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Salt Lake City Summer League: July 5-8 @ Huntsman Center

i didn't like GG much at draft time (and he clearly struggled in a limited sample his second year after a very nice rookie season), but he's damn impressive physically and has unique skills for a guy as big and long as he is. and he'll play his third season in the league at only 21. very good prospect.
 
i didn't like GG much at draft time (and he clearly struggled in a limited sample his second year after a very nice rookie season), but he's damn impressive physically and has unique skills for a guy as big and long as he is. and he'll play his third season in the league at only 21. very good prospect.
I would’ve taken him even with the drama, and was pretty open about it at the time. You just don’t usually have a shot at an upside guy like him at that point in the draft. In football, there’s something called “the planet theory” - essentially - there’s only so many guys on the planet that have certain physical abilities, and you get them whenever you can. GG sure seemed to be that kind of guy to me. Was he a risk? Sure. But at pick #28, that risk is pretty small for a team that was in desperate need of dynamic wing / forward types. Dude is a freak and I would’ve loved to have him.
 

Just went back and watched the highlights here and a couple of things stand out. . .

#1 - Ace is a killer in the midrange. If he has consistent shooters all around him, I think this helps open up the whole court.

#2 - The most impressive thing to me is that he’s made WINNING plays on both ends of the court. Shooting, passing, playmaking, rebounding and defense. He just makes big plays when he’s out there.

#3 - The last shot should’ve never happened. On the inbound, as they were moving it up the court, WCJ or Flip should’ve fouled WAY before it got up to half court. That’s a coaching mistake IMO, and I’m glad it happened because they can learn from it.
 
I would’ve taken him even with the drama, and was pretty open about it at the time. You just don’t usually have a shot at an upside guy like him at that point in the draft. In football, there’s something called “the planet theory” - essentially - there’s only so many guys on the planet that have certain physical abilities, and you get them whenever you can. GG sure seemed to be that kind of guy to me. Was he a risk? Sure. But at pick #28, that risk is pretty small for a team that was in desperate need of dynamic wing / forward types. Dude is a freak and I would’ve loved to have him.
I was all about GG in that draft.
 
Things I liked about last night's game:
1) Ace
2) Walt calming everything down in the second half.
3) The impossibility of Brice missing an open 3
4) Harkless's energy
5) The ref who couldn't wait to call delay of game everytime someone lined up for a free throw

Things I hated about last night's game:
Everything else.

The foul calls made it unwatcheable, the 1 pass possessions, Ace standing in the corner, turnovers, lack of defense, selfish play.

It's summer league, 5 things to like ain't bad.
 
The pleasant surprise with Ace is that he’s doing everything so far. He’s rotating defensively. He’s rebounding in traffic. He’s bringing the ball up. He’s making some decent passes. He’s knocking down shots out to 30 feet. He’s scoring on put-backs. And of course, he gets above the rim like it’s a toy. And he’s 18.
 
My new fantasy is that we get Chris Paul and just have him spam pick and rolls to Ace all year long in training camp, in practice, and during the games in season.
 
It's a big positive that Ace doesn't have to be the #1 focal point and can still make a big impact. The activeness, rebounding, ball handling, and passing are better than I thought they would be. If he can build up his stamina to play 100% all the time, he is going to be a monster.
 
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