McGee living up to his promise in LV Summer ball

JaVale McGee was our Player of the Day for Friday at the NBA Las Vegas Summer League. The Washington Wizards Center is a beast of a physical specimen, standing 7'0" and now weighing a guesstimated 275 lbs. He has a terrific combination of power and finesse, and those qualities have benefited from playing alongside rookie phenom John Wall. Wall is getting the ball to McGee in all the right positions. McGee posted 29 points (13-16 FG), while snatching eight rebounds (five offensive) in the Wizards dramatic come from behind win over New Orleans at Cox Pavilion.

Lester Hudson hit a game winner as time expired for the Wiz. The final score was 90-89. 

Our All Las Vegas Summer League Team for day eight (with game efficiency rating): PG: Wall - WA .722,  SG: Wayne Ellington - MIN .647, SF: Landry Fields - NYK .857, PF: Kyle Hines - NO .964, C: McGee - WA .911. Bench: Guards: DeMar DeRozan - TOR .611, Maurice Ager - NO .593. Forwards: Greg Monroe (pictured)- DET .939, Samardo Samuels - CHI .760, Jeff Adrien - MEM .750. Centers: Jerome Jordan - NYK .857, Ed Davis - TOR .758.

We are hearing that Portland offered Wes Matthews (pictured at right) a five-year contract at close to 34 million dollars. We were ahead of the game on Matthews when we listed him as a draft pick on our 2009 Big Board. He went un-selected but made the Utah Jazz team as a free-agent. 

The second day of the Las Vegas Summer League was forgettable with three of the four games being blowouts. It also was a bummer for Brian Butch. The former Wisconsin BIG suffered a graphically ugly knee injury that was initially diagnosed as a dislocated patella tendon. Butch was taken off the court on a stretcher.

Our Player of the Day for Saturday was NBA veteran guard Bobby Brown. His summer Raptors dismantled Phoenix 103-69. Brown had eleven points (5-6 FG), six assists, and three boards in 21 minutes. He looked totally at ease with ball in his hands and he did whatever he wanted to do against the hapless Suns. It says here that as long as the summer Suns keep featuring Earl Clark - they will not win a LV Summer League contest. In hindsight, Steve Kerr’s draft that yielded Clark, and Taylor Griffin was pretty much a waste of two picks.

Our “All Day Two Las Vegas Summer League Team” (their game efficiency rating). PG: Ty Lawson - DEN .741, SG: Brown - TOR .857, SF: DaJuan Summers - DET .640, PF: Othella Hunter - DEN .750, C: Ed Davis - TOR .800. Bench: Guards: Roddy Beaubois - DAL .676, Devin Ebanks - LAL .428, Forwards: Kim Tillie - GSW .700, Ronald Dupree - TOR .600, Andre Brown - GSW .523, Centers: Joey Dorsey - TOR .684, Omar Samhan - DAL .666.

Draft day approaching fast.

With the NBA Draft now just ten days away - we continue to offer thoughts on prospects. Today we break down these guys: Da'Sean Butler, Derrick Caracter, Ed Davis, Devin Ebanks, Landry Fields, Marcus Ginyard, Landon Milbourne, Reggie Redding, Deon Thompson, Ben Uzoh, and Greivis Vasquez.

Be sure to check out man homey Marty McNeal on his blogspot column. He is linked here. 


Oddities: The 46th pick in the NBA Draft the last eleven years has been no good. Check out who was drafted below. (And who we recommended).

1999 - JR Koch (Derek Hood), 2000 - DeeAndre Hulet (harold Arceneaux), 2001 - Ousmane Cisse (Nakeia Miller), 2002 - Jamal Sampson (Darius Songaila), 2003 - Sani Becirovic (Kyle Korver), 2004 - Ha Seung Jin (Ricky Minard), 2005 - Erazem Lorbek (Ryan Gomes), 2006 - Dee Brown (Hassan Adams), 2007 - Stephen Lasme (Ali Traore), 2008 - Trent Plaisted (Richard Hendrix), 2009 - Danny Green (Danny Green).

Who do you trust? Rating NBA prospects often comes down to character.

We’ve been overloading on college hoops and there is good news and bad news when it comes to prospects for the NBA’s future. The good news is that there are some kids that I already have a feeling of trust in. On the other side of the coin - there is no shortage of knuckleheads with talent. Let’s start with a handful of players that I feel comfy with… 

Evan Turner of Ohio State is a versatile guard that is capable of getting a triple-double when he steps on the court. I do think he needs to be a bit more careful with the ball - he is turnover prone - but the positives outweigh the negatives. ...Greg Monroe is a 6’11” passer/scorer that has incredible vision. His versatility as a playmaker combined with his trustworthy demeanor make him a prospect worth a significant investment. ...Jarvis Varnado is a PF/C for Mississippi State that has earned the nickname “Swat” for his defensive prowess. He is 6’9”, 215 lbs. - but his wingspan is 7’4”. Varnado is on pace to become the NCAA’s all-time leading shot blocker. He is currently second and has just passed some incredible names in Alonzo Mourning, Tim Duncan and Adonal Foyle. I am a fan of Jarvis. …Al Farouq Aminu is a PF with ball-handling skills that allow him to give opposing BIG's fits. The Wake Forest Sophomore is a former McDonald’s All-America that can finish in transition with the best of the best. 

Finally - I’m sold on these guys as future NBA players: James Anderson (Oklahoma State), Landry Fields (Stanford), and Luke Babbitt (Nevada).  

John Wooden says you have to be able to trust a player. I agree. 

Now there are also some talented future NBA players that I’m not ready to sign-off on for various reasons. ...Dexter Pittman is a big Texas Center that has a pair of hands that you just don’t see every day. This guy is special around the hoop. The problem with Pittman is that he plays in only three minute stints. He lost over 100 lbs. to get to where he is now but he still has wind issues. ...Vanderbilt’s A.J. Ogilvy is efficient but not aggressive. I still like him more than most do but Ogilvy could be so much better.