If you're interested here are the early returns for the summer league for our hopefuls.
And yes, once a Jayhawk...always a Jayhawk (unless you transfer to Gonzaga or Ta-town...then you're dead to me)
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Not looking good for some of our guys.
I do think AWIII could actually make Cleveland's roster. A younger and cheaper version of James Jones.
Perry is proving that he can score in the league, which is nice. With NBA moving to that stretch 4, there is a spot in the league for him.
Wayne is making Memphis look smart by signing him to a multi-year deal. If he can put up decent numbers for two years, Wayne will become a very rich man on July 1 2019.
Frank looks like he is taking a back seat instead of being the FM we know he can be.
Wright has little chance of making a roster... Which sucks because I really wanted him to make a comeback.
Lando just not even getting the opportunity to show he can play D and rebound.
Diallo looks like he is going to have a long NBA career. He will be able to be one of those posts who can switch on D and guard anyone. He has developed a mid-range jumper that will only expand. He can run the floor and rebound. I think he is going to surprise some people this year... Also, he has put on a much needed 10lbs since the season ended. I think when he adds 10 more and gets that "man strength" we will see him become a very solid rotation piece.
From SB Nation - "Perry Ellis — Ellis was a problem for the Nuggets. On offense, when he would catch near the paint he had no problem getting up his shot—a sequence of hooks, fades, and lay-ins. Most impressive was his three-point stroke. Very clean. Nine of his 19 points were on threes, only missing twice. His defense was ugly. Or, at best, nonchalant. Not a good move when your team’s President of Basketball Operations is Tom Thibodeau."
"I was a little worried about how unenthusiastic Frank Mason looked in the first game, but it looks like that’s just a part of his personality, a la Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard. The more worrying thing for Mason is that he’s seemingly having trouble finishing around the rim. One of the few cogent points that Isiah Thomas made on the broadcast was that when the other Isaiah came into the league in 2011, he made a name for himself by being able to finish around the rim despite the height disparity. Mason hasn’t necessarily made that adjustment yet."
Mason has shot what 4-19 in 2 games? Not a good first impression and with the Kings having 2 other PG's its going to be hard to see him not being shipped down to the D-League if they keep him.
Sounds like Jackson had a rough 2nd game and hasn't put any criticism about his shot to rest putting up 1-9 from 3 so far. He's obviously been a factor defensively/rebounding/ and finding other ways to score.
Selden and Diallo have lit it up so far. Very promising to see from those two guys
Spot on with Selden and Diallo @BeddieKU23 both look to have break out seasons. I would agree that that Mason looks to end up in the D league, I doubt he gets a contract but on the other hand its still very early and a big adjustment to this speed. LL has gotten in one game that I've seen and didnt look horrible with 2 points, 2 assists and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes, he just doesn't seem athletic enough for todays NBA style, maybe 15-20 years go.
Yeah its definitely still early for Mason. I just expected better coming from him. 15 missed shots, I can't remember him ever missing that many. Fox has looked the part of the Top 5 pick they made him and Mason's goal would have been to prove he was just as good a shooter he was in College to compliment Fox's athleticism/speed/defensive ability. So far he's fallen short of expectation and you only get so many opportunities in this league to prove otherwise.
Hield was 4-14. Check out the +/- Mason was high w/14. He's figuring it out. They did best w/both fox and Mason together. Fox's speed is his best asset. Mason runs the team better. Think fox had 7 to's. Mason has to finish at the rim.
@BeddieKU23 where's cliff?
@Crimsonorblue22 What is the +/- column on the NBA box scores? I couldn't find an explanation anywhere. Thanks.
Ellis first game was forgettable but he more than made up for it with a very good second game. Mason is not scoring like I had hoped he would but his +/- is very good which would roughly translate to good team/game management when he is in.
Jackson is about where I thought he would be and Selden is having an excellent Summer League run.
@stoptheflop +/- is the team's net point differential when that player was on the floor.
@stoptheflop It is a really cool stat. It can show things like how a "glue guy" tends to be on the floor when his team is building a lead, even if his assists or points don't amount to much. Not a dispositive, but since there are no stats in a box score showing the guy who sets a screen, or makes the pass before the assist, or draws a charge, it can be fun to keep track of to see if those contributions are making a difference.
@mayjay people that don't know bb only see pts. Pt gds should have a hi #. That's what hurts Perry in summer ball, playing w/a bunch of ball hogs. Jayhawks set screens and set teammates up, make the great pass etc. once you pass, hardly ever comes back. Dog eat dog. Memphis has played the best team ball from what I've watched.
For example, see how crappy the starters for Sac have played:
@Crimsonorblue22 That end of quarter drive by Frank gave me chills! I hope we get more flashbacks!
The game announcers!!👀👀👀👀
BIFM is the man! Rock chalk!
@Crimsonorblue22 So, people not watching this are missing an absolute classic BIFM statement. Leads the team in steals, points, assists (by 5), rebs (tie)--while being only 4th in mins.
Edit: written at 4:38 of 4th.
Buddy ball hog
Why did he give Mason the ball there?
@Crimsonorblue22 Unfortunately FM went into the corner and called for it. Should have bounced off the guy.
Kings can do well with FM/Hield backcourt.
FM, soaked and exhausted, dejected after the 28 point comeback attempt fell 3 pts short, barely walking, still stopped on his way out through the tunnel and reached all the way up high to get paper and pen to sign an autograph for someone.
@Crimsonorblue22 The only problem for him was he stopped shooting and passed to a lot of guys making poor shot attempts at the end. Probably told by the coaches to involve the others. Worked with Hield (16 in 4th qtr!) but the others were worthless. Notice how he was the only guy giving up the ball?
Would need a coach willing to let FM take over. Still unsure if there is an NBA team willing to do so.
Wow! #BIFM
BIFM put on a show against the Lakers. Jackson had a nice bounce back game as well.
Great game by Mason. Huge bounce back for him
Sure seems like Lonzo ducked playing against Fox last night with a fake injury..
Jackson had his best game last night. 20 pts 6 boards, 2 ast, 1 blk including 2-4 from 3 which had been a major stuggle for him in the first 2 games.
Diallo had 9 pts 8 boards last night as well.
So far:
Jackson - 17.7 pts, 7.7 boards, 2 ast, 1 stl per game. About what he averaged in College.
Mason- 11.3 pts, 4 boards, 3 ast. Big bounce back game last night.
Diallo- 19.7 pts, 9.3 boards, 1.7 blks. Having a big summer.
Selden- 24.5 pts, 4 boards, 3 ast, 3 stls. Wayne has looked great and definitely taking advantage of his new contract
BIFM finally showed up against the Lakers. I didn't get to watch the game, so I'll appreciate hearing from the night owls on here how Frank looked. 24 min., 24 pts. on 9/13 shooting with 2/3 from 3. 4/4 FTs, 5 RBs and 6 assists. If it wasn't for the summer league, my TV would be off all of July. RCJH
I would be careful about putting too much stock into +/- in summer league.
+/- depends quite a bit on who you are on the floor with. If you are on the floor with 4 other guys that are going to make the regular season roster, while the other squad has four or five guys that are G-League level players, your +/- is going to be higher than a guy who is on the floor with maybe only one or two guys that will be on the regular season roster.
Mason has to finish at the rim over the improved size of the NBA. I think he can make the adjustment, but he may need half a season in the G-League before he is ready to make that move.
No surprise that Diallo is playing very well. The Pelicans have done a very good job developing him. He could be a big surprise for them this year in the regular season. Selden will also likely see some rotation action for Memphis. His athleticism and shooting fit well with the direction that the NBA is heading.
I don't know where to put this but it is nice to see this young guys weight lifted off of his shoulders!
@JayHawkFanToo I don't put too much stock into +/- in summer league. Most teams don't care about the score or are even trying to win. They want to see guys hit shots and move the ball.
With that being said, Frank had a great 3rd game. I hope that other teams are watching him and his deal in Sactown goes bad after they signed George Hill when they weren't expecting to.
They clearly want to keep Frank though. They played two PGs just to get that look of what Fox could do off the ball. Which would lead me to believe they are thinking about having 3 PGs on the team.
Only problem is they added quite a few pieces to the perimeter. They now have Hill, Fox, Hield, Jackson, Temple, Bogdanovic, Richardson and Carter all on the roster. And, besides a crowded perimeter, they also just have bodies. They have 14 players signed, and they are still talking to Ty Lawson as well.
Just makes me think that they will take there chances on not signing Frank and then come back and offer him a D-League contract in typical, cheap Sacramento fashion.
Sactown has 1 roster spot left. Frank will have to ball out the rest of the summer to get it.
@Crimsonorblue22 Right now, Sac has Frank's rights. But they aren't forced to sign him like they are their 1st Round Picks. So if they don't sign him, he can go play somewhere else. I think someone would find a roster spot for Frank. There is a reason he was taken at 34.
Sacramento could also trade his rights to someone else and possibly pick up an extra 2nd round pick if someone wanted Frank badly enough.
Here is kind of the situation Frank is in:
A lot of different things could happen, but ultimately if Sacramento signs someone else Frank will be trying to make someone else's roster.
@Crimsonorblue22 In theory, yes.
But, you can only have 15 players on your roster. So if they sign anyone else, than no they can't. All they could offer him is a D-League contract.
@Kcmatt7 According to the article, Frank's experience and leadership could well be highly coveted in Europe, where they don't want to be stuck with "developing" younger guys. A few Jayhawks have made a lot of money over there. I could see Frank being one of them, and would much rather see that than have him be languishing for $25K in the D league, or the G league (isn't that just a new name for it?).
@Crimsonorblue22 He played very well against summer league players, some of them second string summer league who will never play in the NBA.
Realistically, it was more like a college game and his offense looked like it did against schools who had no one quick enough to stop him. Regular League games will involve players who on average are faster, taller, and better defensively than what Frank saw last night. The stars are even better and quicker than that. And the shot blockers are better at it than even Bell was.
I love him, too, but he is not likely to ever be a starter in the NBA. I fear he will get bounced around for minimal contracts. I'd rather see him make millions overseas, even if it means I don't get to watch.
And if I am wrong, I will gladly eat the same size portion of crow as anyone (not me!) who said the Royals would never succeed under Yost.
Well I Think we all agree here that theoretically FM COULD play in the NBA - he has high B-Ball IQ, enough speed and skills and great team qualities and is a winner and always will be - period
( we all love him right ??? )
The question is what gm or team would want to invest the time and effort on him when they have soooo many guys to draw from all the time - the instant gratification league. The worldwide pool of talent vs the openings is unrivaled in pro sports to my knowledge
I agree that he should look to Europe - the pay, the consistency and solvency and level of play has increased substantially and FM could shine there and bank $
The d- league shuffle is a hard road and the promise of a big payday is tricky and fleeting and far from a high percentage gamble
The ESPN summer league home page has a couple of nice highlights of Josh Jackson, and one of a great assist from FM to a teammate for a big dunk.
Frank playing tonite vs Milwaukee. Sacramento hasn't won yet, so it would be nice!
Dammit! Frank sprained an ankle in the first several minutes of the 1st qtr and is out for the game.
Update: Phoenix and Sacramento both won today (Wed) in the opening round. They move on. Schedules tba.
Ball is, no thx to his dad, really good tonite!
With Ball's balls better, Ball's ballin' better.
Ok how many doubted BIFM? Not sure that is forgivable! Smh! Seriously it's Frank Mason!
@Crimsonorblue22 I repeat: Never doubted him. Just NBA GMs and coaches. Jury is still out on them.
@Crimsonorblue22 When they let him stay on the active roster for a season, I will chow down heartily and spit feathers for a week!
Mason's a master chef at serving crow.
Caught some of Wayne's game yesterday in the semi's against the Blazers. Wasn't his best of the summer. His team fell apart after going up 16 late in the 2nd qtr. Glad overall he had a great showing at Summer League which he can use as momentum for a spot in the Grizzlies rotation. I'm impressed at how hard he's worked to overcome not being drafted.