Suns vs Rockets 3:30 pm 7/10/17 (NBA TV)

[Mainstreet]

I must be on ignore. IT'S A TWO-WAY CONTRACT.

So what's the procedure in waiving a two-way contract.

I'm not sold on James being a 3rd PG even if he is on a two-way contract. Although I will concede the Suns coaching in summer league may be a contributor.

 

[leclerc]

A distributor who's content in his role would be a better third string PG, at least for the summer league team. I doubt he'll get much court time in the regular season.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Because why negatively impact Jackson, Chriss, Bender, etc. with a point guard who doesn't put them in good positions?

I thought they did a hell of a job negatively impacting the game all by there selves. not sure it was all James

 

[Chaplin]

For me, the frustration comes from his style of play and the way he runs the offense. He's the point guard for a summer league team with this year's #4 pick and two top 10 picks from last year and he carried himself all three games like a guy who thought he was the team's top option. It was frustrating for me and, at least from my perspective, seemed to be frustrating the other Suns players as well.

I think he's talented, but he's another guy who is much more comfortable creating for himself than for others. As a result, we had a team running isolation plays over and over again. There was no flow to the offense. Part of that is on the coaches, part on inexperience, and a lot of it on this being summer league. But it was a bigger problem with the Suns than most of the other teams I saw, and I think it starts with the point guard.

Having a guy like that with the ball in his hand for this particular team seems counterproductive.

Welcome to the NBA Summer League!

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Welcome to the NBA Summer League!

I've been going to Summer League for over ten years. I know it's far from the prettiest basketball. But I've seen plenty of teams with point guards who don't take over the game to the team's detriment.

 

[Chaplin]

A distributor who's content in his role would be a better third string PG, at least for the summer league team. I doubt he'll get much court time in the regular season.

Regardless of what we THINK the Summer League should be, point guards like that are never, ever successful in Summer League. Even TJ McConnell, who is far down the Sixers PG depth chart, but is at least an NBA point guard, didn't have great Summer League stats.

Summer League isn't even a time for GM's to suddenly say, "Woops, shouldn't have drafted that guy." Having Summer League directly after the draft has some merit, however, all these guys will have 2 months off. Training camp is where you really see what under-contract guys are made of. Mike James is one of those guys.

 

[Chaplin]

I've been going to Summer League for over ten years. I know it's far from the prettiest basketball. But I've seen plenty of teams with point guards who don't take over the game to the team's detriment.

Please prove where James is the team's detriment. That is so over the top. Our main detriment is Derrick Jones Jr. guarding the opposing point guard. Another detriment is Marqueese Chriss playing like a psychopath. Another detriment is seeing Josh Jackson's shot. Another is Bender's lack of aggressiveness. Another is the poor coaching.

As far as I'm concerned, in the context of Summer League, Mike James has been a bright spot.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Please prove where James is the team's detriment. That is so over the top. Our main detriment is Derrick Jones Jr. guarding the opposing point guard. Another detriment is Marqueese Chriss playing like a psychopath. Another detriment is seeing Josh Jackson's shot. Another is Bender's lack of aggressiveness. Another is the poor coaching.

As far as I'm concerned, in the context of Summer League, Mike James has been a bright spot.

Mike James agrees with you, quite clearly.

I can't "prove" anything. This is all opinion, as is any sports argument. All I can say is the guy gives off a bad vibe in person, the team has played poorly, and he is the guy with the ball in his hands the most.

I agree that Bender needs to be more aggressive, so when I see James waive him off and the two glare at each other and later Reed get mad because a play is meant to be run for Bender and James takes over, or James forcing up an ill-advised three that gets blocked at the end of the game I see it as being to the team's detriment.

Jackson, Chriss and Bender all have a long way to go, so why not surround with complementary players who are focused on helping them develop?

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Regardless of what we THINK the Summer League should be, point guards like that are never, ever successful in Summer League. Even TJ McConnell, who is far down the Sixers PG depth chart, but is at least an NBA point guard, didn't have great Summer League stats.

Summer League isn't even a time for GM's to suddenly say, "Woops, shouldn't have drafted that guy." Having Summer League directly after the draft has some merit, however, all these guys will have 2 months off. Training camp is where you really see what under-contract guys are made of. Mike James is one of those guys.

I guess my point is that Summer League STATS mean nothing, but that doesn't mean the Summer League means nothing. I wanted a point guard this year who doesn't necessarily have great stats, but who puts others in a position for success. A TJ McConnell type would have been great.

And yes, the coaching has been poor and Jackson's shot has been bad and Chriss (particularly in game 2) has had a poor attitude.

But James gives me flashbacks to Brandon Knight hero Ball, and the rest of the team is following suit. Because when the point guard plays selfishly, it's contagious. And the most important thing imho about Summer League is setting good habits.

It's not whether you win or lose...It's how you play the game.

 

[Phrazbit]

1. It's the summer league. A version of basketball defined by being selfish, sloppy and generally terrible.

2. This is a lot of hand wringing over a guy who will make next to nothing and will likely play less than 48 minutes all season.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

1. It's the summer league. A version of basketball defined by being selfish, sloppy and generally terrible.

2. This is a lot of hand wringing over a guy who will make next to nothing and will likely play less than 48 minutes all season.

1. There are varying levels of play. Why not aspire to more? What's the point of even showing up? The Mavericks played great and played like a team against us.

2. That's the point. Who cares about Mike James? Not me. But I do care about Bender, Jackson, and Chriss. So put in a point guard who helps them.

 

[Mainstreet]

1. There are varying levels of play. Why not aspire to more? What's the point of even showing up? The Mavericks played great and played like a team against us.

2. That's the point. Who cares about Mike James? Not me. But I do care about Bender, Jackson, and Chriss. So put in a point guard who helps them.

In regards to the Mavericks I can remember how excited Mark Cuban was when their summer league team won the Orlando championship. I bet all those youngsters will remember this and anyone involved, even NBA players who watched the tournament.

IMO, the importance of a winning mentality and team play starts from the top down. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. It's refreshing to see a owner who is 100% behind their team. IMO, the summer league has progressed where it matters how a team plays, win or not.

 

[Phrazbit]

Imo there is no point in showing up. As near as I tell the real purpose of summer league is to familiarize these guys to NBA rules... that is just about it (notice the insane amount of calls in every game). Most of these guys will never play in the NBA and none of these rotations will ever ever ever be used together.

If it was up to me it wouldn't exist... not worth the injury risk to players or the absurd overreactions by the fans.

 

[Phrazbit]

As to the mavericks as an example, their summer league features rotations older than we will run during the season. Bunch of guys who have been farting around Europe and the dleague in their 3rd or 4th summer league. It's a franchise with a bad team and almost no young players to build around so they're a natural top choice for a fringe young free agents hoping to make a real roster.

I don't care that they beat us and I have zero envy of their summer league results.

 

[Mainstreet]

Imo there is no point in showing up. As near as I tell the real purpose of summer league is to familiarize these guys to NBA rules... that is just about it (notice the insane amount of calls in every game). Most of these guys will never play in the NBA and none of these rotations will ever ever ever be used together.

If it was up to me it wouldn't exist... not worth the injury risk to players or the absurd overreactions by the fans.

This is not the direction the NBA is headed. They are trying to make the summer league into something important and expand the G-League into a minor league affiliate.

Anyone watching the summer league soon realizes many of the Suns players need the extra work. It's up to the Suns to make it worthwhile and provide the necessary coaching.

 

[Phrazbit]

The NBA is trying to follow the NFLs lead and finding ways to market itself year round.

I buy the Dleague as a developmental tool, not the summer league.

 

[Chaplin]

This is not the direction the NBA is headed. They are trying to make the summer league into something important and expand the G-League into a minor league affiliate.

Anyone watching the summer league soon realizes many of the Suns players need the extra work. It's up to the Suns to make it worthwhile and provide the necessary coaching.

I think you are overinflating the importance of the Summer League. I think you are correct about the G-League, but not the Summer League.

 

[Chaplin]

The NBA is trying to follow the NFLs lead and finding ways to market itself year round.

I buy the Dleague as a developmental tool, not the summer league.

Absolutely.

 

[Chaplin]

1. There are varying levels of play. Why not aspire to more? What's the point of even showing up? The Mavericks played great and played like a team against us.

2. That's the point. Who cares about Mike James? Not me. But I do care about Bender, Jackson, and Chriss. So put in a point guard who helps them.

The Mavericks, due to their Orlando experience, have been playing more together for longer. That's it. These are still guys auditioning for a job. If they are a scorer, they are going to try like hell to score. If the coaches don't tell James, for example, to run the team, not shoot all the time, maybe he'll do that. But as far as I can tell, there has been little, if any, coaching in the Summer League.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think you are overinflating the importance of the Summer League. I think you are correct about the G-League, but not the Summer League.

I think summer league is what one makes it.

Jackson, Chriss, Bender, Reed and Jones Jr. all need playing time from what I have seen.

You can argue the Suns have not made it a valuable learning experience and this may be close to right.

The Suns should have been a dominant team in summer league based upon talent.

 

[Krangodnzr]

You can argue the Suns have not made it a valuable learning experience and this may be close to right.

The Suns should have been a dominant team in summer league based upon talent.

It can also be argued that experience can trump talent alone.

 

[Mainstreet]

It can also be argued that experience can trump talent alone.

Indeed this can be argued and true is some cases.

However, Chriss and Bender and Jones Jr. have a year under their belt and James has been playing overseas. And Josh Jackson plays like a veteran.

The Suns do seem a bit weak on the boards and did not come into summer league as organized as some teams like the Mavericks.

Anyway, it's all good. Go Suns!