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NBA Summer League Wild Overreaction Thread

Saint Cy of JFC said:
Really think it was a mistake to consider Harper the 2nd overall pick without challenge. Think the Spurs might ultimately regret passing on Ace/VJ given their roster construction
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I challenged it but not very hard because I wasn’t confident enough in the face of overwhelming consensus. More troubling than the weak perimeter shooting is his weirdly-low assist numbers (I know the raw numbers don’t tell the whole story, but at certain point in extremity, it frames the general reality). He’s a big combo that will not be very good off the ball and whose teams’ offense will be susceptible to defenses sagging off of him.
 
idiot said:
What does this apply to in the regular season?: teams that are trying to reach the playoffs with their players healthy enough to do well and teams that want to get to the bottom of the league standings for draft positioning. There are very easily seen reasons behind this.

I have no reason to believe that the guys teams hold out in summer league are being held out for anything other than very easily understood reasons: either they've shown too much already or they have actual injury issues. In either case, I have absolutely no problem with my favorite team hoping to increase its odds that it can start the real season with a healthy lineup and that the players can use the rest of the offseason to train rather than rehabilitate.
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Very reasonably stated. It's entirely possible that I've overstated the problem, perhaps motivated by my generalized loathing of load management.
 
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Saint Cy of JFC said:
Really think it was a mistake to consider Harper the 2nd overall pick without challenge. Think the Spurs might ultimately regret passing on Ace/VJ given their roster construction
Click to expand...

I didn't really challenge it much because Harper was not an option for the Jazz, but I saw some of the arguments and they made a lot of sense to me. At the very least, they should have been open to trading down for someone else. Probably could have gotten a big haul for him.
 
I've received a good amount of pushback on my position regarding load management in summer league, most of it quite reasonable. I've done some side research on the issue, and it seems I'm perhaps on a bit of a limb regarding my stronger criticisms on this issue. I understand that summer league serves several purposes that don't necessarily align with my priorities, and I understand the risk calculations teams inevitably go through when deciding whether and how much to play top rookies or prospects. This is not a hill I'm prepared to die on.

This is not to say, however, that I'm necessarily alone in my concerns related to summer league. For example, clearly stated in Sarah Todd's recent piece in the Deseret News is that there is concern within the league FO and decision-makers about the practice of holding out top draft picks in what is supposed to be and is marketed as a major NBA showcase event. So, while the limb I've climbed out on may be shaky, it is a real limb, not a phantom one. The solution under consideration is to eliminate the California and SLC summer leagues in the hope that this will reduce the number of games, focus attention on Vegas, and incrementally disincentivize holding top rookies out. We'll see how this develops.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Really think it was a mistake to consider Harper the 2nd overall pick without challenge. Think the Spurs might ultimately regret passing on Ace/VJ given their roster construction
Click to expand...
I didn't really understand the hype on Harper.
 
KqWIN said:
I didn't really challenge it much because Harper was not an option for the Jazz, but I saw some of the arguments and they made a lot of sense to me. At the very least, they should have been open to trading down for someone else. Probably could have gotten a big haul for him.
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The big question I have is, once the Jazz orchestrated the board to get Bailey, did they have any interest in moving up for Harper? Evidence points to "no," but it could be that Harper just wasn't available at a sane price.
 
KqWIN said:
I didn't really challenge it much because Harper was not an option for the Jazz, but I saw some of the arguments and they made a lot of sense to me. At the very least, they should have been open to trading down for someone else. Probably could have gotten a big haul for him.
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This was always the best play for them imo. Unless they were going to give him the keys and move away from Fox. I just don't see how they can max the development and value of all three of Fox, Harper, and Castle... I also think they are playing a little bit too long of a game potentially.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Really think it was a mistake to consider Harper the 2nd overall pick without challenge. Think the Spurs might ultimately regret passing on Ace/VJ given their roster construction
Click to expand...
I said this repeatedly all predraft. Took a lot of flack for it. But wouldn't Lauri be a significant speed up for their timeline and ability to compete versus Harper? I thought Lauri + 5 + 21 for expiring + 2 + 14 was a haul for the Spurs. I still very much do. Honestly, I am glad that isnt what happened. But it was a good move for the Spurs. They would have grabbed Ace AND Lauri vs Harper and their spendy role players.

I also thought Lauri for PG and the 3rd straight up made a ton of sense for Philly. VJ is nice but PG is a terrible contract and he would have been great as a mentor for Ace. Especially if we got VJ too.

Then again, I remain very bullish on Lauri. Last year had weird vibes and it was dumb for many teams not to buy low on Lauri.
 
I dunno, I personally think Harper was a pretty clear #2.

6'4"+ without shoes, 6'10" wingspan, can playmake for others and create his own offense, etc. Maybe a lower ceiling than Ace or VJ, but still pretty high, and (IMO) a higher floor.

I think SAS got it right but we'll see.
 
bigmike said:
I dunno, I personally think Harper was a pretty clear #2.

6'4"+ without shoes, 6'10" wingspan, can playmake for others and create his own offense, etc. Maybe a lower ceiling than Ace or VJ, but still pretty high, and (IMO) a higher floor.

I think SAS got it right but we'll see.
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I’m still high on Harper. SL is for wild overreactions, but Harper is a guy that looks great to me when I watch him. I’m just super impressed with the top 6 picks this year. Think it’ll go down as a great draft class down the road.
 
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