10 Things to Watch in the NBA Summer League

The NBA is back...sort of.

There will be plenty of current and future NBA players on display at the annual summer leagues in Orlando and Las Vegas, but that hardly guarantees NBA-caliber basketball. Not with undrafted free agents, American ex-pats and international unknowns filling the majority of the roster spots for all 30 teams.

Once July comes and goes, so too will most of the summer players, be it to Europe, Asia, Australia, the D-League or the local YMCA.

Still, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of reasons for us to tune in to NBA TV (and, for the computer-bound, NBA.tv) over the next two weeks. From the debuts of top draft picks and the ripple effects of trade rumors to quirky backstories and tongue-twisting names, the Summer Leagues have something for everyone.

But mostly just for hoop heads. 

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Who's Going to Fill the Brooklyn Nets' Roster?

Dwight Howard or no Dwight Howard, the Brooklyn Nets will need to find some warm bodies with which to complete their roster.

If the Nets and the Orlando Magic are able to broker a deal, it will likely involve MarShon Brooks in some capacity and, as such, leave Brooklyn's summer squad without its biggest star—even after Brooks went 0-for-10 from the field in his first summer scrimmage.

The soon-to-be-sophomore aside, Nets brass will have their eyes on a slew of guys to ride the pine at the Barclays Center next season, including second-round pick Tyshawn Taylor, undrafted free agent Ashton Gibbs and former NBAers Al Thornton and Adam Morrison.

Yes, that Adam Morrison. 

Latavious Williams Continues His Quest for the Association

Believe it or not, there's a basketball pioneer playing in the Orlando Summer League.

Granted, Latavious Williams hardly seems like a historic figure, but he already is, and will be even more so if he makes the 13-man roster for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Williams is already the first person in NBA history to go from high school to the D-League to the draft. He was one of the top prep players in the class of 2009, but struggled to qualify academically at the University of Memphis.

With college out of the picture, Williams considered following in the footsteps of Brandon Jennings by signing with a foreign team before jumping into the draft. But Williams and his family weren't too keen on having him play overseas, so he made himself available for the D-League Draft instead and wound up with the Tulsa 66ers.

Williams played well enough in his first pro season for the Miami Heat to snatch him up with the 48th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and trade his rights to the Thunder shortly thereafter. He played on OKC's summer squad that year before rejoining the 66ers, and took his talents across the pond to Spain when the lockout struck the league last summer.

Now, Williams is back in the states, hoping to impress the Thunder enough to become the first player to go from preps to pros, with the D-League as the intermediate stepping stone.

He Used to Be Moe Harkless

If playing time in the NBA were divvied up according to "meme-ability", then Maurice Harkless would be penciled in for plenty of run as a rookie.

Known as Moe during his freshman season at St. John's, Harkless arrived at the draft in June as Maurice, eschewing his old nickname for a more formal moniker in time for the Philadelphia 76ers to make him the 15th pick.

All of which gives Sixers fans license to cheer on their newest player and honor the "artistic brilliance" of Kanye West by crooning out, "HE USED TO BE MOE HARKLESS!"

And he might be playing for actual minutes off the bench now that Lou Williams is gone, so there's that.

Detroit Pistons Ready to Dominate...for Once

For the first time since 2008, the Detroit Pistons might actually field a winning team.

In Orlando, that is.

The Pistons sport arguably the most talented roster in central Florida, with three first-round picks—Austin Day (No. 15 in 2009), Brandon Knight (No. 8 in 2011) and Andre Drummond (No. 9 in 2012)—joining fellow former draftees Armon Johnson, Kyle Singler, Vernon Macklin and Kim English on the court.

Throw in college standouts like Casper Ware, Yancy Gates and Khris Middleton, and Deetroooiiit Baaasketbaaall might have something good brewing, albeit in mid-July.

If only Greg Monroe were in town...

So Might...the Charlotte Bobcats?

You know the Summer League doesn't mean much when the Charlotte Bobcats might actually field a winning team.

That's right, the Bobcats—who recorded the worst winning percentage in NBA history last season—could finish above .500.

Granted, they would only have to win three games to do it, but...well, baby steps, folks. Baby steps.

Charlotte's squad figures to feature at least four guys who will see some measure of playing time with the actual club next season, with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (No. 2 pick in 2012) and Jeff Taylor (No. 31) joining 2011 lottery picks Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo in Las Vegas.

Those four guys should give Charlotte's scrubs an edge over everyone else's in Sin City. Not that anyone should bet on the Bobcats coming away with a perfect 5-0 record, of course. 

The Rivers-Davis Connection

The most exciting show off the Las Vegas Strip, though, will belong to the New Orleans Hornets, who are set to unveil the rookie duo of Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers.

Davis' availability for the Summer League had been in doubt as he competed for a spot on Team USA's Olympic squad. But, luckily for the Hornets, Davis didn't make the cut, and though The Brow might still train with the USA Select Team in Washington, D.C., he's slated for Sin City for now. 

Once there, he'll have a chance to show off whatever budding chemistry he and Rivers might have to offer during the regular season while playing alongside fellow Kentucky draftee Darius Miller and Hornets benchwarmers Xavier Henry, Jerome Dyson and Darryl Watkins.

Al-Farouq Aminu is expected to join the New Orleans contingent, though it's possible that his responsibilities with the London-bound Nigerian national team may interfere.

No matter, though. So long as Davis and Rivers are in town, the Hornets will be a team worth watching.

Backcourt Cavaliers

The future of the Cleveland Cavaliers will be out in full force starting on Sunday, when Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters take to the floor at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the first time.

Irving, the reigning Rookie of the Year, drew rave reviews from the Team USA coaching staff for his performance during scrimmages against Olympic hopefuls earlier in July. He nearly cracked the Eastern Conference All-Star squad last season and may well be on his way to perennial All-Star status starting in the fall.

Irving, though, is something of a known quantity. The real intrigue for Cleveland rests with Waiters. The Cavs pulled off a bit of a surprise when they sprang for Waiters with the No. 4 pick in the 2012 draft. The former Syracuse star has been compared favorably to a young Dwyane Wade, though some have questioned his viability as a top-five selection after spending his two collegiate years coming off the bench.

He'll be expected to serve as Irving's go-to wingman in Cleveland for years to come. A short stint in the Summer League isn't likely to indicate much as to how those two will mesh, though it should at least give them the opportunity to get a feel for one another in a pressure-free setting.

Rockets Swap Goran for Zoran

There could be a Dragic on the Houston Rockets' roster next season.

No, not Goran Dragic, who is set to sign a four-year, $34 million deal to rejoin the Phoenix Suns.

Rather, the soon-to-be-ex-Rockets guard could potentially be replaced by his brother Zoran. The younger Dragic is a 6'5'' swingman who was last seen playing for Krka in his native Slovenia.

Zoran may have a tough time standing out on a team that features three 2012 draftees (Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones), three 2011 draftees (Chandler Parsons, Marcus Morris and Donatas Motiejunas) and 2010 draftee Patrick Patterson.

But if Zoran plays well enough, he just might keep the Dragic name alive in Space City for another season.

Euro-Steppin' out

Speaking of international players, this year's Summer Leagues will feature a few ballers from overseas worth keeping tabs on, if only because they could realistically be in the NBA next season.

Kyle Singler isn't an international player, per se—he played four years of college ball at Duke—though he will make his NBA debut in Orlando this week. Singler spent last season in Spain with Alicante and Real Madrid after emerging from the 2011 draft as the 33rd pick of the Detroit Pistons.

Singler is expected to stay on with the Pistons for the season once the Summer League comes to a close.

Fellow 2011 draftee Donatas Motiejunas will play his first NBA games this summer as well, though his will tip off in Las Vegas.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took "Donce" with the 20th pick last year and promptly shipped his rights to the Houston Rockets, though the Lithuanian big man chose to remain in Europe for another season before crossing the pond. He could carve out a prominent role as a rookie in Houston, depending on how the rest of the Rockets' roster shakes out.

Whereas Motiejunas decided himself to stay in Europe, Evan Fournier will be playing in Sin City to stay stateside. Fournier, the 20th pick in the 2012 draft, has his sights set on convincing the Denver Nuggets that he is ready to leave his native France behind.

Whether or not the Nuggets agree with the 19-year-old swingman remains to be seen, though the kid deserves some credit for trying, at the very least.

Best Names

With all the random nobodies peddling their wares in Orlando and Houston this month, there are bound to be at least a few fellows with names worthy of a chuckle or two, if not a head-shaking bout of bad puns. 

The Denver Nuggets will feature a dude named Chu Chu Maduabum, whose sobriquet is cover for the nearly-unpronounceable Chukwudiebere.

Then again, if you can't take that heat, you should probably get out of the Derwin Kitchen.

Chicago is home to a vibrant Polish community, from which there should be at least one warm soul willing to buy a vowel for Bulls rookie Olek Czyz.

Down in Orlando, the Boston Celtics might spend their downtime celebrating the spirit of Half Christmas, assuming Dionte Christmas gets involved. Detroit's Casper Ware could be around to join them, though there's no word yet as to whether he is ghostly or friendly.

Reggie Jackson will be in town, too. No, not the Baseball Hall-of-Famer, but the backup point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The most famous member of the Orlando Summer League, though, plays for the Indiana Pacers. Whether Jarrid Famous gains notoriety for anything other than his name remains to be seen.

The same could be said of Darius Johnson-Odom, who has more than enough names on his birth certificate to make the Los Angeles Lakers happy.

Especially if you include his middle name—Earvin.