Las Vegas Summer League Day 2 Notes: Jonathan Kuminga is something

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LAS VEGAS – There is far too much action in the NBA Summer League to capture it all. Here is what I caught on day 2 in Las Vegas.

• Jonathan Kuminga is…

Wildly athletic. Like a different kind of athleticism.

Able to descend and can play on contact as if the defender isn’t even there.

Raw.

Not a three-point shooter. That’s not going to help the Warriors make a playoff run as a rookie.

But he’s … something,

And in a few years, the Warriors might have something special.

A Summer League game is about as insignificant as it gets, but it’s worth noting that you just couldn’t take your eyes off Kuminga, who finished with 16 points and six boards against the Magic. What you saw was a rare type of athleticism that he just hasn’t figured out how to harness yet. His sense of the game just isn’t there yet, which is probably why teams got scared and dropped him in the Warriors’ draft at No.7. But he can also make plays that impress.

It’s a project, but for a guy learning to play the game with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, it’s a crash course. Kuminga could end up being a bargain for Golden State, but Warriors fans need to be patient.

• As I said yesterday, if a player is regularly titled as a rookie and then returns to the Summer League, he should dominate (if not, that’s worrying). On Monday, Grizzlies Desmond Bane and 76ers Tyrese Maxey fit perfectly into that category – both are just too good-looking to be here.

Maxey scored 21 and looked at every player who graduated from that level. He was too quick, too savvy, just too good for Mavericks defensemen. He played with them.

Bane is too fluid and has a head start on these games, seemingly always in the right place and hitting his punches. He finished with 32 points on 10 of 19 shots in total, 6 of 8 of 3, and he would have had more than four assists if his teammates could have finished.

Bane said post-match coaches wanted him to take the ball in his hands and work on his game, and the results were top to bottom – he made good decisions, struggled to other times, but that’s what the Summer League is for. On the bright side, the Bane / Xavier Tillman pick-and-roll overwhelmed the Nets defense.

• Also on the Too Good To Be In Vegas list: The Knicks Immanuel Quickley.

Apparently Quickley is a morning person, the Knicks and Pacers had an 11am local time start, and he tore Indiana to the tune of 32 points.

• In the first half of the Bulls’ eventual loss to the Pelicans, Patrick Williams looked like a Maxey / Bane / Quickely guy after he passed that league: -Roll ball handler and scored 14 points at the break. He looked like peak Williams from last season.

Then came the 0 of 7 in the second half with three turnovers. He reminded everyone how much he still needs development. It’s still a process with Williams, but the potential is there.

• LiAngelo Ball is a draw. There was an impressive crowd for a Hornets vs Kings game on Monday afternoon, and every time Ball came up to shoot, or drive, or play any kind of game, the arena started to buzz.

Ball finished with 10 points on 4 of 8 shots, 1 of 4 of three. In the first half he didn’t seem as active as in his opener, but he found some spaces in the second half. Is Ball an NBA player? Uh… Ball is a draw. I’m not a scout, and he obviously has a few skills, but I’m not convinced by the whole package. At least not yet.

• Ziaire Williams kept his promises as a fluid athlete and had a fairly good Summer League opener scoring seven points. He has a lot of development, starting with getting stronger, but the athleticism is there.

• Speaking of living up to the bill, Davion Mitchell can now help the Kings defend the ball.

His offense was top-down, but he’s looking for teammates first and has some passing skills, finishing with nine assists to go with his 10 points.

• Devin Vassell had 20 points for Spurs against Timberwolves. He played in a 27-point game in the Salt Lake City Summer League. Just a name to watch out for for San Antonio fans as he enters his second season as Spur. Looks like he learned some lessons as a rookie.



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