OT-Clarke stakes Grizzlies to summer league crown

[Sunburn]

Brandon Clarke had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Grizzlies to a 95-92 victory Monday over the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the championship game of the NBA summer league.

Clarke, who was named overall MVP for the summer league, also had three blocks and four assists to earn MVP honors for the championship game, too. The No. 21 overall pick in the June NBA draft had four double-doubles in the tournament.

This one hurts for me a bit. When we traded down, I thought for sure we were taking Clarke.

 

[SunnyBaller]

Brandon Clarke had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Grizzlies to a 95-92 victory Monday over the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the championship game of the NBA summer league.

Clarke, who was named overall MVP for the summer league, also had three blocks and four assists to earn MVP honors for the championship game, too. The No. 21 overall pick in the June NBA draft had four double-doubles in the tournament.

This one hurts for me a bit. When we traded down, I thought for sure we were taking Clarke.

It is preseason but ya if he ends up being a stud in the NBA and Cam doesnt do good it's gonna hurt for awhile

 

[Ronin]

4 double doubles? I have not had a chance to see him but that is impressive.

 

[Chaplin]

Let’s step back a minute. He’s on par with Summer League Legend Bo Outlaw.

 

[overseascardfan]

He played against better competition in college than in Summer League. But I think he will be an impact rookie. MEM has a good trio to build around (JJJ, Clarke & Morant) but a PHX unfortunately should be a cautionary tale when it comes to building a team through the draft. You have to surround your core with complimentary pieces which is a challenge if you aren’t willing and can’t attract good FA’s.

 

[Mainstreet]

Brandon Clarke had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Grizzlies to a 95-92 victory Monday over the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the championship game of the NBA summer league.

Clarke, who was named overall MVP for the summer league, also had three blocks and four assists to earn MVP honors for the championship game, too. The No. 21 overall pick in the June NBA draft had four double-doubles in the tournament.

This one hurts for me a bit. When we traded down, I thought for sure we were taking Clarke.

Clarke is who I thought the Suns were going to draft when they traded down.

Chris Sanders was a huge advocate of the Suns drafting him.

 

[SirStefan32]

I was 100% certain they were drafting him. I turned the TV off once they passed on him. That said, this is just summer league. Cam might turn out to be a better player anyway.

 

[Chaplin]

Brandon Clarke played against nobodies the entire Summer League. He SHOULD put up the numbers he was putting up. Very few of the top draft picks even played at all.

Put into perspective, yes, we passed him up at #11, but Atlanta passed on him TWICE and New Orleans actually had 3 picks in the top 20 and they passed on him!

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Let’s step back a minute. He’s on par with Summer League Legend Bo Outlaw.

Ironically "better Bo Outlaw" was how I described him. I believe he will play a long time in this league based on his defense and rebounding

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

Suns clearly want stretch 4's next to Ayton and Clarke is not that. I was surprised Clarke fell to 21 but clearly a lot of teams had the same mindset.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Too many players have played great in SL and flopped or played poorly in SL and turned out great in the NBA. I think Cam's shooting will have us not thinking too much about what we could of had. Not to mention the sole focus of this off season was to build a team around Booker and Ayton and for those guys nothing will help more than being surrounded by shooters.

 

[JCSunsfan]

In the draft, the most important thing is that the player you chose is the one you want and you are right about him. You cannot worry about other teams getting good players too. You can't draft all of them, and even if you did, you cannot develop them or play them.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Suns clearly want stretch 4's next to Ayton and Clarke is not that. I was surprised Clarke fell to 21 but clearly a lot of teams had the same mindset.

It is going to come down to what helps Ayton more? A strong rebounder and weak side shot blocker or a stretch the floor type

 

[SirStefan32]

On offense, a stretch 4, but on defense, definitely a rebounder/ shot blocker.

 

[Krangodnzr]

On offense, a stretch 4, but on defense, definitely a rebounder/ shot blocker.

JJJ? There are so few players out there that really fit that profile.

With that in mind, I'd stick with a guy that stretches the floor first. IMO, while defense is important, the primary goal in basketball is to put the ball through the basket. To compare to other sports, I put a premium on guys who score TDs in football.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

JJJ? There are so few players out there that really fit that profile.

With that in mind, I'd stick with a guy that stretches the floor first. IMO, while defense is important, the primary goal in basketball is to put the ball through the basket. To compare to other sports, I put a premium on guys who score TDs in football.

The primary goal in basketball is to score more than your opponent. Considering the fact that the rules favor offensive players I would think the premium would be on players that can play good defense without getting called for a ton of fouls as that is harder to find. Ultimately you need to have some balance between offense and defense and can't afford to be bad at either one.

 

[Sunburn]

JJJ? There are so few players out there that really fit that profile.

With that in mind, I'd stick with a guy that stretches the floor first. IMO, while defense is important, the primary goal in basketball is to put the ball through the basket. To compare to other sports, I put a premium on guys who score TDs in football.

For what it's worth, Clarke hit 3 of the 4 3pt shots he attempted in summer league.

 

[Krangodnzr]

For what it's worth, Clarke hit 3 of the 4 3pt shots he attempted in summer league.

Not worth much.

I'm tired of the Suns drafting guys that arent proven shooters. That's why I had 0 interest in Clarke, no range.

I think it's much more likely that a good college shooter continues to shoot well in the NBA than a bad shooter becoming good.

Josh Jackson was known to not be a good shooter. Chriss was known to be a poor shooter. Dragan Bender wasn't a proven shooter.

 

[JCSunsfan]

JJJ? There are so few players out there that really fit that profile.

With that in mind, I'd stick with a guy that stretches the floor first. IMO, while defense is important, the primary goal in basketball is to put the ball through the basket. To compare to other sports, I put a premium on guys who score TDs in football.

Ibaka.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Ibaka.

And hes getting old as dirt.

Not many other guys that offer 3 point, rim protection, and rebounding.

You hope for two of the three most of the time.

 

[hcsilla]

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was the best player in SL.

I did like him very much prior the draft, and although a good performance in SL is far from guarantying anything, I still wish the Suns would have drafted him.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was the best player in SL.

I did like him very much prior the draft, and although a good performance in SL is far from guarantying anything, I still wish the Suns would have drafted him.

Yeah, I liked a few guys that looked to be available for us but my hope was that we would trade down for 2 picks that would allow us to take Alexander along with someone like Claxton or PJ Washington or Clarke. I would have also been happy with Culver early or Hayes in a trade down but preferred the idea of trading for 2 players in the teens (by moving the 6 and the 32).

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I will say that true to form, my man crush on Clarke was analytics driven.

By most models he was the player with the highest floor after Zion. After so many busts I wanted that high floor long term NBA player

Analytics are not kind to Cam, which sucks because he is such a nice kid

 

[Hoop Head]

JJJ? There are so few players out there that really fit that profile.

With that in mind, I'd stick with a guy that stretches the floor first. IMO, while defense is important, the primary goal in basketball is to put the ball through the basket. To compare to other sports, I put a premium on guys who score TDs in football.

I'd add to that that you want players who can defend at the NBA level also. Too many players come into the league with defensive potential and having won defensive honors in college but end up being terrible defenders at the NBA level. However a stretch 4 in college should be capable of being a stretch 4 in the NBA. Baskets are always 10 feet tall and even though the 3pt line is a little farther back, players can shoot or they can't.

So if you're looking to add a young player then it should be easier to find a stretch 4 than it is a defensive PF. Stretch 4's or stretch bigs can even be made out of players with size that have struggled in other roles. Look at Channing Frye as a perfect example of that. There are plenty of other bigs who added 3pt shooting later in their career after struggling trying to find a role in the league like Dedmon or Alex Len types. Adding a 3pt shot can be easier for them than adding defensive instinct. Either they can defend at the NBA level or they can't. It can't really be taught. They might have done well in high school or college because they were superior athletes and that allowed them to outshine their opponents but they lose that advantage at the NBA level.

 

[slinslin]

Brandon Clarke had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Grizzlies to a 95-92 victory Monday over the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the championship game of the NBA summer league.

Clarke, who was named overall MVP for the summer league, also had three blocks and four assists to earn MVP honors for the championship game, too. The No. 21 overall pick in the June NBA draft had four double-doubles in the tournament.

This one hurts for me a bit. When we traded down, I thought for sure we were taking Clarke.

summer league mvp means nothing

Ray Spalding literally destroyed Clarke on multiple posessions.

Hardly surprising to see that a 23 year old in summer league who is athletic and plays hard is very effective.

We will see how this holds up when he has to go up against bigger, stronger more athletic NBA talent consistently.