There was a time not long ago that many predicted Wesley Witherspoon was destined for stardom or, at the very least, a first round selection in the NBA Draft after playing a couple of college seasons. This past draft saw 60 selections, however, and none of names announced by David Stern and Adam Silver were that of the former Memphis Tigers wing.
The 6-foot-9 small forward now has to fight the hard way to get to the NBA, beginning by playing for the New York Knicks in the Vegas Summer League. It’s going pretty well, too, as he’s scored in double-digits all three games while showing an ability to knock down jumpers that had previously been one of the knocks against him.
“He’s looked better than I expected out here,” one scout told Pro Basketball Talk on Tuesday afternoon. “There are plenty of reasons not to like him, but he’ll get an invite to training camp because he keeps showing the potential that made him interesting in the first place.”
The reasons that Witherspoon isn’t loved according to those in attendance in Vegas are that he’s a soft player that seems to refuse to put in the work to reach his potential, but that isn’t exactly the case thus far in Las Vegas. In fact, he seems to finally be heeding the advice he’s been given time and time again as he’s shown a few nice drives to the bucket, he’s shooting the ball better and he’s showing a few solid skills necessary of role players in the NBA.
Whether or not he’s able to take advantage of his physical tools on a full-time basis remains to be seen, but he’s looked better in Vegas than he has in quite awhile.