ESPN: Fakers have most disappointing rookie and vet from summer league

[colincb]

OSU guys are system guys a lot who get volume shots.   I would always be leery of them.   OSU is hardly a breeding ground for great NBA players.

There has not been a real superstar in the NBA since Hondo and he developed into one over time.  Oden had that potential though but injuries killed him.   Sully has sqaundered his talent by eating but never had superstar talent due to lack of athletic ability.  Jim Jackson had some good years but some bad ones.   Evan Turner was a bust.  They were decent in the 1960s and that championship crew in 60 had some good pros like Hondo, Larry Siegfried and Jerry Lucas.  Herb Williams was  a decent pro for years.

Hondo was 1st team rookie and all-NBA in his second year.

[knuckleballer]

I think that Russell will be fine, but I think the Lakers will regret passing on Okafor for the next decade.

My gut instinct all along has been that Okafor will be the best player in this draft and nothing I've seen so far has dissuaded me.

Watch him defend the PnR and get back to me on that haha. Or really any part of defending. His offense will be legit with some shooters and a guard who can make an entry pass though.

Right, because nobody ever gets better at defense.

Because Okafor has such advanced post moves, already has a filled out physique, and was so hyped, people talk about him as if he is a finished product while projecting on other players who have had less success.  At 6'11" with a 7'5" wingspan, strong body, and a good head for the game, I suspect he will become at least a decent defender.  As with all 19 year olds, many parts of his game are undeveloped and it's up to him to work to improve his game. 

[hwangjini_1]

I think that Russell will be fine, but I think the Lakers will regret passing on Okafor for the next decade.

My gut instinct all along has been that Okafor will be the best player in this draft and nothing I've seen so far has dissuaded me.

Watch him defend the PnR and get back to me on that haha. Or really any part of defending. His offense will be legit with some shooters and a guard who can make an entry pass though.

Right, because nobody ever gets better at defense.

of course not. what you see of a player in summer league is a lock for what he will be for his career. no one starts poorly then improves, or, puts up great stats due to inferior competition and later drops off.

russell and randle = bums based upon summer league.

oh, did anyone mention yet that this is all summer league and summer league doesnt count?

[Hardwood Harry]

It's funny how when people get excited about someone looking good in SL you get, "it's only summer league". When someone drafted high looks bad you hear"it's only summer league"
Since when did Allen Iverson's mind take over these boards. Summer League competition is increasing at a rate comparable to MLS world wide. Summer League as we know it has only been around a decade and if you add the influx of international talent, coaches implementing basic schemes run by their perspective teams you'll see that summer league is  becoming more like the NFL's OTA's
A little over 20 years ago there was the Dream Team dominating the world and only 21 International players on NBA rosters. ( only 6 drafted from 2001-06 ) This isn't your daddy's NBA and it definitely isn't even your older brother's summer league.
I'd suppose some of you would rather go back to 7+ rounds in the draft and not knowing anything about your draft picks until training camp....

2012
http://www.nba.com/celtics/roster/2012-celtics-summer-league-roster.html

2013
http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/press_release/070513-celtics-announce-summer-league-roster

If you can't see the difference in talent level from just 3 years ago....time for glasses or lasik...

[MBunge]

I think that Russell will be fine, but I think the Lakers will regret passing on Okafor for the next decade.

My gut instinct all along has been that Okafor will be the best player in this draft and nothing I've seen so far has dissuaded me.

Watch him defend the PnR and get back to me on that haha. Or really any part of defending. His offense will be legit with some shooters and a guard who can make an entry pass though.

Right, because nobody ever gets better at defense.

I think the issue with Okafor is that his shot blocking in college was much less than you'd expect from a guy of his size.  If you're a seven-footer and not a very good to great shot blocker in college where there are no illegal defense rules to draw you away from the basket, that's a bit of a red flag.

Mike

[SHAQATTACK]

I've been crying all morning over this news .
























NOT........

[hwangjini_1]

It's funny how when people get excited about someone looking good in SL you get, "it's only summer league". When someone drafted high looks bad you hear"it's only summer league"
Since when did Allen Iverson's mind take over these boards. Summer League competition is increasing at a rate comparable to MLS world wide. Summer League as we know it has only been around a decade and if you add the influx of international talent, coaches implementing basic schemes run by their perspective teams you'll see that summer league is  becoming more like the NFL's OTA's
A little over 20 years ago there was the Dream Team dominating the world and only 21 International players on NBA rosters. ( only 6 drafted from 2001-06 ) This isn't your daddy's NBA and it definitely isn't even your older brother's summer league.
I'd suppose some of you would rather go back to 7+ rounds in the draft and not knowing anything about your draft picks until training camp....

2012
http://www.nba.com/celtics/roster/2012-celtics-summer-league-roster.html

2013
http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/press_release/070513-celtics-announce-summer-league-roster

If you can't see the difference in talent level from just 3 years ago....time for glasses or lasik...

i understand your points and a tp for them, but i am not sure those are the points being raised above when summer league is commonly dismissed by some here.

first, the vast majority of players in the summer league are not even good enough to be nba scrubs, towel wavers, or collectors of bench splinters in their collective butts. they are never going to sniff being starters in the nba. never.

no one here is saying that no one in the summer league is good, or that no one will become a very good nba player. that is not the point. rather, the over all quality of the SL competition, style of play, and odd miss matches of rosters means we need to take SL performances with a large, large boulder of salt. plus, the players who are VERY young, inexperienced and will undergo much transformation in their game. which direction they will go is never a sure thing.

as greece666 is fond of posting, predicting is hard, especially when it is the future. with summer league players, predictions are even more hazardous.

second, and flowing from the first, the call for questioning summer league is often a response to over the top enthusiasm or despair based upon summer league games. for example a cb poster pronounced a few years ago that based upon summer league, olly = larry bird. really.

here, some posters dismissed LA's russell and randle as credible nba players based upon summer league. a bit premature to be sure, yes?.

my point, and that of others is often meant to temper overly enthusiastic or depressingly gloomy assessments that rely upon a notorious unreliable situation.

instead, we are urging fellow posters to calm down and be patient. let's not rush to final judgements based upon a handful of games against d-league players. lets see if a player does well, and WAIT and see if a player lives up to the SL performance.

the basic points are straightforward.

[dreamgreen]

Only time I watch college ball is the tourney so I have no opinion on who the good college players are more importantly we know that doesn't translate to the NBA.

What I like to add is watching all the C's summer league games so far I'm very pleased with our rookies. IMO they have been as good if not better than any rookies they have played against. Trying not to get to excited about it but this could be Danny's best draft, we'll see how tings progress.

[Celts Fan 508]

I think that Russell will be fine, but I think the Lakers will regret passing on Okafor for the next decade.

I will take that one step further, both Minny and LA will regret passing on Okafor for the next decade plus.

[TheTruthFot18]

Russel will turn out to be a bust for a second pick

Am I the only one who was excited they picked him? Okafor should have been taken #2. And people thought we had a bad draft. 

[Ogaju]

I've been crying all morning over this news .
























NOT........

HAHAHAHAHA TP!!!

[Hardwood Harry]

It's funny how when people get excited about someone looking good in SL you get, "it's only summer league". When someone drafted high looks bad you hear"it's only summer league"
Since when did Allen Iverson's mind take over these boards. Summer League competition is increasing at a rate comparable to MLS world wide. Summer League as we know it has only been around a decade and if you add the influx of international talent, coaches implementing basic schemes run by their perspective teams you'll see that summer league is  becoming more like the NFL's OTA's
A little over 20 years ago there was the Dream Team dominating the world and only 21 International players on NBA rosters. ( only 6 drafted from 2001-06 ) This isn't your daddy's NBA and it definitely isn't even your older brother's summer league.
I'd suppose some of you would rather go back to 7+ rounds in the draft and not knowing anything about your draft picks until training camp....

2012
http://www.nba.com/celtics/roster/2012-celtics-summer-league-roster.html

2013
http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/press_release/070513-celtics-announce-summer-league-roster

If you can't see the difference in talent level from just 3 years ago....time for glasses or lasik...

i understand your points and a tp for them, but i am not sure those are the points being raised above when summer league is commonly dismissed by some here.

first, the vast majority of players in the summer league are not even good enough to be nba scrubs, towel wavers, or collectors of bench splinters in their collective butts. they are never going to sniff being starters in the nba. never.

no one here is saying that no one in the summer league is good, or that no one will become a very good nba player. that is not the point. rather, the over all quality of the SL competition, style of play, and odd miss matches of rosters means we need to take SL performances with a large, large boulder of salt. plus, the players who are VERY young, inexperienced and will undergo much transformation in their game. which direction they will go is never a sure thing.

as greece666 is fond of posting, predicting is hard, especially when it is the future. with summer league players, predictions are even more hazardous.

second, and flowing from the first, the call for questioning summer league is often a response to over the top enthusiasm or despair based upon summer league games. for example a cb poster pronounced a few years ago that based upon summer league, olly = larry bird. really.

here, some posters dismissed LA's russell and randle as credible nba players based upon summer league. a bit premature to be sure, yes?.

my point, and that of others is often meant to temper overly enthusiastic or depressingly gloomy assessments that rely upon a notorious unreliable situation.

instead, we are urging fellow posters to calm down and be patient. let's not rush to final judgements based upon a handful of games against d-league players. lets see if a player does well, and WAIT and see if a player lives up to the SL performance.

the basic points are straightforward.

I actually agree 100% with your reply. I'm not claiming championships or even all star status (Except for Hunter) for most of these players, but never in our history have we had up to 5 or 6 players on the summer league roster that should eventually crack someone's NBA roster sooner than later. The same can be said of at least 3 teams I've watched thus far. That competition will only increase as the NBA talent pool deepens nationally and Internationally. This class has me optimistic and that's more than I can say since the last time the phrase "Heat Check" was seriously used in Boston.

P.S.
Both Mickey and Hunter are doing exactly as advertised in the game vs. the Spurs... Good game Btw

[RAAAAAAAANDY]

I think that Russell will be fine, but I think the Lakers will regret passing on Okafor for the next decade.

My gut instinct all along has been that Okafor will be the best player in this draft and nothing I've seen so far has dissuaded me.

Watch him defend the PnR and get back to me on that haha. Or really any part of defending. His offense will be legit with some shooters and a guard who can make an entry pass though.

Right, because nobody ever gets better at defense.

Oh I think he's got a decent shot to be a net positive defender(maybe neutral) and an elite offensive player(top 5 in the NBA). That's a superstar.

I'm just saying at 19 years old all these guys have some pretty glaring flaws, and Okafor is no different. I wanted D'Angelo in the draft, but I think the lakers are a terrible fit.

[SHAQATTACK]

I think that Russell will be fine, but I think the Lakers will regret passing on Okafor for the next decade.

My gut instinct all along has been that Okafor will be the best player in this draft and nothing I've seen so far has dissuaded me.

Watch him defend the PnR and get back to me on that haha. Or really any part of defending. His offense will be legit with some shooters and a guard who can make an entry pass though.

Right, because nobody ever gets better at defense.

Oh I think he's got a decent shot to be a net positive defender(maybe neutral) and an elite offensive player(top 5 in the NBA). That's a superstar.

I'm just saying at 19 years old all these guys have some pretty glaring flaws, and Okafor is no different. I wanted D'Angelo in the draft, but I think the lakers are a terrible fit.

Historically Lakers are not a development club .   They sign "name " brand coaches ...recognizable big names or established. ....older guys ....who don't have the years left in their life to devote to a lot of development .

Lakers target established guys , nobody like Avery Bradley  who was weened forever .   Their fans are too impatient and TV contracts too large and demanding .   Sponsors want "name " brand .....even if they suck .....people young and old know the names .

When Lakers draft someone like Russell normally it's not to keep .    But to trade for an established star targeted at a specific team

I think the goal all along was to trade for Boogie Cousins  . 

So now ....they have to do a little development ,  with Russell and Randle .....keep their Name brand sucky coach ......till stars can be caught .....then change coaches from a yes man coach and tanker if needed. To,some one like Doc Rivers .


In short Lakers left themselves hanging .

Okafor would have been easier to move for greater assets in most cases than Russell.     Even Boston would have given up significant assets for Okafor ......way more than Russell .....

They took him as a lure .......it failed .....now they must develop the guy or take a hit in value trading him off to get a big.

[LGC88]

Don't like the way this franchise works. Very show off, look down on other franchise. Signing big names thinking it will bring them 10 years of titles span. Even most of the fans are completely delusional. Last thing I heard is that Randle is the best 2014 rookie.
Anyway there is a long list and I'm having a hard time seeing any positive point.
Maybe 1, I like Jack Nicholson as an actor. That's it 
The funny thing about Russel, is that when he said "I'm the best in this draft" during the combine, I told myself "here you go fakers, this is your pick".
Now, whatever Russel and Randle will produce, I don't care much. I don't see the lakers being a threat to us for a long time.