The Summer League in Las Vegas has just ended so let’s take a look at what we learned from this week in the desert.
1. Rodrigue Beaubois is ready for the NBA…
Rodrigue Beaubois (Dallas Mavericks) Stat Line per Game: 17.0 Points, 3.5 Rebounds, 3.8 Assists
Beaubois showed that he can be a devastating offensive force when given room to maneuver. He has a sweet three point stroke that extends beyond the line itself and his quickness and athleticism can be scary when used going to the basket. I nicknamed him the “The Enigma” in my prospect previewbecause he has the skills to be a great player but he can be a hothead and play very inconsistently at times. This summer he had two games of more than 20 points and two games of less than 10. Beaubois showed that he has the skills and athleticism to play in the NBA next season, so look for him on Dallas’s bench.
2….and so is the Swedish Sensation Jonas Jerebko
Jonas Jerebko (Detroit Pistons) Stat Line per Game: 12.4 Points, 6.2 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists
Jonas Jerebko is the guy at a pickup game that is making all his shots, is always open, is always moving without the ball, is always crashing the basket, and his team always wins. You don’t know what particular skill it is that makes him so effective but you know that he is a basketball player. Jerebko is constantly finding openings in the defense and using his shifty movement to get in the lane and make shots. He is always producing on the court in the Summer League (The Pistons are 4-1) and he will continue to do that next year for the Pistons.
3. We know who Christian Eyenga is now and I can’t wait to see him again in 3 years.
Yes Christian Eyenga is fun to joke about but he did actually come out to the Summer League and play a lot of minutes for the Cavaliers. Continue Reading…
The biggest NBA Summer League happens in Las Vegas every year with 22 teams competing. The Summer League is a great place to watch current Euroleague players such as Pooh Jeter, Alan Anderson, and Charles Gaines try and make the jump to the NBA. The main purpose for the Summer League though is to see which prospects are ready to play in the NBA regular season. At the midway point (3 games) of the week Slam checks in to see which European prospects are playing well and which ones might be headed back to Europe. Let’s call this game 2 Up and 2 Down.
Rodrigue Beaubois has been one of the most exciting players in Las Vegas
Beaubois has surprised a lot of people with his performance at the Summer League. He is too fast and athletic for almost any guard in Vegas and this has led to a dominating performance. In his second game he broke out with 34 points (a Summer League high) and 8 assists while making 7 three pointers. He is really showing off his offense scoring game while still chipping in some assists here and there. If he can keep this up he may be able to take over Jose Juan Barea’s spot on the Dallas bench as an offensive sparkplug. Whether he plays for Dallas next season or not, Beaubois has shown that he is in a different class of athleticism than any of the other players here.
Jonas Jerebko- Detroit Pistons PPG- 10.0 RPG- 4.7 APG- 0.7
While Jerebko’s numbers don’t jump out at you, his play does. He is playing tough physical defense and the only reason his points per a game number is down is because he was held to just 13 minutes in his last game scoring 2 points. Jerebko’s shooting has been up in down but it hasn’t affected the rest of his game as he has been able to rebound and defend as well as most players in Vegas. It doesnt help him that the two small forwards drafted ahead of him on the Pistons (Austin Daye and Dajuan Summers) are having two of the best summer league’s of anyone. While his performance hasn’t been as eye-opening as Beaubois, he has shown the skills that can get him on the floor right away in the NBA.
This letter is to you (Milenko Tepic, Emir Preldzic, Nando De Colo, Sergio Lull, Jan Vesely, Christian Eyenga, and others) the rising stars of European basketball. As 2nd round draft picks or undrafted NBA free agents you have two chooses: stay and become a star in Europe or be a bench rotation player in the NBA. The NBA is the highest level of basketball in the world and what most all players growing up shoot for, but don’t forget about the Euroleague. This isn’t a stepping stone to a better place, it is that better place. Look at the careers of Theo Papaloukas, Sarunas Jasikevicius, and Ramunas Siskauskas. These players and others are legends in Europe and regarded by fans as some of the greatest basketball players ever.
Emir Preldzic could stay in Europe and be a star
By staying in the Euroleague you can become key players on championship teams and find yourselves on first and second All-Euroleague teams year after year. In the NBA you will be in a foreign country far from home where the game of basketball is played a lot differently. In Europe you can play in your home country, be regarded as one of the best players in one of the World’s best leagues, and become a European legend. Theo Papaloukas never had to prove anything in the NBA, but he is still viewed by many in Europe and the United States as one of the best passers in the world. That could be you Sergio Lull as you lead your hometown Real Madrid to a Euroleague Crown as you hold the Final Four MVP trophy over your head basking in a sea of confetti.
Look at the career of Sarunas Jasikevicius who was named one of the 50 greatest contributors to the Euroleague along with Theo. He was a star in the Euroleague winning multiple championships as a gritty clutch shooting point guard. He decided to try his hand at the NBA where he became Continue Reading…
10:38 – Dante Cunningham is going to be a solid NBA Player. He plays well above his talent level and never quits. He has a nice runner in the lane and will play the 3 or 4 in the pro’s.
Jonas where are you hiding?
10:41 –Jonas Jerebko where are you? This draft has been so crazy weird but we can’t have you drop too much farther Jonas. Sweden needs you to get drafted.
We start off with pick 22, as our 2nd Euro gets drafted:
9:35 – Come on Omri Casspi. Supposedly the Trail Blazers traded up a couple picks to get Casspi. Let’s make it happen Kevin Pritchard.
9:39 – Yea sir Victor is going to dominate the league. Did I say that out loud, but yes he’s going to stay in Europe for a year and come back over. He is 6’10” and is a PF who can step out to the 3 and dunk over anyone around. Claver will fit nicely into the Blazers as he, Rudy, and Sergio can go clubbing Spanish style all the time in Portland. The Three Amigos take over Portland.
The
Amigos
Three
9:44 – YEA BABY YEA!!! As a Jewish American Omri Casspi getting drafted is a dream for all of us Jews. Omri gets drafted by the Kings and is looking to play right away. Casspi can run the fast break very well and can finish above the rim. His calling card is hustle and energy as he will run through a wall for your team. Let’s hope that translates to a lot of defense. What Euro’s are next?
The sad truth is, once David Stern butchered the name of the Cavs first rounder, I grabbed my cell phone and my computer. Neither device could immediately satisfy my Christian Eyenga curiosity.
So I made some calls, checked all the prospect sites (because ours admittedly didn’t foresee Danny Ferry’s genius), and here are Freaknick’s Five Fun Facts, Christian Eyenga style:
1. I spoke to a Euroleague source who says he recognized some of the clips that ESPN showed after Cleveland took him with the 30th pick. ”I was at some of those games,” he told me. ”And I don’t remember Christian Eyenga.” Hmmm.
2. Christian hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Did you know that the DRC is the largest French-speaking nation in the world, with 66 million folks? Take THATCeline Dion.
3. There are only two other Congolese players in the NBA: 1) 4-time Defensive POY Dikembe Mutombo and 2) NBA Champion and Laker legend, DJ Mbenga. While these two are known mostly for their defense, however, Eyenga is an offensive dynamo, averaging an astonishing 0.8 PPG in 4 games for DKV Joventut of the ACB League.
4. After extensive Googling and YouTubing, I couldn’t find that LeBron post-game interview I was looking for. Remember? After they lost to the Magic? When he said, “The only way we’re going to take our team to the next level is if we draft a virtual unknown Congolese player who averages under one point per game and probably won’t suit up in an NBA uniform until I’m a Knick.”
5. If you YouTube Christian Eyenga, the first video that comes up is the inspiring tale of two hippies who raise a lion cub named Christian. Frankly, it was the more entertaining of the two videos below.
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