The NBA Summer League is the perfect showcase for the game’s young players with the incoming rookie class getting its first taste of the pro game. Every year there are players that live up to the hype as well as players that struggle to meet expectations and that was undoubtedly the case again this season.
Here is a look at the pleasant surprises and the biggest disappointments of the 2015 NBA Summer League.
Pleasant Surprise: Myles Turner
Indiana Pacers
A lot of teams knew that Turner would be good but nobody expected him to dominate Summer League play the way he did. He averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Pacers in the Orlando Summer League.
The 6’1’’, 243-pound power forward is an absolute beast underneath the rim and Indiana has to be thrilled that he fell to them as the 11th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft – especially after they parted ways with Roy Hibbert and David West. Turner is going to step in and see plenty of minutes, which means he could be a solid contender for the Rookie of the Year award.
Big Disappointment: D’Angelo Russell
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers took Russell with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft with the projection that he will become a superstar in this league. After drawing comparisons to Russell Westbrook and James Harden coming out of college, there is no doubt he disappointed in a short Summer League stint.
Maybe expectations were too high for the 19-year-old out of Ohio State but he looked very average for the Lakers – especially when he was on the floor next to Jordan Clarkson. Any way you slice it, he probably should have been able to shine – even if only in spurts – against inferior competition in Summer League but it really never happened. Russell has an incredibly high potential ceiling but if his NBA Summer League performance is any indication, he will need some time for his skill set to translate to the pro level.
Pleasant Surprise: Bobby Portis
Chicago Bulls
All of the talk about Portis was that he would be an energy player in the NBA that made a big impact with his work ethic and desire at both ends of the floor. However, he provided much more than that for Chicago in the Summer League. Portis averaged 14.5 points on 42% shooting and 8.7 rebounds per game in the Las Vegas Summer League. Suddenly it looks like Chicago’s 2015 first-round pick will have the potential to play a bigger role than expected behind Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and company. The challenge is that he’s behind Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson for minutes in the frontcourt but the team was already thinking about the idea of moving Gibson as he’s looking for a bigger role. The drafting of Portis probably gives the Bulls some comfort knowing they have a stud waiting in the wings if they trade Gibson.
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Big Disappointment: Joel Embiid
Philadelphia 76ers
Many people were hoping to get their first glimpse of the 76ers 2014 first-round pick a cloud of gloom and doom quickly rained on the parade. When the 21-year-old showed up and looked fine running around and shooting jumpers before games, there was quite a bit of confusion about what was going with the 76ers. Fans figured that he’s fine and that he’ll finally be able to get his career started. Then we heard some whispers that he might possibly need some more rest or might be shut down for a bit for a couple of months. However, the news was much worse as Embiid will miss the entire 2015-16 NBA season after a second surgery is required on his right foot. They’ll be repairing a fractured navicular bone.
The 76ers may have had a feeling about this, which would explain why they drafted Jahlil Okafor with their 2015 first-round pick. At any rate, it’s bad news for Embiid and the 76ers all the way around.
