NBA Summer League 2012: Breaking Down MVP Candidates for Exhibition Season

The NBA Summer League provides basketball junkies an early look at what the game's newest prospects are bringing to the table. The Summer League isn't a make-or-break deal for players, but it does offer young guns an opportunity to put their coaching staff, fans and media on notice.

While the Summer League doesn't hand out any actual hardware, the distinction of being the Summer League's best player is a nice way to garner some momentum heading into training camps come fall.

Here are four candidates for a hypothetical Summer League MVP trophy.

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

As the sixth pick of the 2012 draft, Lillard entered the Summer League with lofty expectations, and thus far he has delivered in a big way. 

Coming from Weber State, the only question mark surrounding Lillard's game is how he will handle the massive step up in competition that exists coming from the Big Sky Conference to the NBA. 

If Lillard's performance in the Summer League is any indication, he should be able to handle the transition. After three games, Lillard leads all scorers with 27.7 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting from the field. Lillard has been efficient distributing the ball, too, throwing in 4.7 assists per game.

Although three games in a summer league featuring rookies and sophomores may be a small sample size, Lillard has shown off the offensive explosiveness that made him a sought-after prospect coming into the draft, and his ability to put up points looks as good as advertised.

Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats

Charlotte fans, rejoice! At this rate, the Bobcats may have more Summer League wins than they did all of last season. 

Sitting at 4-0, the Bobcats' young players have the best record in the league. While it may not mean much, Kemba Walker's performance thus far has to be encouraging. The sophomore point guard struggled last season on the league's worst team, but his play in the Summer League shows that he is still a promising prospect.

Walker's shooting percentage is still shaky (35.2 percent in four games), but the way that he has led the team and distributed has been impressive. Walker has been featured prominently and leads the league in assists with 7.3 per game.

In a league that has been dominated by scoring guards, Walker's assist rate is impressive—given that the margin between Walker and Eric Bledsoe (second in assists with 5.7 per game) isn't close.

Walker hasn't lit up the scoreboard like Lillard, but the fact he's playing the best on the team that has been the best makes him a candidate for MVP honors.

Markieff Morris, Phoenix Suns

The Summer League favors guards more than anyone. Since these rosters are primarily filled with young players who haven't played together and are likely competing for roster spots and/or minutes against each other, guards have the advantage of having the ball in their hands.

The fact that Markieff Morris has been able to put up the numbers he has as a post player in the league makes him worthy of consideration. 

With 19.3 PPG and 10.7 RPG, he's the only player averaging a double-double in the league.

His 24-point, 17-rebound effort in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers stands out as one of the best single-game performances of the summer. Morris has done more than enough to make himself stand out as a potential starter for the rebuilding Suns this season.

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

Klay Thompson has played the least amount of games of any player on this list, having only played in two games.

What Thompson did in those two games showed that he's moved beyond Summer League—he's ready to be the leading man for the Warriors. Thompson is shooting an astounding 10-of-14 from beyond the arch and averaged 20.5 points per game in the two efforts.

On top of lighting up the scoreboard, Thompson has shown versatility, snaring six rebounds per game and dishing out 4.5 assists. Thompson's numbers may not be as great as Lillard and Walker overall, but his efficiency and maturity have made him stand out as an MVP candidate.