7 Bold Predictions for 2013 Orlando Summer League

The importance of the NBA's summer league cannot be stressed enough.

Offseason play isn't always an effective barometer for what's to come during the regular season, but it offers some valuable insight into which developing players teams will gamble on most.

Future rotations and position battles can be shored up over the summer. Rookies set the tone for their inaugural campaigns, fringe players make a name for themselves, and exhibition stars are born.

Which players (and coaches) will turn heads as thirsty NBA talents take their act to Orlando, providing us with storylines to follow for the rest of the summer and into the regular season?

Championships aren't won in July or August. And neophytes don't become All-Stars overnight either. But the dog days of summer are often used as a springboard to jumpstart careers and mold the cosmetic and rotational outlook of the Association's participating outfits.

This year will be no different.

Andre Drummond Makes Pistons Fans Forget About Josh Smith

Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the Detroit Pistons had inked Josh Smith to a four-year, $56 million, and I can still hear sighs spilling over from the Motor City now.

If J-Smoove was a better shooter and proven veteran leader, he'd be a great fit for a young Pistons squad. But he's not, so he's not.

Detroit needn't look any further for a distraction than second-year man Andre Drummond. After becoming just the third rookie in NBA history to average at least 13 points, 13 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per 36 minutes (minimum 20 minutes of action per game), Drummond is someone to watch in Orlando.

Still raw in so many aspects aspects of the game, Drummond has shown he can improve a great deal in a short period of time. Things he must work on include his back-to-the-basket sets, free-throw shooting and face-up defense, all of which are areas he will improve upon during the summer league.

Coming out of Orlando, he'll look like a stud, the future star Detroit still needs

And yeah, a necessary distraction for a fanbase that just saw its team overpay for a forward whose greatest asset is perhaps his ability to peak the interest of Rajon Rondo.

Michael Carter-Williams Steals the Show

This isn't going to be a "Jrue Holiday who?" type moment, but Michael Carter-Williams will use his stint in Orlando to garner the hope and praise of an embattled Philadelphia 76ers fanbase.

Philly was supposed to become a title contender after its acquisition of Andrew Bynum. Less than a year later, the Sixers have been reduced to a full-fledged rebuilding effort, with a roster capable of contending for a top-five lottery pick.

Trading away Holiday made acknowledging such a reality even more difficult. All-Star point guards aren't supposed to be traded on a whim. His departure was a travesty.

Carter-Williams won't let it end that way.

A floor general with a high two-way motor, Carter-Williams can have an impact in every aspect of the game. He's never been known as an efficient scorer, and has had issues with ball control in the past, but his intensity in Orlando will be unwavering and improvement undeniable.

Expect Carter-Williams continue to struggle with efficiency and turnovers, but also bank on him emerging as an even-more-highly-touted prospect than he already was, someone capable of running an NBA offense.

Someone the Sixers can ride into the future.

Jason Kidd Looks Like a Natural on the Sidelines Sans the Uniform

Jason Kidd was always considered a coach among players, and in Orlando, he'll look like a coach among coaches.

Kidd will make his NBA coaching debut at the summer league, and the sight of him meandering up and down the sidelines in a suit will take some getting used. Nearly two decades were spent watching him leading a team with his passing and general savvy, not his clipboard.

Before we know it, seeing Kidd manage a rotation will become second nature. He'll be as vocal as any of his coaching peers, and he'll have the Brooklyn Nets' summer-league team running a fast-paced, efficient offensive system.

Whether or not Kidd's success in Orlando carries over into the regular season is unknown. A different brand of basketball is played in the fall.

Once it's time to leave Orlando, though, we'll have no doubt that Kidd is prepared to lead the Nets into battle, wherever it may take them, this season.

Patrick Beverley Emerges as Viable Replacement for Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin has traipsed his way in and out of trade rumors since the offseason began, and Patrick Beverley's performance in Orlando isn't going to do much to quell collective chatter.

Finding a team to assume the roughly $17 million remaining on Lin's contract won't be easy, but that's not the only obstacle the Houston Rockets are facing.

Part of the problem for Daryl Morey and friends is negotiating a deal that gives them a point guard in return as well. Houston's roster isn't laden with potential floor generals; the Rockets still arguably need Lin.

Beverley will make Lin look like less of a necessity. Russell Westbrook would probably disagree, but the 24-year-old sophomore has a higher ceiling than most initially believed.

Last season with the Rockets, Beverley put up an impressive 11.5 points, 5.9 assists and 1.9 steals per 36 minutes. At 6'1", he's vulnerable when going up toward the rim or attempting a shot in traffic, yet what he lacks in size he makes up for an effort.

There is no off button on Beverley, sometimes to a fault. He can be over-aggressive on defense and has a tendency to force passes into double coverage. His shot selection is also an issue. 

Still, Beverley is someone who the Rockets can eventually rely on to lead their offense. He's a better shooter than Lin and equally as determined a penetrator.

Restraint is a virtue he needs to develop, as patience is imperative for a point man on both ends of the floor. Following his summer league stint, Houston will be confident enough in his ability to the point where Dwight Howard and James Harden may be spending more time next to him than Lin one day soon.

Victor Oladipo Garners Rookie of the Year Hype

Rookie of the Year awards, like championships, aren't won over the summer. The foundation for our future conversation, however, is laid.

Unlike Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo's impressive showing in Orlando won't come as a surprise. He was selected with the second overall pick by the Magic, and people expect him to succeed.

But they also expect him to struggle in the beginning, which he won't.

I remain convinced that he should have been the top pick in the draft, as few college athletes carry themselves with the type of poise he does. The Magic were fortunate that he fell into their laps at No. 2; the Cleveland Cavaliers missed out on a golden opportunity.

Oladipo can do a bit of everything, two-way prowess he will showcase immediately. He's a defensive savant (passing lanes, anyone?), and though his offensive game is a work in progress, he has the potential to be one of the most dangerous transition scorers in the game.

Not only that, he may even emerge as Orlando's primary playmaker, courtesy of ever-evolving court vision and improved jump shot. No other NBA newbie can play the point forward role the way he can. Absolutely no one. 

Our rookie of the year won't be crowned for nearly a year, and between now and then, plenty of other players will crack their way into the discussion. In Orlando, Oladipo will be in a dialogue all his own.

The Lights Won't Be as Dim in Boston

Danny Ainge knows what he's doing. 

Remember that, Beantown. Remember it well.

The Boston Celtics won't be contending for any titles this season. Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry won't be there. Only Rajon Rondo (we think) and a band of inexperienced talents will be.

Aside from angling for a top-10 lottery finish, the 2013-14 crusade will be about the development of the team's younger ballers, a process that begins in Orlando.

Players to watch include Colton Iverson, Darius Johnson-Odom, Fab Melo, Kelly Olynyk and Phil Pressey. 

Few, if any of them are considered game changers, but I suspect an unlikely hero or two (or three) will emerge during summer league play. Olynyk, Pressey and Melo specifically are bodies we will want to keep an eye on.

Melo may be ready to take the next step as a valuable big man (conditioning!), Olynyk seems destined for life as a stretch forward (not center), and Pressey, while undersized, will prove to be an undrafted steal.

It's all about the future in Boston, meaning the present, by design, is supposed to be ugly. On the heels of a strong summer league effort, that immediate outlook won't appear so bleak.

Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III Make OKC'S Regular-Season Rotation

Normally I'm hesitant to make any bold predictions for a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Aggregates that run shorter rotations and are going to contend for a title don't usually find ample playing time for summer league standouts. Oklahoma City is going to be an exception.

With Kevin Martin now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Thunder have some extra minutes to go around next season. And they're going to be allocated to Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III.

Lamb can play the part of Martin to perfection, and then some. He can be used as a spot-up shooter, is capable of creating his own offense and is more aggressive a rebounder than Martin will ever be.

Jones can still be compared to Kevin Durant himself. To be sure, he isn't the next Durantula, but he can score like him. Inside, outside, cutting to the basket, behind the arc—it doesn't matter. Jones can score from anywhere, under any kind of circumstance.

Martin's minutes are going to have to go somewhere, and the easy money was on these two all along. By the time they leave Orlando, we'll have a better idea of how valuable the'll be to Oklahoma City's immediate future.

Spoiler: They'll mean more than the easy money suggested.

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