GO FOR 2

The NBA Vegas Summer league is where players who have been in the league for 3 years or less go to hone their skills and work on adjusting to the NBA game (technically there are two other small NBA summer leagues, but nobody cares, so we’re just going to focus on Vegas where most teams send players). Now, that whole ‘players in league for 3 years’ thing is really just a suggestion, you almost never see players spend that kind of time in the summer league. here’s why:

Most late draft picks tend to play for European teams, and NBA teams leave these players over in Europe for two reasons. First, while these guys are in Europe they don’t have to be signed by whatever team drafted them, which saves money and keeps cap space clear. Second, players get a chance to play at a high level and work on their skills all year long.

Meanwhile, early draft picks spend one summer in the Vegas League enjoying the fact that you have to get 10 fouls to foul out (Greg Oden still did it in his first game, don’t worry) and adjusting to the faster pace of the game and the increased talent level. The only superstar picks who don’t go to Vegas are guys who manage to get injured in the 3 weeks between the draft and the start of play (Somehow, that actually wasn’t Oden – sorry Patty Mills). Then, after their first summer most of these players will go on to play significants minutes off the bench or even start, after which coaches and GMs no longer feel the need to send players back to what amounts to a remedial camp.

So, what player was a high draft pick, played significant minutes in his first year, and is back in the Summer League for the 3rd time? Adam ‘crying mustache’ Morrison. He’s actually been getting noticed too, having poured in 20 or more points in the Laker’s first two summer games. So is this a sign that Morrison has finally arrived? You know the answer, there’s no way this means anything other than Morrison can play against a bunch of rookies. If Morrison hasn’t figured his game out by now, he’s never going to. He may become an average back-up forward, but that won’t stop him from being a draft bust.

As far players whose Vegas League performances mean something, Clippers’ number one pick Blake Griffin scored 27 points in his first summer games (against the Lakers, how ironic) as he went 11-15 from the field in just under 30 minutes. We’ll see how these two stack up when the season starts, but its a safe bet to say that the media attention garnered by Morrison’s performance will stop – and Griffin is likely to see the spotlight again.