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Summer School Grades
Posted by: Van on July 17th, 2012
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.In less than a short week the Orlando Summer league has come and gone, and in its wake has left us with more questions than answers. Still, it did provide a small window of insight into the upcoming season of Utah’s young nucleus of players. As you read a few things to bear in mind would be:
- Grades will only be given to players who will most likely make the Jazz roster
- Grades are purely based on the 5 summer league game performances
- Grades are not an overall indictment of a player’s talent or potential
Alec Burks
| MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | OFF | DEF | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| 26.8 | 0.450 | 0.143 | 0.886 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 17.2 |
Of all the players on the Utah Jazz summer league roster, Burks generated the most media buzz and rightfully so. At times Burks looked like a man among boys, as he should considering his draft pedigree and talent. The problem with Burks play is at times it can be so uneven, seemingly pouring it on then suffering stifling droughts. If not for a slow start versus Detroit and a poor showing against OKC, Burks would have easily aced the exam, but sadly it was not the case. Burk’s strongest aspect of his game was his ability to finish at the basket and draw fouls, averaging nearly 5 free throws per contest and shooting 88.6 percent from the stripe, although his shooting from behind the arc was painful.
Grade: B +
Enes Kanter
| MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | OFF | DEF | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| 26.0 | 0.500 | 0.000 | 0.667 | 2.8 | 6.0 | 8.8 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 10.4 |
Kanter’s first showing during the Orlando summer league was really a performance to forget. Conveniently enough, Kanter seemed able to banish it from his memory as what followed from the young Turkish center was far more impressive over the remaining 4 game course. As each game progressed, Kanter’s ability to produce on the court seemed to grow in equal measure with his most impressive effort coming in a losing effort against Oklahoma. Kanter’s offensive game is still a work in progress as he flashed his up and under move as well as a few attempts at some hook shots, and as always was able to dominate the boards while shooting a respectable 50% from the floor. While many expected Kanter to be more dominant against the lesser summer league competition, it’s important to keep in mind that Kanter is still an exceptionally young player drafted as a work in progress, and we are still just two short months removed from the 2010/2011 season.
Grade: B
Kevin Murphy
| MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | OFF | DEF | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| 22.6 | 0.425 | 0.250 | 0.875 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 8.6 |
As the newest member of the Utah jazz, Kevin Murphy was not unlike some of the other players mentioned above, that started slow out of the gates but progressed throughout the five game series. Many analysts are eager to see if Murphy can translate his smooth shooting stroke and scoring acumen from Tennessee Tech to the NBA, and the summer league gave us a small window into Murphy’s potential. Murphy’s role was varied a bit over the course of the summer league games, but in large the coaches wanted to see if he could hit the spot up jumper, and create some space for himself without the ball in his hands, which he did with relative success. As Murphy found his rhythm, more of his shots began to fall, especially in the final contest against Oklahoma, where Murphy went 2-3 from behind the arc.
Grade: C +
DeMarre Carroll
| MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | OFF | DEF | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| 15.3 | 0.294 | 0.000 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 3.7 |
Carroll was actually unable to play the full five game set because of injury but he did log significant minutes in two of Utah’s first games. Carroll was seemingly able to elevate his level of play last year and earn a significant role on the Utah Jazz roster late in the season; sadly he was unable to carry that momentum into the summer league. Carroll’s first two appearances in the summer league were largely uninspiring and left much to be desired. DeMarre struggled badly with his shot and failed to make many of the energy plays many of us were so accustomed to seeing Carroll make over the course of last season.
Grade: D (inc)
Replies: 12
Views: 482
12 Responses
Good post Van. Love the tables! And I completely agree with your assessment.
great post!
And no appearance in vegas? really??? whats up with the decision for that. Summer league is a great time for Burkes, kanter and Evans to get experience and gel for that 2nd unit and play against future competition.
@ Nick
thanks, although for some reasone the tables really mess with the text, the more I attempt to fix it the worse it gets!
@ Jazzed
I think they should really look at extending the number of summer league games to give these guys more of an opportunity to show what they have. Five games really isnt enough, and usually guys are just starting to get it together and gel by the fifth game, thanks for the feedback.
Awesome post Van, great format here, all looks good on my end. I agree with the assessments for the most part, though it’s a small sample size that we’re looking at so it’s all to be taken with a grain of salt (for instance, the 3p% from Burks was on what, 14 attempts?). When it comes to Carroll, DeMarre I see, DeLess I like.
So Chris….if you could sign AK47 for say, the full midlevel (about $5M) for 3 years, and he’s our backup SF instead of DeMarre, would you do it?
Also, excellent post, Van.
KC: Yeah, maybe a smidge less than the full mle. It would be an easy yes at the mini-mle (3.33m). Maybe it’s a no at the full MLE but it’s really a close call. Hard to say where Andrei’s game is at this point, since playing in Euroleague is only a similar level of competition to high level US college ball.
What about ronnie brewer.
@ Chris
agreed, its really hard to learn to much of anything from the players with such a small sample size.
@ KC
I would do it, I really beleive that by the time you are in your fourth year as a player, you are who you are. DeMarre is a great energy guy but I’m not really sure what else he brings outside of that. As for AK I have been hearing he is playing the best basketball of his career right now in Russia, not sure if thats true or not but he would be a definite upgrade over Carroll.
@ Logan
I think we are pretty set with our sg rotation with Hayward, Burks and Murphy (as a sg/sf), not sure if we have the minutes for another wing guy.
I thought Jeremy Evans played pretty darn well for a guy that wasn’t expected to participate at all. I see him having more of a long term future in the NBA then DeMarre Carrol. If Jeremy could just develop a decent mid-range jumper, he would demand more playing time. He’s a good rebounder, solid defender, decent passer, and we all know what he can around the rim.
Logan: The problem with Ronnie Brewer is how poorly he fits our needs. The guy is a tenacious defender and can play either wing position with speed and wingspan to spare, but we need guys who can space the floor, and Brewer isn’t it (doesn’t have a great baseline cut, almost nonexistent deep threat as a career 66-271 3P shooter). AK isn’t a great 3P shooter (31.2% career, though about 35% in his last 4 NBA years) but at least more of a threat and with a quick first step on his cuts. It’s funny, Gordon Hayward is like a better-shooting, worse-defending AK. Their strengths are similar (open deep shooting, first step, help defense) as well as their weaknesses (covering their man, multiple offensive moves).
I have big doubts about AK’s defense as he ages, since has defensive strength was based more on explosiveness than fundamentals, more so than almost any player in the NBA. I actually think that his offensive output would be exemplary for a 5m/year guy, but I’m not sure he can defend anymore at this point. Even in 10-11 with us at age 29 there was clear deterioration in his defense. Anyway, he’s still only 31, far from a dinosaur, but some players age faster than others, and his game is the type to get degraded by age quickly.