1) Houston won the draft
By the time draft night arrived, it was pretty widely understood that the Atlanta Hawks, in possession of the No 1 pick for the first time since 1975, were going to select Zaccharie Risacher, anointing him as the secondnd annual French Beanpole King of the Draft. Risacher, though, is no Victor Wembanyama. And just because the pick was widely predicted doesn’t mean that it was widely agreed upon. Several draft boards (including that of Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer) had Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, a guard who ended up in Houston with the third overall pick, as their choice for best prospect, and his time in Vegas showcased why they appear to have been correct. Sheppard, while slightly undersized at 6ft 3in, was damned impressive in his minutes in Sin City: a sharpshooter with an extremely high basketball IQ for his age, he looked positively comfy in his first NBA minutes. By the end of the week, execs from the Wizards (who selected Alex Sarr at No 2) and Hawks were quietly doing some damage-control-explaining behind the scenes for passing him over.
2) The Nuggets are in trouble
One of the stories of the summer so far has been less of a story and more of a question: “What the hell are the Denver Nuggets doing?” Piece by piece, they’ve been passively dismantling their championship roster, losing Bruce Brown in free agency last offseason and doing the same this summer with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, both key pieces in what was a world-beating rotation. That’s to say nothing of the head-scratching decision to bring in the downward-trending Russell Westbrook to replace Reggie Jackson as a backup point guard. A bright spot had been their decision to trade up in this year’s draft for flex-big Daron Holmes II out of Dayton, the heir apparent to the backup five role currently occupied by NBA-elderly DeAndre Jordan, a spot in desperate need of a younger upgrade. Holmes looked extremely promising in the short time he was able to play in Las Vegas, but he tragically tore his achilles tendon in the second half of his first ever outing as an NBA player, and he’s now out for the year. It might be time to panic in the Rockies.
One of the other big stories of the summer has contained, by far, its most insufferable discourse. It seems everyone and their father, as it were, has a strong opinion about the Los Angeles Lakers’ late second-round acquisition (and subsequent guaranteed contract signing) of Bronny James, the eldest son of Lakers forward and arguable-best-player-of-all-time LeBron James. The younger James was a McDonald’s All-American and was talked about as a potential lottery pick after showing signs of excellence in high school, but a harrowing on-court cardiac arrest just prior to his first (and only) year at USC both truncated his season and put a damper on his output, and the skepticism has been loud as to what his NBA outlook could be. To put it bluntly, James Jr had a rough start to his Summer League outing. But the guard made great strides by his last game in Vegas, putting up back-to-back double-digit point games and showcasing his nose for the defensive end of the ball. He is likely headed for extended time in the developmental G-league, but the younger James showed enough signs of promise to silence at least some of his detractors last week.
4) Not all tall guys can be Kevin Durant
The aforementioned Alex Sarr, the second overall pick in this year’s NBA draft to the Washington Wizards, learned a lesson that many 7ft Gen-Z hoopers come to find: Not all tall, lanky basketball players are created equal; and not all tall, lanky basketball players are Kevin Durant. Sarr clearly derives inspiration, as many in his generation do, from the two-time NBA finals MVP, but he doesn’t appear to have either the shooting prowess or the force at the rim that has proven so successful for Durant. In fairness, Sarr did show flashes of defensive greatness, which will always be helpful in the NBA, especially at his height. But, offensively, he struggled mightily–to the tune of averaging 5.5 points per game and even going 0-for-15 from the field in one contest. Had the player picked directly after him in the draft, Reed Sheppard, not had such a sensational Vegas outing, Sarr’s disappointing showing might not sting as much for long-suffering Wizards fans. But, alas …
5) Steals of the second round
While this year’s draft class was famously underwhelming as far as superstar talent, it certainly appears to have contained its fair share of gems. For one, after experiencing death-by-TJ McConnell in the second round of this year’s playoffs, it appears the New York Knicks might’ve found their own facsimile in Marquette guard Tyler Kolek. Kolek himself doesn’t…
The Guardian
