Robert Stiff

[EDWARDO]

I don`t know why everybody is so down on Swift. I thought he looked decent. I would like to see all three Swift, Sweetney and Fazekas after 2 months in training room. They are all in terrible condition. Swift looked extremely slow, his lateral quickness is non-existent but he has length to bother shots. I would like to see how he would perform if he was in shape...

No way!! 20 minutes of this guy is more than enough for anyone to see he is the single worst human being ever to play basketball. You are ssoooo wrong!!!

[EDWARDO]

On second thought, some thoughts from BallerBlogger from last year's summer league:

First, a few comments about the Rocky Mountain Revue, then we’ll move back to looking at some of the best and worst performances from all the Summer League.

Brook Lopez - According to all reports, Lopez was awful in Salt Lake. He lacked energy and looked like he just didn’t want to be there. For Nets fans, that’s not a real great sign. Lopez isn’t a terribly impressive athlete, and if he’s not going to consistently give full effort, chances are he’ll be destined for a short career. Not necessarily anything to panic over, especially since Lopez hasn’t really had effort problems in the past, but it is a bit worrying. You’ve got to wonder, between this and his brother Robin’s strong play in Vegas, who is really the better prospect?

Disappointments
Derrick Rose - Maybe it’s a bit unfair to pick on Rose. After all, he only played 2 games in the Orlando league. Doesn’t matter, I’m going to do it anyway. If you were expecting Rose to immediately help the Bulls and be in the hunt for ROY (and I have, amazingly, seen some people pick him as their prediction for that award), you’ll probably be pretty disappointed. Rose is, at this point, not a particularly hard cover since he can’t shoot consistently from outside 16-18 feet, and his floor vision, while good, isn’t really outstanding. Guys like Rose, freakishly quick guards who can get to the rim, usually dominate the summer league (see: Bayless, Jerryd), and I think it’s telling that Rose didn’t do well. He looked very tenative and unsure of when to attack and when to distribute. I think it’s going to be a tough year for Rose as he adjusts to the NBA game and what exactly his place is on the Bulls.

George Hill - To say that the Spurs’ first rounder played poorly in the Vegas league would be putting it extremely lightly. Hill attempted 25 field goals through 3 games. He made 2. Yup, that’s a stunning 8% shooting percentage. No I did not miss a decimal point, that’s 8%. He did get to the line a good bit (but really, who doesn’t in the summer league?), and he rebounded well for a guard. Other than that, not a lot of positives for Mr. Hill. I always hate to criticize the Spurs because of their track record, but it’s hard to see Hill panning out into a player worth the pick they used on him.

[EDWARDO]

Brandon Wallace

[PosImpos]

On second thought, some thoughts from BallerBlogger from last year's summer league:

First, a few comments about the Rocky Mountain Revue, then we’ll move back to looking at some of the best and worst performances from all the Summer League.

Brook Lopez - According to all reports, Lopez was awful in Salt Lake. He lacked energy and looked like he just didn’t want to be there. For Nets fans, that’s not a real great sign. Lopez isn’t a terribly impressive athlete, and if he’s not going to consistently give full effort, chances are he’ll be destined for a short career. Not necessarily anything to panic over, especially since Lopez hasn’t really had effort problems in the past, but it is a bit worrying. You’ve got to wonder, between this and his brother Robin’s strong play in Vegas, who is really the better prospect?

Disappointments
Derrick Rose - Maybe it’s a bit unfair to pick on Rose. After all, he only played 2 games in the Orlando league. Doesn’t matter, I’m going to do it anyway. If you were expecting Rose to immediately help the Bulls and be in the hunt for ROY (and I have, amazingly, seen some people pick him as their prediction for that award), you’ll probably be pretty disappointed. Rose is, at this point, not a particularly hard cover since he can’t shoot consistently from outside 16-18 feet, and his floor vision, while good, isn’t really outstanding. Guys like Rose, freakishly quick guards who can get to the rim, usually dominate the summer league (see: Bayless, Jerryd), and I think it’s telling that Rose didn’t do well. He looked very tenative and unsure of when to attack and when to distribute. I think it’s going to be a tough year for Rose as he adjusts to the NBA game and what exactly his place is on the Bulls.

George Hill - To say that the Spurs’ first rounder played poorly in the Vegas league would be putting it extremely lightly. Hill attempted 25 field goals through 3 games. He made 2. Yup, that’s a stunning 8% shooting percentage. No I did not miss a decimal point, that’s 8%. He did get to the line a good bit (but really, who doesn’t in the summer league?), and he rebounded well for a guard. Other than that, not a lot of positives for Mr. Hill. I always hate to criticize the Spurs because of their track record, but it’s hard to see Hill panning out into a player worth the pick they used on him.

Yeah, that should give everybody an idea of why the summer league should be taken with a grain of salt.  All three of those players played well this year, especially Lopez and obviously Rose.

[Change]

Stiff for MVP. Ainge still signs him, cause of his man crush.

[Who]

On second thought, some thoughts from BallerBlogger from last year's summer league:

First, a few comments about the Rocky Mountain Revue, then we’ll move back to looking at some of the best and worst performances from all the Summer League.

Brook Lopez - According to all reports, Lopez was awful in Salt Lake. He lacked energy and looked like he just didn’t want to be there. For Nets fans, that’s not a real great sign. Lopez isn’t a terribly impressive athlete, and if he’s not going to consistently give full effort, chances are he’ll be destined for a short career. Not necessarily anything to panic over, especially since Lopez hasn’t really had effort problems in the past, but it is a bit worrying. You’ve got to wonder, between this and his brother Robin’s strong play in Vegas, who is really the better prospect?

Disappointments
Derrick Rose - Maybe it’s a bit unfair to pick on Rose. After all, he only played 2 games in the Orlando league. Doesn’t matter, I’m going to do it anyway. If you were expecting Rose to immediately help the Bulls and be in the hunt for ROY (and I have, amazingly, seen some people pick him as their prediction for that award), you’ll probably be pretty disappointed. Rose is, at this point, not a particularly hard cover since he can’t shoot consistently from outside 16-18 feet, and his floor vision, while good, isn’t really outstanding. Guys like Rose, freakishly quick guards who can get to the rim, usually dominate the summer league (see: Bayless, Jerryd), and I think it’s telling that Rose didn’t do well. He looked very tenative and unsure of when to attack and when to distribute. I think it’s going to be a tough year for Rose as he adjusts to the NBA game and what exactly his place is on the Bulls.

George Hill - To say that the Spurs’ first rounder played poorly in the Vegas league would be putting it extremely lightly. Hill attempted 25 field goals through 3 games. He made 2. Yup, that’s a stunning 8% shooting percentage. No I did not miss a decimal point, that’s 8%. He did get to the line a good bit (but really, who doesn’t in the summer league?), and he rebounded well for a guard. Other than that, not a lot of positives for Mr. Hill. I always hate to criticize the Spurs because of their track record, but it’s hard to see Hill panning out into a player worth the pick they used on him.

Yeah, that should give everybody an idea of why the summer league should be taken with a grain of salt.  All three of those players played well this year, especially Lopez and obviously Rose.

I thought Brook Lopez and Derrick Rose both played well in summer league last year, well in the Orlando SL, I didn't watch any of the Utah SL. Both players looked like they'd be solid-to-good starters as rookies.

George Hill was terrible though. He was like a lost puppy dog out there on the court. Amazing how quickly he got himself together.

[Chief]

I've watched Swift play a bunch in his NBA career, including last night. The kid has good footwork, great hands, and is an above average free throw shooter. I think if he makes the team, stays healthy, and works hard with Clifford Ray the Celtics will have a good backup center that costs very little.

[EDWARDO]

There's a 90% chance this guy doesn't make the team because 90% (or more) on the NDFAs in summer league don't make teams, let alone a guy that has missed 2 full years due to injuries. However, this guy has never been "not good enough" to make an NBA team. His career path was looking pretty similiar to Perk's, gaining the starting job at center two years out of high school. Centers take some time to develop. I can't count how many people on this board wanted Perkins gone or at the end of the bench in years 3 and 4, and that's after several years of steady practice with the team and some serious playing time. Guy hasn't played in YEARS... its possible he's a little rusty.

[Finkelskyhook]

I don`t know why everybody is so down on Swift. I thought he looked decent. I would like to see all three Swift, Sweetney and Fazekas after 2 months in training room. They are all in terrible condition. Swift looked extremely slow, his lateral quickness is non-existent but he has length to bother shots. I would like to see how he would perform if he was in shape...

I think this commentary says more than any in this forum.  Are these guys looking for per diems in Las Vegas or do they want to play in the NBA?  I don't know how you don't come to this opportunity in shape.  They've had seasons to be in the training room and months before this tryout.  It shouldn't be the organization's job to get a free agent in shape.

[Brickowski]

I've watched Swift play a bunch in his NBA career, including last night. The kid has good footwork, great hands, and is an above average free throw shooter. I think if he makes the team, stays healthy, and works hard with Clifford Ray the Celtics will have a good backup center that costs very little.

Yes, I saw the skills also, but if frogs could fly they wouldn't bump their tushies on the ground. If, if if.

[Fred Roberts]

Swift has work to do. Sweetney is way too fat. Fazekas doesn't appear to be the real deal either.

How about David Harrison as a cheap big on the bench? He used to play for Indiana. .. but I guess was no resigned then waived by Minny (obv, not a good sign). Who knows?

[RonJohn]

I just expected Swift to be more aggressive out there and to be in shape.  He was huffing and puffing after a few back and forths.  He did have one nice reverse lay in that showed some footwork but his jump shot and shot selection was sub par against non NBA talent.

You think if he wanted a shot at making the team, he would have come in guns a blazin'. I just expected more after the infatuation over the years. 

[JSD]

It's ok to have 1 project on a roster isn't it?

[Brendan]

Brick: If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, everyday would be Christmas.

Swift can be serviceable as a fifth big / big body off the bench. Our training staff has a nice history with Perk so its worth a go.

If not why won't Indy just give us Foster?

[P2]

When was the last time any big man was impressive in summer league anyway?  It's a glorified pickup game.

Yeah, probably so.