year's SL team. It entertained us for a while but ended up being totally meaningless. The players that looked worst (and barely played) were Collins and Connaughton, who played most in the regular season, while the "stars" (Biggie, Layton and Guttierez) barely figured at all (or didn't even get a camp invite).

That's not to say that SL is meaningless, because Kuzma, Tatum and Donovan Mitchell all looked great in SL and carried that over, just that it was meaningless for us.
 
I worry that we expect too much of Simons. He should struggle, as this is a huge step up in competition for him.
 
This is the first year where I'm really hoping the guys play as a team instead of trying to just be out there for themselves. I know that isn't how summer league works but it would be cool to see them play more like it's a Blazers regular season game. Baldwin, Layman, and Collins I really just want them to not completely mess up. The real test for them is going to be proving their worth in games that actually matter.

Simons: I really just want to get a gauge on how far (or close) he is from being able to contribute. Are we talking 3-4 years away or can he show enough to not be in the G-League all year?

Swanigan: There are two reasons that I am hopeful that Biggie at least replicates his production from last summer. The first is that we need some confidence that he can fill a rotation spot if the roster stays as is. The second is that he could really help his trade value with a good showing.

Trent: Will he be just another wing lost in the sea of wings at summer league or will his shooting stand out? I'm also looking to see if his ball handling is better than he showed at Duke.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
I worry that we expect too much of Simons. He should struggle, as this is a huge step up in competition for him.
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I'm fine with him struggling so long as I see him learning from his mistakes throughout the week of basketball. So far it sounds like he's picking things up like a sponge in the mini camp before summer league.
 
oldmangrouch said:
Call me an old sourpuss...but I long ago concluded the only thing you can learn from summer league is how well injured players are recovering. That kind of ratball environment makes evaluating player development very deceptive. I've seen too many guys like Outlaw or Woods look like future all-stars in this setting.
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Athleticism in wings stands out over skills and big men. Remember Bayless?
 
One guy everyone should be rooting for is Papa G, especially with how the roster is currently constructed. Leonard is the backup center right now.

If Papa G can show an ability to stretch the court, he could really push not only for a spot on the roster, but the backup center job. There are reasons to believe he can do just that. He’s a very good free throw shooter (near 80% in the g league) and shows a pretty good stroke on jumpers when given looks. Defensively he’s much superior to Leonard and has mentioned a focus this offseason was improving his lateral agility. He’s also a very good offensive rebounder, something Leonard is awful at, and probably the thing we’ll miss most about Ed Davis. His pick and roll ability is also much better than Leonard’s.

So he’s got a huge opportunity in front of him, hope he takes advantage. Please god.
 
Scalma said:
One guy everyone should be rooting for is Papa G, especially with how the roster is currently constructed. Leonard is the backup center right now.

If Papa G can show an ability to stretch the court, he could really push not only for a spot on the roster, but the backup center job. There are reasons to believe he can do just that. He’s a very good free throw shooter (near 80% in the g league) and shows a pretty good stroke on jumpers when given looks. Defensively he’s much superior to Leonard and has mentioned a focus this offseason was improving his lateral agility. He’s also a very good offensive rebounder, something Leonard is awful at, and probably the thing we’ll miss most about Ed Davis. His pick and roll ability is also much better than Leonard’s.

So he’s got a huge opportunity in front of him, hope he takes advantage. Please god.
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Rumor is he already has a contract in Europe

https://www.blazersedge.com/2018/7/...portland-trail-blazers-contract-panathinaikos
 
hoopsjock said:
This is the first year where I'm really hoping the guys play as a team instead of trying to just be out there for themselves. I know that isn't how summer league works but it would be cool to see them play more like it's a Blazers regular season game. Baldwin, Layman, and Collins I really just want them to not completely mess up. The real test for them is going to be proving their worth in games that actually matter.

Simons: I really just want to get a gauge on how far (or close) he is from being able to contribute. Are we talking 3-4 years away or can he show enough to not be in the G-League all year?

Swanigan: There are two reasons that I am hopeful that Biggie at least replicates his production from last summer. The first is that we need some confidence that he can fill a rotation spot if the roster stays as is. The second is that he could really help his trade value with a good showing.

Trent: Will he be just another wing lost in the sea of wings at summer league or will his shooting stand out? I'm also looking to see if his ball handling is better than he showed at Duke.
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Played as team, check. Not completely messing up, check.

Simons, skills-wise close, but overall not quite there, not a PG yet. He's 6th guard, so no pressure to rush development. But he'll be ready to go next year.

Swanny, very poor decision-making, everyone gave up on him, then he kills it. Could use consistency, in a good way :)

Trent, If there's an injury, could step in as 4th guard right away. Much better dribbler and defender than advertised.

What do you think?
 
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