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USA Today
3 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 Summer League thoughts: What Ajay Mitchell, others did to stand out
Usually, the NBA champion has little to look forward to in the Summer League. With low draft picks, they spent the two-week extravaganza rewatching playoff highlights on their way to the Larry O'Brien trophy. But the Oklahoma City Thunder remain an exception to the rule. The Thunder had a productive Summer League. They played eight games in Utah and Las Vegas. Nikola Topic's debut after sitting out last season recovering from a torn ACL was worth the watch. The Thunder lost to the Charlotte Hornets in the playoff semifinal. Reflecting on the 2025 Summer League one last time, let's give one quick thought for the 16 players that suited up. Thunder Wire will divide the entries into three separate articles: Ajay Mitchell A couple of weeks removed from playing in the NBA Finals, Mitchell entered the Summer League as a player who knew he was too good to be there. The 23-year-old was the Thunder's undisputed top scorer. He averaged over 20 points and constantly drove to the rim. You have to be encouraged by the free-throw numbers. Mitchell received plenty of calls at the Summer League. That's always the next step of a scorer. If he can carry that over to the regular season, he has a real chance to pen himself into the rotation and stick out from other bench players. Branden Carlson After missing time from an ankle sprain, Carlson suited up for the Thunder's final three Summer League games. It didn't take long for the two-way player to dominate the competition. He averaged 15 points and six rebounds. The seven-footer used his size to finish inside and knocked down his catch-and-shoot looks. Carlson is the perfect player to have on your two-way deal. The 26-year-old can stretch the floor in a minimized NBA role. In the G League, he can put up numbers and destroy the competition. Easy to see why they brought him back on a two-way deal. Chris Youngblood Speaking of two-way deals, Youngblood made a strong case for the Thunder to give him the final spot. The 23-year-old was the best of the undrafted rookie bunch. As the event progressed, he gained more minutes and even received starts. The outside shot is his bread and butter. Youngblood shot 52% from 3 on five attempts at Vegas. The numbers are eye-popping, but the type of outside attempts he took was also impressive. He took catch-and-shoot looks but also created off the dribble. He was an active movement shooter. His quick release gave him plenty of spice on his attempts. Zack Austin While he was in the rotation, Austin didn't have an impact. He was given a start but didn't do much with it. The stats weren't pretty, but it's tough to take much away from them with such a small sample. Maybe he showed enough in the predraft process to stick around. Austin went undrafted out of Pittsburgh. He could try to get a G League spot elsewhere, but tough to see the Blue sign him from the little he showed in the Summer League. Let's see what the rest of the offseason looks like for him. Maddy Sissoko Given the first few starts because Carlson was out, Sissoko struggled to take advantage of the opportunity. Instead, foul trouble was what he was most known for. Which isn't great considering the Summer League allows players to commit 10 fouls. Sissoko is an undersized center. He's also not athletic enough to overcome that. That puts him in an awkward tweener spot. It was a subpar Summer League for the undrafted rookie. He saw his playing time dwindle by the end of the event.
NBC Sports
8 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Blake Wesley agrees to join Portland Trail Blazers on one-year contract
The Washington Wizards' motivation in waiving Marcus Smart and Blake Wesley is clear: They saved about $8.2 million with the moves. Smart quickly reached terms to join the Los Angeles Lakers once he cleared waivers. Now Wesley has found a home, joining a number of other talented young guards with the Portland Trail Blazers, a story broken by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. This will be a fully guaranteed one-year contract, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report confirms. Wesley is the former Notre Dame star who was drafted No. 25 overall in 2022 by the San Antonio Spurs, where things just never clicked as hoped. Wesley's minutes dropped each season with the Spurs, last year getting in 58 games at 11.8 minutes a night, averaging 3.7 points and two assists a game. Part of the challenge is the 6'5" guard shot 29.3% from beyond the arc last season (which is pretty much at his career average). For Portland fans looking for reasons to be optimistic, Wesley is just 22 years old, shot 35.9% from 3-point range for the Austin Spurs in the G League, and he's a solid to plus defender. Portland is largely set in their guard rotation with Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe (Damian Lillard is on the roster but will sit out this season recovering from his torn Achilles). Wesley is more of a deep bench guy, but he'll get his chance, and on a minimum contract, this is a low-risk roll of the dice by Portland. Wesley also makes 15 guaranteed contracts for the Trail Blazers, their roster is set.
Miami Herald
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Keshad Johnson leaves summer league with a clear objective ‘to crack the Heat's rotation.' Can he?
After spending most of his rookie season in the G League, Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson has something to prove this offseason. 'The goal is to crack the Heat's rotation and prove that I belong on the floor,' Johnson said, as he prepares for his second NBA season. Johnson had an opportunity to show off his growth and improvement in recent weeks during summer league, averaging 12 points, five rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 22 of 44 (50%) from the field and 5 of 19 (26.3%) from three-point range in five summer league appearances for the Heat. As one of three players on the Heat's summer squad on the Heat's NBA roster last season, Johnson also served as one of the leaders for Miami's summer league team this year. 'Just hoping to prove that I got better throughout the year and that I learned a lot, that I'm more poised, that I'm a leader,' Johnson, 24, said of what he wanted to showcase during summer league. It wasn't perfect for Johnson, who struggled in one of his five summer league games to total just five points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and 0-of-5 shooting from three-point range in the Heat's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 13 in Las Vegas. He also shot under 30% from behind the arc during his five summer league appearances. But there was more good than bad for Johnson in summer league, especially on defense. The athletic 6-foot-6 and 230-pound Johnson totaled three steals and nine blocks while displaying his ability to guard multiple positions during summer league. 'The game is slowing down on defense,' said Johnson, who was the featured guest at Jr. Heat Basketball Camp at SLAM! Miami charter school and Cooper City High School on Tuesday. 'Being able to make the right reads, being able to just slow down and see schemes that the offensive team is using so I can kind of jump the gun sometimes. Just being more experienced overall.' But Johnson knows improvement is still needed in other areas of his game to earn consistent NBA playing time. To become the three-and-D forward some project him to be, he will need to continue to work on his three-point shooting after making just 30.4% of his threes in 32 G League games last season and also struggling to hit threes at an efficient rate during this year's summer league. 'You got to be able to make open shots, be able to be the release for the other guys when they're getting doubled,' Johnson said. 'Being able to take advantage of all open opportunities. That's what the game is coming to these days, being able to make an open three-point shot. So if I can just do that, it will be hard to keep me off the floor.' Johnson has a solid foundation to build on after impressing in the G League with averages of 17.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game with the the Sioux Falls Skyforce last season. However, Johnson's NBA playing time with the Heat was limited. He appeared in just 16 NBA games last regular season and logged double-digit minutes in only three of those NBA regular-season appearances. 'He's just got to continue to do what he's done,' Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Eric Glass said when asked what it will take for Johnson to get consistent NBA playing time. 'We had a heavy load of guys ahead of him in terms of [Nikola Jovic], [Jaime Jaquez Jr.], [Haywood Highsmith] and then Kyle Anderson and then Bam [Adebayo] playing the four. 'So there were a lot of guys ahead of him, and that wasn't anything really against what he was doing. But he's just got to stay ready, continue to do what he's doing. He's been a rock for us on defense. Offensively, we found ways to get him a little bit more involved in actions. He's not an on-ball guy. But he's a good screener, good catch-and-go, good three-point shooter. And when he gets in transition, that's where he really can be special. So we're trying to highlight those things for him. But he just has to stay steady with what he's doing.' What feedback has Johnson received from Heat coaches this offseason? 'Just build on who I am already,' Johnson said. 'Be that effort guy, be that effort guy throughout the whole game.' After going undrafted out of Arizona last year, Johnson doesn't care what it takes. He just wants to prove he deserves more NBA minutes this upcoming season. 'I'm just a winner. Whatever that takes,' he said. 'Whether it's three-and-D, whether it's getting down there and bumping with bigger guys, whatever it takes. I'm just trying to be whatever puts the team in the best position to win. That's who I am and that's who I want to be.' The Heat believes Johnson can eventually become that player, recently opting to guarantee his full $2 million salary for next season. 'They've invested in me,' Johnson said. 'So that must mean they see something in me. So I just got to prove them right, prove them right, make sure they didn't make the wrong decision.'
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Lakers to sign Christian Koloko, Chris Manon to two-way contracts
After getting former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to agree to sign a two-year contract, the Los Angeles Lakers made a couple more minor roster moves on Monday. During NBA summer league play, they got a look at some of their young players. Guard Bronny James, after a slow start, put forth some promising play on both ends of the court, and forward Darius Bazley played some high-energy basketball until he suffered a leg injury in the team's penultimate game. On Monday, the Lakers decided to sign center Christian Koloko and wing Chris Manon to two-way contracts. Koloko was with them during summer league play, while Manon suited up for the Golden State Warriors. Koloko was a second-round draft pick in 2022 after three seasons at the University of Arizona. He missed all of the 2022-23 season due to a blood clot issue, and in 37 games with the Lakers this past season, he averaged 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 9.2 minutes a game. While in the G League, he put up 14.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per contest. He had originally signed with L.A. on a two-way contract last summer. Manon, who went undrafted in last month's NBA draft, averaged 11.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals in 18.1 minutes a game during the Las Vegas summer league. He isn't a 3-point shooting threat, but at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, he hustles and plays hard on the defensive end and has a strong motor. On Sunday, the Lakers waived guard Jordan Goodwin, whom they had called up from the G League at midseason. Perhaps Manon will essentially be Goodwin's replacement as far as a high-motor wing they will look to develop.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Boston Celtics reportedly signing guard Hayden Gray to Maine Celtics
The Boston Celtics are reportedly signing guard Hayden Gray to the roster of the Maine Celtics after a promising stint with the Sin City Celtics in the NBA's 2025 Las Vegas Summer League, per Celtics Blog's Noa Dalzell. Gray last played for the University of California, San Diego as he led the NCAA last season in steals with 3.1 per game to go along with 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. He likely secured a spot with the Celtics' G League development squad on the strength of his defensive play with the Summer Celtics in Vegas, but also showed flashes of a more complete player. It was just one performance, but in it, the San Diego, California native put up 7 points, 2 rebounds, and as many assists and steals plus a block off the bench in 20 minutes of playing time. Gray shot 3-of-4 from the floor overall, and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, with no trips to the free throw line in his limited run. "I've pretty good anticipation, reading the ball handler's eyes, knowing where they want to go with it," said Gray to Dalzell earlier this week. "I take pride in defense. A lot of teams are really focusing on creating more possessions, and I think I can do that by causing turnovers and also just being a floor general, handling the ball, and setting the table for everyone." If he can get anywhere close to the 39.5% from deep that he shot in his two seasons in college at the NBA level, we might be seeing Gray outgrow Maine. And while it is far more likely he will end up on another NBA roster or in another league, he is an intriguing talent to have in Boston's G League development pipeline. Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on: Spotify: iTunes: YouTube:
