With the Summer League having ended let's look back at some of the talking points for this year's Las Vegas Summer League.
Source-https://www.si.com/nba/2017/07/17/nba-summer-league-lakers-trail-blazers-final-lonzo-ball-kyle-kuzma
Your Summer League Champions
The L.A Laker fans must be feeling pretty good right now as their future seems primed to take over the league in the next few years. The Lakers won it all against the Portland Trail Blazers with a final score of 110-98. Lonzo Ball who did not play in the final game was awarded the Summer League MVP averaging around 16.3 ppg,7.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists. With all the pressure on him, he delivered and gave his team the boost they needed to go over the top.
Surprises
Source-http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/170717-5-things-to-know-lakers-blazers/
I have to start with Kyle Kuzma of the Lakers as he was extremely impressive even When Lonzo wasn't playing also being the 27th pick. Kuzma averaged 21.9 ppg shooting 51.4% from the field along with 6.4 rebounds. Kuzma also finished the summer league with a 30-point, 10-rebound performance, and the championship game MVP. Donavon Mitchell of the Utah Jazz has also been a pleasant surprise for me personally not having known much about the 13th overall pick in this year's draft. He averaged 28 ppg along with 6 steals.
Disappointments
Source-http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-announce-2017-summer-league-roster/
The Chicago Bulls seem to have chosen a direction to go and that is to rebuild and I wonder if this is the reason for the team's abysmal performance during the summer league. The Bull's Cameron Payne, Kris Dunn, Denzel Valentine, and first-round pick Lauri Markkanen all shot 35 percent or worse in in their appearances. The Pheonix Suns weren't necessarily a disappointment but they did not see the improvement fans would have liked to have seen from their 2 second-year big men Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss.
It is only Summer League...
The league many would say is in a bad place right now since the Golden State Warriors seemingly have a firm grasp on the next few NBA Titles. But one constant in the NBA is that things change. People are excited about the amazing talent in this year's draft. That's something and with so many off-season moves, all I can say is... Basketball is fun and I can't wait to get to October!!!