School's Out for Summer: What We Learned from Pistons Summer League

The Detroit Pistons recently wrapped up their summer league schedule and while some questions were answered, plenty more were left up in the air.

Heading into the summer league, most fans were eager to get their first look at rookie Greg Monroe and see how he fit with the young nucleus of Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko, as well as DaJuan Summers and fellow rookie Terrico White.

Obviously, summer league is not the best way to evaluate players, as the games tend to resemble a pickup game at the local recreation center, but there still was value in watching the young Pistons share the court together.

Some observations from Pistons camp.

Greg Monroe

Monroe showed some glimpses of brilliance this summer. His passing ability was as good as advertised despite the typically disorganized feel of summer league basketball. Monroe showed the ability to have the offense flow directly through him, which should make coach John Kuester very excited.

Monroe also showed a solid touch in the post, showcasing a nice, feathery touch with his left-handed hook at times, especially in the last two games. He appears to have a very strong feel for the game on the offensive end.

On the other hand, his game against fellow lottery pick DaMarcus Cousins will be replayed over and over again. Cousins absolutely man-handled Monroe in the post, and looked like he was playing at an entirely different level.

Considering the rumors that Pistons president Joe Dumars was interested in moving up to get Cousins yet failed to do so, this could continue to be a comparison that the fans bring up.

Overall, Monroe's numbers were good (14.6 ppg, 8 rpg) and he ended on a good note (47 points and 20 rebounds over his last two games).

Jonas Jerebko

The play of the Pistons second-round pick from a year ago was surprising to say the least. While Jerebko was a pleasant surprise a year ago, this summer he was largely ineffective. Most people assumed that Jerebko would put up torrid numbers in the summer league, but he was fairly underwhelming.

Jerebko played in only three games due to a slight leg injury, although his customary hustle was definitely on full display. Jerebko finished the summer league with 10 points and five rebounds per game.

Personally, I wouldn't read too much into Jerebko's performance. He still has the tools to be a 15 and 10 player with a somewhat limited offensive ceiling. The one thing I would like to see more of is Jerebko playing off of Monroe and moving without the ball, allowing for a nifty high-low post threat with the rookie. But you have to love the idea of the two of them playing together for a number of years.

Terrico White

The play of White was definitely a work in progress. If all reports are correct, Dumars envisions White as a player similar to Rodney Stuckey in the sense that he will play some time as the point and the shooting guard.

If this is the case, Dumars has to be somewhat disappointed with the play of his rookie. White showed tremendous athleticism, and he has the potential to be a very good defender, but his distribution skills are definitely questionable. 

In all honesty, do the Pistons need another shooting guard? Unless Dumars is planning on still trading one or two of his wings, White appears to be somewhat of a poor man's Stuckey.

In all fairness, the summer league does not typically bode well for point guards, however, he was easily out played point guard-wise by Edgar Sosa.

So, is there still time for White to develop into a more effective point guard? Absolutely, which is fortunate since that is likely the only way he will see playing time this year.

DaJuan Summers

Summers had a great summer league this year. He showcased a quick first step, tremendous athleticism and surprising range. Furthermore, he has the NBA body needed to develop into a good defender in this league, and showed flashes of that in this summer.

The key for Summers is finding a niche. If Detroit holds onto Tayshaun Prince, the only way for Summers to get regular minutes is to provide something specific off the bench. If he continues to improve his shot, he could become a three-point specialist. If he improves his defense, he could become a defensive specialist.

But he needs to focus on one particular aspect of his game and perfect it in order to become Prince's primary backup, which needs to be his goal this year.

Regardless, his numbers in the summer league (16 points, four rebounds) showed that he definitely wants to be considered in the equation for Detroit. Now, does this mean that Dumars can now go out and trade Prince and trust Summers as the new position holder? Probably not, but he needs to be watched closely.

Austin Daye

Nobody showed more improvement this summer than Daye. The Pistons made a concerted effort to showcase Daye, playing him all over the court on offense.

Daye showed a nifty back-to-the-basket post game, improved ball handling, and a slightly larger frame. He was the unquestioned leader on the court and appeared much more comfortable than he did last year.

In his first two games, Daye averaged 21 points per game and 5.5 rebounds. He did not appear to be overmatched, instead welcoming contact and playing aggressively on offense.

Defensively, however, he still is a work in progress. He does not have the strength or instincts yet to challenge Prince for the starting job, but he could be a very effective bench player this year.

At the very least, Daye showed why he was a first round pick a year ago, and could begin to see major minutes this year.

Bottom Line

Overall, the Pistons young players showed a lot of potential in Las Vegas this summer. Offensively, they all have a lot of strengths and compliment one another nicely. However, the toughness and defensive tenacity that Dumars had discussed wanting to re-introduce to Detroit is noticeably lacking from this group.

If Detroit is going to reclaim their defensive identity, it is going to have to come from somewhere else as this group is purely an offensive one. With the exception of Jerebko, none of these players appeared to be even remotely interested in shutting down their man.

Obviously, this is typical of summer league ball, but each of these young players is going to have to become more complete players in order to help Detroit become a playoff team.

However, the Pistons' cupboard is a lot less bare than it used to be, and the future seems a lot less bleak than it did six months ago.