Summer League means nothing? Not quite . ..

[TheNorthCydeRises]

To me, Summer league is more important than the draft combine measurements, because you get to see the basketball skills that each player brings to the table. A lot of people put a lot of stock in the measurements, when they should actually be looking at how a guy plays, in realtion to his size. Size don't mean jack, if you can't play.

Here are some things to look for or keep in mind, when viewing and evaulating talent in summer league:

1) Summer Leagues usually favor guys who are great one on one/individual players.

The guys who are great scorers off the dribble, or beasts in the low post, tend to look very good in Summer League. Teams aren't trying to double or triple-team guys to take the ball out of their hands, so a good offensive player will usually have the advantage. It's no surprise that g

2) Summer league officiating is usually HORRIBLE

It's a little better than the self-fouls we all call during pick-up games . . but not much better. The fact that some of these guys get 15 - 20 FTAs during a summer league game, should tell you all you need to know about the refs.

3) Identify what a particular player is known for doing, and see if he can do it in summer league. If he has a big problem doing what he's known for, there might be a problem

And this goes across the board. If a guy is a playmaker, he should still be able to be a playmaker in summer league. I've already discusses scorers. Shot blockers, rebounders, spot-up shooters, etc should still be able to do that in summer league. A player's particular strength should definitely show up in summer league. And if it doesn't, that may be an indication that he may not be a good as people think he is.

( and that was a big reason for the increase of Shelden hate last year, because he started out very slow in summer league. He picked up his play at the end of the week, but we saw indications that he may not be the shot blocking or defensive force in the NBA, that he was in college. And that pretty much proved to be true, although he proved that he could still rebound very effectively on the NBA level. )

4) Bad summer league play is more damaging, than good summer league play is more uplifting.

When a player has a good summer league showing, especially in areas that he's known for, it should be expected of him. Like I said before, good summer league players are usually good individual players.

But a player that just can't seem to make his game work in summer league, tends to struggle once the season starts. When a player plays bad, it usually means that he's more of a "system" type player, than a player who can get things done on an individual level.

Not to keep picking on the kid like the rest of Hawksquawk has over the past week, but since I haven't posted in about 10 days, I might as well give my opinion on Yi and his summer league play.

I think there are tremendous red flags about that kid. From his almost clueless effort on defense, to the fact that even though he has a height advantage over most of the people who guarded him, he struggled mightily with his shot.

And like Exodus correctly pointed out, Yi doesn't seem to be able to create his own offense off the dribble on a consistent basis.

For Yi, Summer league probably meant the most to him, out of any player, because he's looking to be traded from Milwaukee. If he'd played great, he'd have a lot of people coming after him right now. But because he shot the ball horribly ( 25.5% FG . . Yikes ), it's probably turned some people off of him.

Having said that, this kid could still be decent ( although not anywhere close to a star player ). Yi may very well be a guy that needs to be in a sound NBA 1/2 court offense, that can maximize his abilities as a player on offense. Initially, he'll be nothing more than a spot-up shooter that can knock down open shots when passed to him ( sounds like a Hawk that we all know and love . . or hate ). But it's going to take years for this guy to learn how to create his own offense on the NBA level, if he ever learns how to.

At best, Yi might end up being the Chinese version of Sam Perkins. Sam wasn't a bad player by any stretch of the imagination. He could knock down open perimeter shots, and he could rebound. Or he could be the Chinese version of Matt Bullard, a guy that strictly shot open perimeter jumpers, because of his inability to create off the dribble or post up people.

In other words, Yi will probably not be a star. He'll probably be a complimentary player. It's up to him whether he'll be a good complimentary player, or a bad one.

5) When it is all said and done, Summer league is merely an evaulation tool for teams to look at regarding players, and how to most effectively use them if that particular player makes a team. It usually doesn't make or break a player.

Summer league highlights strengths, and exposes weaknesses. With Shelden, that's exactly what it did last year. Yes, he could rebound, but he had trouble with the athleticism of some of the better frontcourt guys he was matched up against. The same goes for Salim. Yes, he can shoot, and summer league did nothing to dispell that fact. But it also proved that he couldn't effectively run a team and get other people involved. Meanwhile, a guy like Patrick O'Bryant still looks like garbage offensively, even though he has all of the physical tools. He's at least blocking shots though, so even he is showcasing what he does best.

So to say that summer league is meaningless, is false. I used to believe that, until I watched some of those tape-delayed games last year. Now I see why teams play them and why they are so important.

For all of you ex-basketball players that possibly got to play some AAU ball, that is what summer league reminds me of. It's rag-tag, inconsistent play, with a couple of set offensive and defensive plays mixed in. But the guys with great individual talent seem to always shine through. These guys don't necessarily make the best team players, but it does show that they can play.

As for some of the current players in summer league:

- Louis Williams: Not suprised to see this guy balling in Summer league. He's always been compared to Iverson, and he's the type of quick guard that won't be stopped in summer league. He's also the type that will struggle a little in the NBA. Teams will neutralize him and force him to become a more well rounded player, instead of a one-dimensional scorer. Having said that, Philly fans have to be pleased with him.

- Marco Bellini: Not surprised to see him balling either. He's big and athletic enough to hold his own in the NBA, and definitely talented enough to get his shot off any time he wants in summer league.

- Jason Maxiell: Charles Barkley was on JT the Brick's FOX sports radio show the other night. One of the things he talked about, was how most NBA GM's and scouts have no idea how to evaulate talent. One of the guys he mentioned was Milsap. He flat out said that there's no way that he should've been a 2nd round pick. The other guy was Jason Maxiell. Maxiell is a victim of the draft measurements. He's only 6-7 . . 245 lbs. But people routinely forget that he played center while at U. of Cincinnati. That fact alone should tell people that this guy knows how to score around the basket and get position for rebounds, even with his diminished height. So it's not surprising to see him excelling during summer legue either.

[Diesel]

The short and simple of the matter is that Summer league is put together with guys who are out of shape and maybe a week of practice.

More than Likely the teams have 4 good players and the rest of the guys fighting to make the team.

Overall however, guys usually don't play their games. They either show what they believe the coach wants to see or they don't show anything. If they knew that the coach just wanted them to play their game, they'd be better off.

Moreover, SL is also a time where bigs will suffer because the primary ball handlers may be guys trying to make the team and it's likely that those guys won't give up the ball at the right time or even possible hog the ball.

So from my perspective, what you can learn from SL is how a guy mechanics look.