Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo impressed by Alperen Sengun

“He’s a good player,” said the former two-time NBA MVP. “Takes his time; nothing can speed him up. He might be slow in the post, but he’s effective.

Houston Rockets forward Alperen Sengun received one of the biggest on-court compliments Friday night against the 2021 NBA Finals Champion Milwaukee Bucks. The praise wasn’t verbal, but it spoke volumes to Sengun’s progression in his rookie season thus far.

While Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had his way on the offensive side of the court in the 123-114 win over the Rockets to end their seven-game winning streak, it would be his defense that saved Milwaukee from losing back-to-back games. The former Defensive Player of the Year was called upon to slow down Sengun, who was wreaking havoc on the Bucks frontcourt.

Early in the fourth quarter, Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer switched Antetokounmpo to the center position in a desperate move to stop Sengun. It isn’t a move the coach likes to make, but it was the only adjustment to prevent the Rockets from winning their eighth game in a row.

The switch also caused havoc on the defensive end of the court for the Rockets as the Bucks ball movement forced Sengun to be matched up against Milwaukee’s quicker frontcourt. With the defensive rotation out of synch, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas had to take Sengun out of the game.

“That’s a first-team all-defensive, defensive player of the year guy that our 19-year-old rookie had to play against,” said coach Silas when asked was the switch a sign of respect to Sengun. “They made an adjustment for him (Antetokounmpo) to guard him. That’s a sign of respect to me for sure.”

Sengun, who was selected with the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, also received high praises from Antetokounmpo for his performance on the court, finishing the game with 15 points and five rebounds:

He’s a good player. Takes his time; nothing can speed him up. He might be slow in the post, but he’s effective. He’s playing well. He’s playing a lot of minutes off the bench, gives energy to his teammates. He rebounds the ball well. He’s being aggressive, sets good screens. I think the sky’s the limit for him.

While Antetokounmpo was giving the rookie compliments during his postgame press conference, Sengun was also paying his respect to one of the best players in the NBA at the same time.

“I watched him all of the time,” Sengun said after the game. “I watched him in my childhood, long years. It’s giving me really big hope when I play against him like tonight. He is an amazing player. He is unbelievable. I was really happy because I played against him. I was really excited before the game.”

Houston will travel to Memphis on Saturday to take on the Grizzlies to start their three-game road trip.

NBA Twitter reacts to first Jalen Green, Cade Cunningham showdown

Top rookies Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham each broke 20 points in Wednesday’s Rockets-Pistons showdown, and fans loved the intensity.

In a nationally televised showdown involving the top two overall picks from the 2021 NBA draft, it was Detroit’s Jerami Grant who stole the show as the Pistons won at Houston on Wednesday night, 112-104 (recap). Grant’s season-high 35 points sent the Rockets (1-10) to a ninth straight defeat while giving the Pistons (2-8) their second win of the season.

Nonetheless, prized rookies Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green each made a very positive impression. Green led the Rockets with 23 points in 38 minutes, including a memorable dunk after blowing past Cunningham. Meanwhile, Detroit’s No. 1 pick scored 20 points and made 4-of-8 shots (50.0%) from 3-point range, which helped lift his team to the win.

While the two rookies did face each other during 2021 NBA summer league action, this was their first regular-season game versus one another — and the intensity certainly felt like something that could develop into a legit rivalry as the years progress. Here’s a look at highlights of Wednesday’s duel; a sampling of the real-time reaction by fans, media, and players; and details on a looming rematch next month.

[lawrence-related id=56657,52150]

2021 NBA Draft: A complete tracker of every rookie shoe deal

Rookie Wire took a look at the players that have signed endorsement contracts with apparel companies ahead of the 2021-22 season.

With the start of the 2021-22 season approaching, at least a quarter of players drafted in July have inked shoe endorsement contracts with prospective apparel companies.

The endorsement deals are headlined by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham signing with Nike. The No. 1 overall pick signed what is believed to be the highest-earning shoe deal among all rookie players this year.

Prospects last season signed fewer endorsement contracts with brands due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, apparel companies worked fast this year to sign some of the top prospects with Nike and Adidas doing the majority of the work.

Rookie Wire took a look at those players that have signed endorsement contracts to this point and which companies they will be joining ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Note: The tracker will be updated as new deals are announced

2021-22 NBA rookie scale contract figures for first-round picks

Rookie Wire took a look at the rookie scale salaries for every first-round pick over the next several seasons.

The NBA on Aug. 2 announced that the salary cap for the 2021-22 season would be $112.414 million. When the salary cap was set, the salaries of the incoming rookie class were also locked in.

Contracts for rookies are each slotted based on where they were drafted. The amount is tied to a certain percentage of the salary cap and fluctuates each season. Players can sign for as much as 120% and as little as 80% of the rookie scale so each contract can be different.

While the amount of each contract is locked in, agents can negotiate different conditions for their clients. Some players will take salary advancement payments and others can negotiate when they will be paid throughout the season.

With training camp set to begin later this month, Rookie Wire took a look at the rookie scale salaries for every first-round pick over the next several seasons.

Salary figures courtesy of Spotrac

Pick Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Qualifying Offer
1 $8,375,100 $8,794,000 $9,212,700 $11,617,215 $15,102,379
2 $7,493,500 $7,868,100 $8,243,000 $10,402,666 $13,575,479
3 $6,729,300 $7,065,600 $7,402,300 $9,356,507 $12,275,737
4 $6,067,100 $6,370,600 $6,673,800 $8,442,357 $11,135,469
5 $5,494,200 $5,768,700 $6,043,500 $7,657,115 $10,153,334
6 $4,990,000 $5,239,400 $5,489,300 $6,960,432 $9,285,217
7 $4,555,300 $4,783,300 $5,010,600 $6,363,462 $8,533,403
8 $4,173,200 $4,381,900 $4,590,600 $5,839,243 $7,871,300
9 $3,836,100 $4,028,000 $4,219,800 $5,376,025 $7,284,514
10 $3,644,300 $3,826,600 $4,008,500 $5,110,838 $6,960,961
11 $3,462,000 $3,635,200 $3,808,400 $5,053,747 $6,918,579
12 $3,289,000 $3,453,600 $3,618,000 $4,985,604 $6,860,191
13 $3,124,600 $3,280,800 $3,436,900 $4,911,330 $6,792,370
14 $2,968,400 $3,116,800 $3,265,400 $4,836,057 $6,726,956
15 $2,819,700 $2,960,800 $3,101,700 $4,754,906 $6,647,359
16 $2,678,900 $2,812,900 $2,947,000 $4,520,698 $6,351,581
17 $2,544,800 $2,672,200 $2,799,400 $4,299,878 $6,071,428
18 $2,417,700 $2,538,500 $2,659,400 $4,090,157 $5,803,933
19 $2,308,800 $2,424,300 $2,539,800 $3,911,292 $5,577,502
20 $2,216,300 $2,327,100 $2,437,900 $3,759,242 $5,386,993
21 $2,127,600 $2,234,200 $2,340,600 $3,728,576 $5,372,878
22 $2,042,600 $2,144,800 $2,246,900 $3,696,151 $5,352,026
23 $1,961,100 $2,059,300 $2,157,000 $3,660,429 $5,325,924
24 $1,882,700 $1,976,800 $2,071,000 $3,622,179 $5,295,626
25 $1,807,300 $1,897,500 $1,988,100 $3,580,568 $5,259,855
26 $1,747,400 $1,834,500 $1,922,000 $3,465,366 $5,114,880
27 $1,696,900 $1,781,800 $1,866,700 $3,367,527 $4,994,042
28 $1,686,500 $1,771,000 $1,855,300 $3,348,817 $4,989,737
29 $1,674,200 $1,757,800 $1,841,800 $3,324,449 $4,986,674
30 $1,662,100 $1,745,200 $1,828,500 $3,300,443 $4,950,664

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[lawrence-related id=38327,37910,37680]

[mm-video type=video id=01febs9f38yem812nkxs playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01febs9f38yem812nkxs/01febs9f38yem812nkxs-dd27b73aac40377e51ea1e8d20140b95.jpg]

[listicle id=37550]

Photos: First-round picks wear official jerseys for the first time

The rookie class sports their official jerseys for the first time in a photoshoot from Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Summer League gave the basketball world its first look at the incoming rookie draft class and the event offered a highly competitive product on the court.

From top to bottom, the first-year players put forth some great performances throughout the festivities from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Based on some of their performances, this season should be a very entertaining one from the newest NBA players.

The event also gave us the first look at those players in their new, official jerseys. The rookies each took part in a photoshoot from Las Vegas in their new threads, which should give fans just enough excitement to hold them over until the start of the season.

Rookie Wire went through and found some of the best photos from those players selected in the first round during that recent photoshoot from summer league.

Jalen Green says he felt much more comfortable in Houston than Detroit

Though Jalen Green wanted to be the No. 1 overall draft pick, he tells Yahoo’s Chris Haynes that he prefers living in Houston over Detroit.

Though prized rookie Jalen Green wanted the prestige of being the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021, it seems he did not want the location.

In a new interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the No. 2 selection by the Rockets explained his preference for Houston as a city over Detroit — which selected Cade Cunningham at the draft’s top spot.

After working out with both franchises in each of their respective locations prior to the draft, here’s what the 19-year-old told Haynes:

I wanted to be the No. 1 pick, but as for the location, I didn’t want to be in Detroit. I felt a lot more comfortable in Houston. It felt like a real homie environment. With Detroit, it felt like I was just going back to the G League bubble, and I just got out of the bubble. That’s pretty much what it was.

In the [G League] bubble, I didn’t really have anything to do but just stay in the gym. I didn’t have any time to get away for myself. The only time I had to get away for myself was in my apartment. That’s what it felt like in Detroit. I wouldn’t be stepping outside in Detroit. There are not many things you can do in Detroit like that. You’re going to stay in the gym and then go back to your apartment.

By population, Detroit ranks as America’s No. 27 city in the latest U.S. Census figures, whereas Houston is much larger at No. 4 in the country. Michigan also has much harsher winter seasons, which is when the NBA is always in full swing, relative to the Texas Gulf Coast.

In three summer league games last week, which included an impressive win over Cunningham and the Pistons, Green averaged 20.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in just 24.1 minutes and produced shooting percentages of 51.4% overall, 52.6% on 3-pointers, and 92.9% on free throws.

That Rockets-Pistons game was unusually intense for summer league, and Green’s latest comments may add further fuel to the fire when the two teams meet again in the 2021-22 regular season. Though the franchises are in different conferences, their new star guards have competed for top honors going back to their days in the same high school class, and it appears that both are ready to keep that battle going in the NBA.

[lawrence-related id=52150,52082]

[listicle id=52039]

Why ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith prefers Jalen Green to Cade Cunningham

Stephen A. Smith: “When you’re evaluating talent, mindset is a huge deal. How bad do you want it? Jalen Green seems to be that kind of guy.”

Longtime NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith has seen his share of star players over decades covering the league. So when he was asked recently on ESPN’s “First Take” to predict who would become the better professional player between the top two rookies from the 2021 draft class, Smith’s comments drew plenty of attention, as they often do.

It’s not merely that Smith chose Jalen Green, the No. 2 selection in the first round by the Houston Rockets, over top pick Cade Cunningham (of the Detroit Pistons). What’s most noteworthy is his rationale in doing so: Smith says he sees something special in Green’s character.

Among his extended comments:

I look for three things. Obviously, I’m looking for your size and athleticism. I’m looking for whether or not you have a perimeter shot, because in today’s game that truly does matter.

The other thing I’m looking for is a want it, a go-get-it mentality. I look at Jalen Green, when he gets on the court and competes, I see a guy that seems to have a little something extra, that you don’t teach. Not just talent-wise, but he wants it bad. And he doesn’t want to just be good and win. He wants to be the reason you win. He wants to be a star.

We hear a lot of people say that, but we don’t see it when we’re watching them. I see that when I watch Jalen Green.

“When you’re evaluating talent, your mindset is a huge deal,” Smith says of Green, a supremely athletic 6-foot-6 guard who is only 19 years old.

“How bad do you want it? Jalen Green seems to be that kind of guy, and that’s what I’m noticing.”

In three summer league games, Green averaged 20.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in just 24.1 minutes and produced shooting percentages of 51.4% overall, 52.6% on 3-pointers and 92.9% on free throws. He’s expected to miss Houston’s final two games due to a sore hamstring, so the next time fans are likely to see Green on the court is when the Rockets begin training camp for the 2021-22 season in late September.

[lawrence-related id=52139,52082]

[listicle id=52039]

Former Longhorn Greg Brown III signs with the Portland Trail Blazers

Greg Brown III agreed to deal with the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

After being selected by the New Orleans Pelicans in second round of the 2021 NBA draft, former Longhorn Greg Brown III was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for cash considerations.

It was not a certainty that he would make Portland’s NBA roster, but Brown had to take advantage of the opportunity that the Trail Blazers were giving him.

On Thursday, after a few solid days in Las Vegas for the NBA summer league, the Trail Blazers announced that they had signed the 19-year-old rookie to an NBA contract.

The athletic youngster came to Texas ranked as a five-star and showed a lot of promise, but did not have the college career he was projected to. That didn’t stop Brown from seizing his summer league opportunity, and making the most out of his bench role.

In about 18 minutes per game, Brown has averaged 10 points on 54% shooting, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal per game. He has been all over the floor making plays on both sides of the ball, and the Blazers took notice. Here is one of his best plays of the summer that saw him block former teammate Kai Jones’ three point attempt, and then take the ball in transition and throw down a monster dunk.

Brown will be a very nice depth piece on a Portland team that is looking to contend in the west, unless they trade Damian Lillard.

‘It’s pretty much caution’: Rockets lose Jalen Green to hamstring issue

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas on Jalen Green’s hamstring injury: “He just felt a little tightness, so we’re going to be extra careful.”

After two brilliant games at the Las Vegas Summer League and a strong start to his third, Houston Rockets rookie guard Jalen Green abruptly left Thursday’s game versus Toronto with a sore right hamstring.

Green had started Thursday’s game with 13 points (3-of-5 on 3-pointers) and 3 rebounds in just 12 minutes, but he grimaced after a shot attempt late in the second quarter and struggled to get back on defense.

Within minutes, the Rockets issued an update that Green was done for the night with right hamstring soreness. In a third-quarter interview with NBA TV, which was broadcasting the game, head coach Stephen Silas was asked whether Green’s removal was due to caution or if it might be something more concerning than that. Silas responded:

It’s pretty much caution. He just felt a little tightness, so we’re going to be extra careful and have him back there getting some treatment. We have two days off between this game and our next (on Sunday), so we’ll see how it goes.

It’s hard for those guys. They weren’t playing a lot leading up to this, just individual workouts, and now they’re playing every other day. So yeah, we’re going to be cautious with that.

During the third quarter, Green was able to rejoin his summer league teammates on the Houston bench.

Green entered Thursday averaging 24.0 points (51.7% FG, 50.0% on 3-pointers), 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 29.9 minutes per game. The Rockets won convincingly in each of those summer league contests. Just 19 years old, the 6-foot-6 guard was picked No. 2 in the 2021 NBA draft, and he’s considered a cornerstone player in Houston’s rebuild moving forward.

NBA training camps for the season aren’t expected to begin until late September, so Green could have as many as six weeks to rest his hamstring between Thursday’s injury and when official 2021-22 preparations begin for Silas and the Rockets. However, it sounds as if the team is hopeful such extended downtime will not be necessary.

Final word on Green’s status for the remaining two games of summer league play won’t be known until the weekend, but expect the Rockets to err on the side of caution with such an important young player.

[lawrence-related id=52082,52012]

[listicle id=51527]

Usman Garuba makes his NBA debut for summer league Rockets

Within hours of finalizing his contract buyout in Spain, Usman Garuba traveled to Las Vegas to make his NBA debut for the summer Rockets.

Only two days after finalizing a contract buyout with his Spanish club team, Real Madrid, rookie forward Usman Garuba successfully made the trek to Las Vegas and joined the Houston Rockets in time for Thursday’s summer league game versus the Toronto Raptors.

Garuba’s playing time was limited after the complicated travel logistics and a lack of practice time with his new team, but he grabbed 6 rebounds in 12 minutes during Thursday’s 92-76 loss (box score).

Known as a strong, versatile defender with upside, the 19-year-old Spaniard was drafted by Houston at No. 23 overall in the 2021 first round. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, he projects as a frontcourt reserve next season behind established players Christian Wood, Jae’Sean Tate, Daniel Theis and, perhaps his summer teammate, KJ Martin.

Garuba joins guard Jalen Green (No. 2), big man Alperen Sengun (No. 16), and guard Josh Christopher (No. 24) as young building blocks from Houston’s strong 2021 draft class. All are members of the summer Rockets, who entered Thursday with wins in each of the first two games.

[lawrence-related id=51987,51564]

[listicle id=51806]