Week 2 of free agency was a little slow with some interesting signings and voluntary pay cuts. However, we have some NBA summer league action and a breakdown of the Team USA roster as they focus on winning gold at the Olympics.
We’ll start with breaking down all NBA news that happened throughout the week. Next I’ll highlight some players that got off to some hot starts. Finally I will break down the Team USA roster and their game against Canada this past Wednesday.
Monday July 8th
Haywood Highsmith signs a 2 year 11 million dollar deal. The Heat needed to keep Highsmith on the roster after losing Caleb Martin. Highsmith is a high level defender for the Heat, However, his offense needs to develop. Overall, Heat retained a player they’ve developed on a team friendly value contract.
Daniel Theis signs a 1 year deal with the Pelicans. He’ll be a nice veteran addition for the team.
Tuesday July 9th
Trenton Watford had his offer sheet matched by the Nets for 2.7 million dollars to avoid restricted free agency. He was traded from the Blazers to the Nets.
Paul Reed was picked up off of waivers by Detroit. His time in Philadelphia ends.
Wednesday July 10th
Saddiq Bey signs a 3 year 20 million dollar deal with the Wizards. He’ll miss almost the entire season after tearing his ACL last season. If he’s able to regain his shooting he can be a good trade asset for the Wizards in the future. Great tank signing for Washington.
Thursday July 11th
The NBA signed a deal for 11 years 76 billion dollars with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC. Adam Silver announced that once the NFL ends the NBA will stream a primetime game every day of the week in the 2025-2026 season.
Bryce McGowens signs a two way deal with the Blazers. The 21 year old time in Charlotte ends.
Kyle Lowry signs a 1 year deal to return to the 76ers. Veteran presence will be great for Philly next season.
Josh Okogie signs a 2 year 16 million dollar deal with Suns. Contract will act as a 1 + 1 deal with the 2nd season being non-guaranteed. This will help the Suns with finances.
Friday July 12th
Johnny Juzang signs a 4 year 12 million dollar deal with the Utah Jazz. He’s had back-to-back two way deals with Utah and earns a guaranteed contract in the NBA
KJ Martin signs a 2 year 16 million dollar deal with 76ers. The deal keeps a young prospect in house.
Jalen Brunson signs a 4 year 156 million dollar deal with the New York Knicks. The deal is a massive win for New York as Brunson would’ve been eligible for a 270 million dollar extension in 1 year after making all NBA this past season. The deal saves New York roughly 37 million in cap space. Brunson voluntarily gave up 113 million dollars by signing 1 year early.
Summer League Action
Reed Sheppard - It’s hard not to see why Reed Sheppard was picked 3rd overall after his debut game against the Lakers. Oh my freaking god he looked amazing. The rookie scored 23 points on 9/17 fg and 4/6 3pt along with 4 asts and some good defensive plays. He’s electric and he showed all facets of his game in the pick and roll, isolations and mid range. He hit logo 3s, put Kencht in a blender, and showed the mid range shot creation. He looks ready for the NBA already.
Cam Spencer - You can officially call this the Cam Spencer fan page. He’s probably my favorite draft selection from this past year. He’s an absolute dog as his teammate GG Jackson notably said in an interview this past week. He’s shooting 55% fg and 53% from 3. He lets the game come to him and doesn’t let anyone speed him up. He’s a winner plain and simple.
Terrence Shannon Jr. - Shannon announced his presence to the rest of Las Vegas when he dunked on a Pelicans player for his first summer league points. He’s a high motor offensive player with a collective of creative offensive moves. He’s a polished three level scorer and showed his ability to get to the free throw line as well. He’s an NBA level scorer already after just one game.
Jett Howard/Anthony Black - Second year guys are the ones you always want to see play well in Summer league and especially these two if your the Magic. They’ve been targeted as role players for the Magic in the future and them having really solid games in the opening shows they are ready for the challenge this upcoming season.
Jordan Miller - Had 36 points in the opening summer league game. He shot 11-18 from the field and 6-10 from 3. The 3pt shot looks very nice. He’s a key guy for the Clippers to develop this season and putting up 36 points in the opening summer league will surely help keep him around on the roster.
Alex Sarr/Zaccharie Rissacher While neither had stellar games it’d be a crime to not highlight the No. 1 vs No. 2 overall picks in this year’s draft. Sarr looked amazing on defense and showed an excellent motor along with versatility while playing. Rissacher was very good. He showed his quick shot, motor, and cutting all on display throughout the game. His shot creation will need to get better as he struggled getting open looks throughout the game. Both players' length and defensive versatility was impressive as well.
Brandon Miller/Nick Smith Jr. - The two second year guys looked very comfortable playing together. Miller was the second best rookie last season and showed why on the floor as he made all the right plays and hit tons of shots. Smith after having a rocky first year, had a smooth feel to his game in the summer league opener. The former Arkansas player showed his highly talented shot making.
Tyler Kolek - Not often does a guy who has 7 points make summer league noise, but it was everything else Kolek did that was impressive. He’s an advanced pick and roll magician and handled the ball very well for the Knicks. His poise against pressure was really impressive to watch as he controlled the entire game start to finish. He had 7 assists along with 0 turnovers in his debut.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. - There’s zero reason why he should play anymore summer league this year. He put on his absolute scoring clinic putting up 29 points on 11-16 fg. Him along with Brandon Miller are officially on the too-good-for-summer-league team.
Cody Williams - William answered any questions there was about how well he’d play in summer league. The 10th overall pick had 21 points on 9-15 shooting and showed an advanced feel for the game. He'll be exciting to watch for the Jazz this season.
Stephon Castle - If there’s any doubt Castle can play point guard, it needs to go out the window. He’s extremely crafty in the pick and roll and showed some good shot making from outside the arc and basket. He’ll learn from Chris Paul very well, as his physicals match the motor displayed.
Other Thoughts
Lots of other rookie made their debuts as well throughout summer league. Donovan Clingnan showed his impressive defense for the Trail Blazers. His conditioning will need to improve though. Baylor Scheierman is going to be fun for the Celtics to develop. He’s an absolute sniper as he was 3-7 3pt in the opener. Gradey Dick needs to show he’s a good player for the Raptors. He had a rough opening game. Ron Holland looked a little shaky too in his opener. Shot selection needs some correction. Ricky Council and Jared McCain have been good for the 76ers summer league team.
Overall, summer league has nothing to do with how an NBA player's career will shake out, especially draft picks from the past NBA draft. Summer league teams usually have guys that are trying to make rosters and teams have only been practicing and known each other for about a week so play can be very sloppy at times. Summer league serves only as a small evaluation for front offices to decide on who will make the roster for the NBA team and who will get to play on the G league team. However, I think there’s some meaning in how players look while playing. It's not a good indicator on whether a player will be successful or not, but if the game looks slow for them they can show flashes of what’s to come in the NBA.
Team USA
Team USA had a friendly on Wednesday Night against Canada in Las Vegas. Team USA pulled away for a 86-72 win. While the offense was slow to get going, the defense showed its force as the stellar Canadian backcourt of Jamal Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander combined for 5-18 shooting from the floor. USA was super balanced in scoring with Anthony Edwards leading the way with 15 points. Joel Embiid notably fouled out of the game in 13 minutes of action. Overall, the roster looks primed for a gold medal run in Paris.
The Team USA roster is loaded with talent. They can play all 12 guys if they want to. Everyone compliments each other very nicely and they can play any type of way they want to really. The interior of Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, and Joel Embiid is one of the largest front courts in the world and the USA has all types of shot makers at their disposal. The starting 5 was Steph Curry, Lebron James, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, and Jrue Holiday. Steve Kerr said not to read into anything, but really there’s only one spot available once Kevin Durant is healthy. It’ll come down between Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, or Devin Booker I think. Having only 4 days of practice before playing the USA looked extremely good. The second unit was a turbo engine for the team with Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo controlling the paint. On the wings Edwards and Booker played nicely off each other and Haliburton was racing up and down the floor controlling the game really well. Tempo and pace really got the USA back into the game after they were down 21-14 at the end of the first quarter. They ended the 3rd quarter up 69-54. Overall, this team is scary good. They had 25 assists and everyone was super unselfish. Curry running around while Lebron was playing the point was super fun to watch. Overall, this is a loaded USA roster and the best one on paper since 2012. They’re heavy favorites to win the gold in Paris this summer.
As always feel to share your thoughts below in the comments.
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