Brandon Miller:
Summer League Grade: B-
-Lack of self-creation, always going to need a playmaker on the floor with him to be effective
-Shot looking smooth, but he needs to get his release point higher as his three point attempts were blocked a few times too many
-His playmaking for others appears even better than what was mentioned in his scouting reports, could be an elite secondary playmaker in this league for years to come
Nick Smith Jr
Summer League Grade: A-
-Tunnel vision may be an issue when the shot isn’t falling
-His sloppy passing has cost a lot of good chances to score, whether it be turning the ball over, or it can sometimes cause the team to have to slow down
-Has a tight handle and good shooting mechanics, which means he will likely receive a surplus of minutes off the bench this season when scoring is required
-On ball defence is poor, mostly for a lack of effort. This was to be expected, and was a big part of why he fell to 27
James Nnaji
Summer League Grade: B+
-Will likely return to Euroleague
-His effort and hustle on the glass is admirable, and this alone is what could make him an early candidate to take the backup 5 position in the event of an injury to Mark Williams or Nick Richards
-Has shown decent playmaking ability from the low block
-Sets great screen, which really helps shooters to get open
-knows his role, and embraces it. The perfect player to coach
Amari Bailey
Summer League grade: C+
-Has shown solid flashes of on-ball defence, but his ability to keep track of his man off the ball caused the Hornets to give up a lot of open threes
-Great transition game
-Not as great a shooter as he was hyped to be, which is likely what will cost him most of his potential minutes this season
James Bouknight
Summer League Grade: C
-Showed excellent intensity on the defensive glass
-Streaky shooting, including many missed open attempts.
-Poor effort on defence. Rarely bothers to get back after being beaten by his man off the drive
-Tunnel vision problem, similar to Nick Smith Jr
Kai Jones
Summer League Grade: B-
-Great defensive intensity when switched onto a smaller player, such as a guard, but for whatever reason shows no effort when put onto bigger matchups
-His speed and vertical leap is a great asset on the break, but he struggles to make the most of his physical gifts in the half-court
-Great scored on the pick and roll
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