The NBA Summer League is highly regarded as a talent show, a stomping grounds, for future franchise/NBA All-Stars, that are put on parade for the fans to see.
The Denver Nuggets claimed no stars in June's draft, and only had a brigade of undrafted rookies and unsigned veterans to bring out to put on display.
Even so, the Nuggets went 4-1 in the NBA Summer League; coached by Assistant Coach Chad Iske.
DEN 95-89 PHI
DEN 90-79 TOR
MIL 79-67 DEN
DEN 105-104 HOU
DEN 92-79 LAL
Their play was a fair representation of the youthful core belonging to the Nuggets, however only a few will still be linked with the team.
My analysis:
Dahntay Jones weakened his chances of landing a spot on the Nuggets roster; finishing with six points in the finale against the Lakers.
Jones really needed to close out the Summer strong and make a statement, unfortunately he failed to.
In his defense, his minutes were cut in half, as he played only 12:30 in the finale, but came into the contest averaging 26.04 minutes per game, leading the team.
Also, in all five Summer League games, he came off the bench, and still managed to lead the team in scoring. That will definitely be a factor in his favor come decision day.
Sonny Weems and Taurean Green rebounded from their back-to-back lackluster efforts, to score seven points apiece against the Lakers.
Green, however, has downgraded his play throughout the five games and his role on the Nuggets squad is in serious jeopardy.
If Chris Lofton progresses this offseason through drills and team workouts, he maybe able to leap frog Taurean, and battle for the starting job with current point guard Anthony Carter.
Weems didn't quite play the way some had expected, but he will be given time to adjust to the NBA during course of the 2008-09 season, whether it is in the NBA Developmental League or with the Nuggets.
I still believe Douglas-Roberts was the smarter choice; who was chosen with the 40th pick, and Weems the 39th.
Here are stats from major contributors and the most notable players on the Nuggets Summer League team:
(Bench) SG Dahntay Jones 18.4 PPG, 1 APG, 2.4 RPG
PG Taurean Green 6.4 PPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG
SF Bobby Jones 10 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.6 APG
C Elton Brown 13.4 PPG, 10 RPG
SG Sonny Weems 9.2 PPG, 3 RPG, O.8 APG
(Bench) PG Chris Lofton 2.3 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 60% 3pt shooting
Surprise of the Nuggets Summer League:
Elton Brown was a hard-nosed rebounder out of Virginia and carried that into NBA competition. Brown averaged a double-double this summer, but he is only 6-9 and didn't block a single shot in his league.
MVP of the Nuggets Summer League:
Dahntay Jones was hands down the best player on the Nuggets roster, and led the team in scoring besides being also apart of the second string unit.
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2 months ago
Terrible article Stancill. When are you going to understand the Nuggets just aren't a championship team? Are the Nuggets all you write about?
You're suggesting that Chris Lofton can battle for a starting job in the lineup? Are you kidding me? I'll be surprised if he even makes the Nuggets roster. He only averaged 2.3 PPG and 0.3 RPG, retard. I would rather have Milt Palacio as my starting point guard.
The one thing that all of the players in this article have in common is that none of them averaged more than 2 APG. That is terrible for a summer league team.
Dahntay Jones is one-dimensional. He only scores. Yes, he averaged 18.4 PPG. But wait, he only averaged 1.0 APG and 2.4 RPG.
Honestly, who cares if the Nuggets summer league team went 4-1? It's summer league and it doesn't matter. None of these players will make the Denver Nuggets roster and if they did, they wouldn't make any contributions whatsoever.
from 2 months ago
I never mentioned this will be the sqaud that leads the Denver Nuggets to the championships anywhere in this article.
Also, Chris Lofton is very capable of being the starting point guard for the Denver Nuggets. Lofton didn't receive much playing time simply because he was an undrafted rookie and there was another point guard ahead of him on the depth chart (Taurean Green), who the Nuggets wanted to give an oppurtunity to show himself to the league, because of his lack of minutes during the 2007-08 season.
Green didn't do to well.
Lofton is a better shooter than Green, a better leader, and is bigger than Green.
Chris is 6-2, Taurean is 6-0, Carter is 6-0
Its clear that the Nuggets need a bigger backcourt because the pairing of two six footers Carter and Iverson hasn't worked.
If Lofton starts at least half of the equation will be solved, until Allen Iverson is dealt.
The Nuggets will give Chris Lofton a chance to prove himself, all the way until the closing weeks of September when the offseason winds down.
from 2 months ago
Well, one thing is for sure. Chris Lofton never met a shot he didn't like. He will have a terrible NBA career. Maybe Lofton would be better than Carter, because Carter is terrible, but none of those point guards will be able to be a premier point guard in the NBA. Every single one of them will be eaten alive by almost every other point guard in the league.
Lofton can't pass. Carter can't score or pass. Green just isn't good at all.
Face it. The Nuggets are screwed until the end of next season. Then they will have cap space and more importantly won't have Iverson.
Try reading Cody Blubaugh's article. His articles are believable. None of yours aren't.
Sean, you have a pretty good NBA sense. But starting Chris Lofton? That's ridiculous. I have yet to see one of your predictions come true, so until one does, I'm right and you're wrong.
Oh, good luck dealing Iverson this year.
2 months ago
I've seen others comment on your articles that Chris Lofton is not even a point guard and they're right. He has never been a point guard. Take this scouting report for whatever you want, but I thought I'd copy and paste it from nbadraft.net so you can see what others think about Chris Lofton as a point guard. Feel free to pick it apart and tell us where this analysis goes awry. My favorite part is where they write, "little to no point guard skills to speak of". Obviously, one of you is watching a different player.
"Weaknesses: Painfully small and unathletic for the NBA SG position ... It's questionable whether he has the size and quickness to make it in the NBA despite his great shooting ability. He has little to no point guard skills to speak of, and his defense will be a huge liability as he has slow feet and is way undersized at the 2-guard position. His only shot is as an instant offense sparkplug off the bench, however even then it's tough to imagine how he can do enough outside of shooting to justify a roster spot ... Will really stuggle to create shots for himself on the next level with 6-6 athletes covering him night in and night out ... Lack of a quick first step makes getting open looks difficult for him ... A less athletic version of Trajan Langdon. Best suited to play in Europe ..."
from 2 months ago
A difference of opinion.
Lofton is nonetheless the best point guard on the Nuggets roster.
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