Tag: NBA Summer League

Rockets bringing summer standouts Matthew Mayer, Nate Hinton to training camp

With an expanded roster available through training camp and the preseason, the #Rockets agreed to contracts with 2023 summer-league standouts Matthew Mayer and Nate Hinton.

Although NBA rosters are limited to 15 players on standard contracts (and up to three two-way deals) during the regular season, teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players in the offseason. That expanded roster window continues through training camp and the preseason.

For the 2023-24 Houston Rockets, who recently wrapped up a successful 5-1 stint with a runner-up finish at the NBA’s 2023 summer league, standouts from that roster were clearly among the most appropriate candidates to fill those expanded roster roles.

So, shortly after signing Jermaine Samuels Jr. to a two-way deal, the Rockets have agreed to training camp contracts with fellow summer league standouts Nate Hinton and Matthew Mayer. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle was first with the news.

Mayer, an undrafted 2023 rookie who played in college at Baylor and Illinois, averaged 12.5 points (51.6% FG, 43.5% on 3-pointers) and 7.3 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game at summer league. The 6-foot-9 sharpshooter turns 24 years old in September.

Meanwhile, Hinton — an undrafted prospect from the 2020 class who played his college basketball at Houston — averaged 11.8 points (50% FG, 35% on 3-pointers), 5 rebounds, and 2.7 steals in 26.4 minutes. A versatile 6-foot-5 wing, Hinton turned 24 in June.

Should a prospect such as Hinton or Mayer play well enough in training camp and the preseason, Houston could certainly consider him for a spot on its roster for the 2023-24 regular season.

However, many players on camp deals will join the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers.

Ben Sullivan: Talent ‘jumps off the page’ for Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore

Ben Sullivan on #Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore (via @KellyIko): “The raw talent jumps off the page. His physical gifts, speed, athleticism, explosiveness. … I really like it.”

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With dazzling displays on both offense and defense, newly drafted rookie Cam Whitmore (No. 20 in the first round) made quite an impression for the Rockets at the NBA’s 2023 summer league.

Across six games, Houston’s athletic 6-foot-7 forward averaged 19.3 points (44.7% FG), 5.2 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in 31 minutes, and the Rockets went 5-1 en route to a runner-up finish in Las Vegas. That led to Whitmore earning MVP honors days after his 19th birthday.

The man who orchestrated Whitmore’s usage was summer league head coach Ben Sullivan, who will be the lead assistant to Ime Udoka once training camps for the 2023-24 season begin in October.

In a new interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Sullivan shared this regarding Whitmore’s encouraging summer-league play:

The raw talent jumps off the page. Like his physical gifts, speed, athleticism, explosiveness. He’s finishing around the rim, able to cut and score, shooting 3s and pull-ups and getting to the basket. He displayed a lot of different stuff. And I really, I really like it.

And he’s just so young, like he’s 19 years old. He’s going to have to grow in all areas of his game — his defense, his offense, understanding of concepts, what we’re trying to execute as a team, spacing. There’s a list that goes on and on for any young player that comes into the league.

With veterans Dillon Brooks and Jae’Sean Tate, second-year prospects Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, and the potential move of Kevin Porter Jr. due to Fred VanVleet taking Porter’s previous spot as starting point guard, the forward spots are crowded in Houston. Thus, it isn’t clear if Whitmore will have an immediate role when the 2023-24 regular season opens in October.

But even if Whitmore’s time for NBA shine isn’t this October, he’s already turned enough heads that it shouldn’t be too far away.

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Podcast: Rockets’ summer league recap and Jalen Green’s big offseason

Today’s @TheLagerLine podcast explores key summer-league takeaways for the #Rockets and why 2023 is a crucial offseason for Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green.

Sunday’s episode of “The Lager Line” (sponsored by Clutch City Lager of Karbach Brewing) breaks down all of the key Houston Rockets takeaways from a 5-1 stint at the NBA’s 2023 summer league.

Jabari Smith Jr. was brilliant in two games, sparking hope he may be ready for a breakout season in Year 2. Then, led by an MVP performance from rookie Cam Whitmore, Houston’s supporting cast was much better than expected over the final four games. That helped the Rockets avoid any downturn after Smith, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson were shut down.

With that in mind, Sunday’s show explores the various reasons behind the performance, headlined by strong coaching from Ben Sullivan and other members of Ime Udoka’s new-look staff with the 2023-24 Rockets.

The episode closes with a look at a pivotal offseason for third-year guard Jalen Green, who is joining the U.S. Select Team to participate in training camp for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Tune in!

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PHOTOS: Official NBA rookie portraits for Rockets’ 2023 draft class

While in Las Vegas for summer league, newly drafted #Rockets prospects Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore took part in the NBA’s official rookie photo shoot for the 2023-24 season.

With two well-reviewed selections in the top 20 of the first round, few teams felt a more immediate jolt from the 2023 NBA draft than the Houston Rockets. It showed on the court at summer league, and particularly in strong showings by No. 4 pick Amen Thompson (pre-injury) and No. 20 choice Cam Whitmore, who won MVP.

Even so, summer league games aren’t nearly equivalent to what each rookie will see in the 2023-24 regular season. Besides an obvious jump in talent and age, those real games also feature real uniforms, as opposed to each team’s scaled-down version worn in the summer.

There was one exception to that general rule, though. At an official rookie photo shoot in Las Vegas, the Rockets had both prospects put on their regular NBA jerseys for the first time as a professional. For Thompson and Whitmore, who are just 20 and 19 years old, respectively, it made for quite a fun and memorable day.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from that shoot, which was held on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

Pete Nance is an NBA Summer League champion

Pete Nance, a couple months’ removed from his lone season at UNC, helped the Cleveland Cavaliers with the NBA Summer League title.

When the UNC men’s basketball program brought in highly-touted Northwestern transfer Pete Nance ahead of the 2022-2023 campaign, there was a lot of hope and expectation he’d replace the production of Brady Manek from a season ago.

Manek was an integral part of the Tar Heels’ scoring attack, averaging 15.1 points per game and shooting a scorching .403 from downtown, while helping them to the 2022 NCAA Tournament Championship Game.

Though Nance didn’t live up to the hype as the top available transfer on last year’s market, he averaged 10 points per game, shot 82 percent from the free throw line and grabbed 180 rebounds.

His final college season was good enough for one team – the Cleveland Cavaliers – to give him a chance in the NBA Summer League. Cleveland is the same team his dad, Larry Nance and old brother, Larry Nance Jr., played for

Nance emerged from Summer League with the one thing he hoped to accomplish at Carolina – a champion.

On Monday, July 17, Nance helped the Cavs secure the Summer League title with a 99-78 win over the Houston Rockets, another promising, young team with lots of recently-drafted talent. This victory was a cap on a perfect summer campaign, as Cleveland finished its brief slate 6-0.

Nance didn’t play much in the victory, but he made his impact felt in limited minutes, scoring two points and adding four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

According to FanSided, Nance saw anywhere from 17-27 minutes per game.

Though the Cavs have a plethora of talent on their roster – Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan and Isaiah Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Max Strus, to name a few guy, Nance’s brief summer league stint could be enough for him to stay in Cleveland.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

How did Caleb McConnell perform in the 2023 NBA Summer League?

After being undrafted, McConnell signed an Exhibition-10 contract, participating in the NBA Summer League with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Former Rutgers guard Caleb McConnell received his first NBA action as he participated in the 2023 NBA Summer League. McConnell did not hear his name called during the 2023 NBA draft, but the former Scarlet Knight didn’t need to wait long to begin his professional career. After being undrafted, McConnell signed an Exhibition-10 contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The former Rutgers star signed a one-year deal that can turn into a two-way before the regular season begins. If McConnell gets waived before the season, he can agree to sign with a G-League team elsewhere.

While with the Scarlet Knights, McConnell received two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. He averaged 2.5 steals per game last season, breaking Rutgers legend Eddie Jordan’s steal record with his 221st career steal. He was considered one of the best defenders in the conference and the country.

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 McConnell wasn’t the top threat on offense for the Scarlet Knights, averaging 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 39.5% from the field. Also, he struggled from three-point range, finishing 20.3% as a senior.

NBA: 2K24 Summer League

Caleb McConnell’s NBA 2K24 Summer League Stats, according to nba.com
GP MIN PTS FGA FGM REBS AST STL
5 15.5 2.8 4.0 1.0 3.8 1.7 0.7

While playing with the Thunder, McConnell guided Oklahoma City to a 2-3 record, ranking them No. 21 in the Summer League standings. The former Scarlet Knight played in five games for Oklahoma City, averaging 2.8 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, two assists per game, and one steal per game.

In the Thunder’s 100-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, McConnell recorded a tournament-high eight points on four of eight shooting. Also, he logged four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 14 minutes of action.

In a 105-92 loss to the Houston Rockets, the Flordia native from Jacksonville, Florida, logged six points, ten rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block while playing 28 minutes.

McConnell saw only five minutes of game action in his final game, recording one steal before exiting the game with concussion-like symptoms against the Washington Wizards.

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10 undrafted rookies who should get offered two-way deals after NBA Summer League

Charles Bediako and Nathan Mensah should have NBA deals.

One of the greatest joys of the NBA Summer League is watching top prospects fight to keep their dreams alive.

Now that NBA 2K24 Summer League has passed and the Cleveland Cavaliers were crowned champions, this year was no exception. We saw several second-rounders outperform their draft position and other notable undrafted free agents look like potential steals on two-way deals.

But there are still several UDFA who are looking to earn their own two-way deal and potentially showed enough while on the court to receive that chance from an NBA team.

We ranked the prospects most likely to get that call from a front office.

This story used AI-Powered statistics provided by the Stats Perform database.

RELATED: 5 second-round picks in 2023 who already look like draft steals during NBA Summer League

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Spartans in Summer League: How Michigan State basketball alums performed this year

Spartans in Summer League: How Michigan State basketball alums performed this year

Four Spartans suited up this year in the NBA’s Summer League to show off their skills and earn a spot on a roster or earn minutes on the rosters they are already on.

The results this year for former Michigan State basketball players were very varied, and you can see them below.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

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Takeaways: MVP Cam Whitmore leads Rockets’ standouts at 2023 summer league

With 2023 summer league in the books, here’s our look back at key #Rockets takeaways, including Cam Whitmore’s MVP run and Jabari Smith Jr.’s complete domination.

In Monday’s championship, the Rockets and summer-league head coach Ben Sullivan fell one game short of accomplishing their goal of winning the NBA’s 2023 summer league. With a 99-78 loss to the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston finished with a 5-1 record. 

Yet, as general manager Rafael Stone and new head coach Ime Udoka watched courtside, they witnessed several positive developments over those two weeks in Las Vegas. Many may help the Rockets become more successful as they enter a self-proclaimed Phase 2 of their rebuilding process, starting with the 2023-24 season.

Rookie point guard Amen Thompson (left ankle sprain) was ruled out of summer-league play after one game, and second-year forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason (rest) were ruled out after the second. But all three made a big impression on Stone and Udoka during their limited playing time.

Meanwhile, those absences provided opportunities for other players on the summer roster —  most notably, rookie forward Cam Whitmore (summer-league MVP) and second-year guard Trevor Hudgins, who remains on a two-way contract with Houston. Both Whitmore and Hudgins made major contributions as the Rockets won three of their final four games, even without three big names.

With summer league officially in the books, here’s a look back at some key statistics and takeaways from six games in Las Vegas.

(Editor’s note: Ben DuBose also contributed to this article.)

Twitter reaction to Isaiah Mobley summer league MVP award and Cavs championship

Isaiah Mobley was the big star of the past week in the NBA. We will see if he can stick on the Cavs’ NBA roster.

Former USC Trojans star Isaiah Mobley is making headlines this summer with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs finished off an undefeated 6-0 run at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, and Mobley was a huge reason why.

The Cavs defeated the Houston Rockets on Monday night to take home the summer league title. Mobley was named the MVP after scoring 28 points with 11 rebounds in the final game.

The Cavs, in 2021, drafted Evan Mobley, who has become a defensive star in just a short time in the NBA. Now his brother, Isaiah, has exploded in a burst of brilliance and likely put himself on the map in hopes of sticking with an NBA roster. In his first pro season, he was mostly a G League player and wasn’t able to stay with the Cavs for very long. Earning more minutes in his second pro season is a key goal, but the first goal is simply staying with the big club instead of toiling in the G League for a majority of the fall and winter.

The reactions came pouring in on social media following Mobley’s huge night for Isaiah Mobley: