NBA Summer League 2012: Sleepers Most Likely to Sneak On to Active Rosters

Summer league gems are valuable.

If an NBA team can fill a roster spot with someone in-house rather than be forced to sign a free agent, it saves a club a ton of money. And who knows? Those sleepers could eventually develop into a solid role player.

Here are three prospects that didn’t play much in 2012, if at all, but will make their squad’s active roster next season.

3. William Buford

Yeah, Buford went undrafted. But the Minnesota Timberwolves are so desperate for shooters that it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were to steal a roster spot. Outside of the newly acquired Chase Budinger, they don’t have a wing on their roster that shot over 35 percent from the field last season.

Shooting just happens to be Buford’s strength and at 23-years-old, he’s mature enough to play right away.

2. Adam Morrison

Injuries have derailed Morrison’s career and he hasn’t played on a team since the 2009-2010 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers. But he couldn’t have found a better home than the Brooklyn Nets. If the Nets sell the farm for Dwight Howard, they’d have plenty of roster spots to fill and minimal cap room to do it.

If Gerald Green got ample playing time on the Nets last year after struggling to even find a home, why not Morrison?

1. Darius Morris

The most underrated aspect of the Lakers trading for Steve Nash is Morris’ development. The former Michigan Wolverine is a playmaker, like Nash, and couldn’t have possibly found a better mentor. Because of his pass-first style of play, LA would be able to run the same offense with Morris when Nash exits the game.

The same can’t be said for Steve Blake who, at this point in his career, is a liability even coming off the bench. If the Lakers fail to sign an upgrade, expect Morris to win their second-string point guard job.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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