NBA Player News

While diminutive in stature, Nowell was an impressive floor general at Kansas State and that attribute was on display Friday evening. The undrafted rookie shot 50% from the field and 66.7% from three while also leading the Raptors in assists and steals (tied with fellow rookie Gradey Dick). Nowell’s path to a rotation spot will be a difficult one, but the Raptors have done a good job in the past of using their G League affiliate to develop young prospects. And if anything was learned from Nowell’s time in college, it’s that he should not be underestimated.

Hart underwent a procedure to his right ring finger due to an injury sustained in the playoffs. The 30-year-old shooting guard is expected to resume basketball activities later this summer and be ready for the regular season. It appears that Hart has avoided a significant injury here.

Milwaukee waived Livingston early this month, and now they’ll bring him back on a fully-guaranteed deal. The 2023 second-round pick hasn’t carved out a role with Milwaukee through his first two seasons, but he has been producing at a high level during summer league.

Harper only appeared in two games after dealing with a groin injury, and he played a total of 42 minutes across his appearances. He clearly didn’t need to be out there, and the Spurs decided it wasn’t worth risking further injury. David Jones-Garcia should return to the starting lineup as he continued to make a case of Summer League MVP.

Beal will have a player option for the second season of his deal with the Clippers, so if he has a bounce-back year, he could certainly decline the option and sign a larger deal next summer, which makes this a great scenario for him. Beal should start at shooting guard, likely alongside James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins and Ivica Zubac, making this one of the best lineups in the league in 2021. How well will it work next season? That’s on coach Tyronn Lue to figure out. This is certainly a fun collection of talent. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kris Dunn will likely lose out on minutes with Beal in the mix.

The expectation is that LeBron will be with the Lakers for training camp. If you follow every single rumor that happens during the NBA offseason and read between the lines, you can see that LeBron has been pulling some stunts to create some drama. But if you look at the bigger picture, there isn’t really a move that makes sense for both the Lakers and another team that LeBron will also agree to, since he has a no-trade clause. The reality is that LeBron will be a Laker next year in what could be his final NBA season.

The surprise pick in the first-round has provided plenty of optimism with his performance in Las Vegas. He is averaging 11.7 points, four rebounds, 3.3 assists and two blocks per game. Those numbers don’t pop, but he clearly has excellent feel for the game, and he also knocked down a trio of triples on Tuesday. The future appears to be bright for Yang, though it’s unclear how the rotation will shake out during his rookie season.

Rupert was fantastic on Friday and followed that up with a dud on Saturday. However, he got back on track on Tuesday after a few days off. The 2023 second-round pick has been playing as well as you’d expect someone entering their third season to play, which is encouraging. He’s a talented player, but the path to minutes in Portland is murky.

As has been the case all summer, there was both good and bad from Queen. He recorded his third straight double-double, but he now has 17 turnovers to just seven assists in three games. Queen has a lot for fantasy managers to like, but he hasn’t taken care of the ball well this summer. The upside is there, but he has a long way to go before he’s going to be a player to consider drafting.

Missi has generally looked really good this summer, but Tuesday was a rough one. He simply couldn’t buy a bucket. He was fine on the glass and blocked some shots, but 1-of-11 from the floor is unacceptable for a second-year player that shoots all of his shots at the rim. It’s unclear if he’ll continue to suit up this summer, but he likely won’t have many performances like this during the regular season.

Mashack struggled against Portland on Saturday, which was his only other appearance in Vegas Summer League. However, he had a strong performance in the Salt Lake City games, and he was even better on Tuesday. He’s a high-level defender that has also hit shots from deep this summer. There’s certainly a chance that he creeps into the rotation in Memphis, though likely in a small capacity.