Grades: Spurs vs. Mavs - Summer League Game 5

In their final summer league game of 2012, the Spurs lost in overtime against the Mavs. Like their previous outing, San Antonio dug out of an early hole only to ultimately collapse in money time. Dallas scored the only six points in the two-minute overtime to prevail with a 82-76 victory.

All in all, it was a successful summer league run by the Spurs. While no star emerged from the shadows, they were able to get a good read on a number of prospects. Additionally, San Antonio has to be pleased with what they saw from Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph this week.

http://dailyelements.com/sl125.jpg

Cory Joseph A-
Bouncing back from a ten turnover disaster against the Heat, Cory Joseph put an exclamation point on his time spent in Vegas. At the beginning of summer league, Joseph looked more like a bust than a legit prospect. But as he showed once again versus the Mavs, he massively improved from just a few months ago. Defensively, Joseph was very strong. He pressured the ball effectively, used his length to shrink passing lanes, grabbed key rebounds and was physical when offering help in the paint. On offense, Joseph looked more explosive than usual. He used his speed much better and was able to collapse the defense off the dribble. His passing was crisp and his jumper remained pure. I thought Joseph was easily the best player on the court and I'm now excited about his future. Although I don't consider him an elite prospect, it's not very often that 20-year-old point guards play as well in summer league as we just witnessed from Joseph. Going into training camp, he suddenly has an outside shot of earning the backup point guard role. A week ago, that statement would have been ludicrous.

James Anderson C-
Goodbye, James Anderson. For three and a half quarters, Anderson was far from good. His offense was inept, his defense was porous and it appeared he was buckling under the pressure. In the fourth quarter, Anderson settled down and played better -- but it was too little, too late. Against the Mavs, Anderson again proved he's just not a worthwhile prospect right now. Physically, he's subpar for a swingman in the NBA. Skill-wise, he's also below average. Those two traits combined are his bottom line.

Eric Dawson B
Eric Dawson only played nine minutes off the bench but he illustrated the things he does well: rebounding, physical defense and smart offensive play. While he didn't dominate in summer league, Dawson also didn't give the Spurs any reason to change their opinion of him. If they liked him a week ago, they still like him now.

Tyler Wilkerson B
It was another intriguing outing from Tyler Wilkerson. The 6-foot-8 power forward showed off very good touch on his jumper, advanced ball skills on the perimeter and decent athleticism in the paint. He rebounded well, especially on the defensive end, and competed with a lot of fire. I'm not sure if Wilkerson is an NBA-level player … but he might be. It all depends on whether he's big enough and athletic enough. For his sake, hopefully a team gives him a look in training camp to find out.

Ryan Richards A
Coming into this game, it was easy for the Spurs to forget about Ryan Richards for the time being. He just hadn't done enough to warrant much thought. But against Dallas, Richards once again teased the basketball world. The 6-foot-11 Brit had a couple extremely impressive stretches. Offensively, he flashed quality footwork on the post, knocked down two jumpers, proved to be a surprisingly good ballhandler and passer, and threw down a powerful dunk for good measure. Defensively, Richards might have shown even more promise. He was able to defend well out to the three-point line while displaying a shocking amount of agility. Richards also contested shots in the paint and crashed the glass from a variety of angles. Overall, he just looks like a basketball player. His length, speed and fluid movements are a tantalizing package. And now that we actually saw Richards convert his tools into a bit of production, the Spurs probably at least have to ponder the possibility of inking the 21-year-old to a minimum deal and sticking him in Austin for a couple years.

Marcus Denmon B+
Relatively speaking, Marcus Denmon did well. He continued the aggression we witnessed in his last affair and mixed in a couple very good passes. I also thought his defense was as good as we've seen in summer league. For the first time, Denmon played with the swagger and confidence he played with in college. All that said, he's not going to make it on the Spurs roster this season. Until he converts to the point guard position, Denmon is useless to an NBA team. Hopefully San Antonio can convince him to go to Europe to begin his transition to point guard. If Denmon forces his way into training camp, he'll just end up being released.

L.D. Williams B-
Defensively, L.D. Williams is pretty darn impressive. He's short but he can overwhelm summer league competition with his athleticism. However, on the other end, Williams can't do much unless he's either wide open on the perimeter or he catches the ball in the paint.

Dwight Buycks B+
Dwight Buycks played hard and made big plays to give the Spurs a chance to win. His hustle on defense was contagious and he never hesitated to take open shots. If anything, Buycks tried to do too much at times. Though he's not making the Spurs, the Marquette product has probably earned himself a training camp invite somewhere in the NBA by doing well in summer league.

Alexis Ajinca C+
Playing only six and a half minutes, the 7-foot-2 Alexis Ajinca was invisible. Honestly, it was a fitting end to his summer league showing. Ajinca needs to go back to France and work on making more of a consistent impact.

Cedric Jackson Inc.
After playing really well last game, Cedric Jackson was back to spending most of his time on the bench. He was probably one of the best players on the team -- he just only got one chance to show anything.

Moses Ehambe Inc.
It actually became fun to see how very slow Molasses Ehambe is on the perimeter. Astounding, really.

Alexis Wangmene D
Nepotism got Alexis Wangmene all the way to the starting lineup of a summer league game. My guess is the Toros are up next.

Jacque Vaughn O
Good luck in Orlando, Jacque.

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Originally Posted by timvp

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Jacque Vaughn AWOL
Good luck in Orlando, Jacque.

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A revoir. Bonne chance. Knock 'em dead, Jacque.

Really happy with Cory's development.People here in ST were throwing the boy out of the window way too soon.
Byars is sure gone after this SL. Denmon played ok, but I am not sure SAS will give him a spot this season,maybe next season.

Richards is the most intriguing player by far and i think he is wasting his time in Europe playing for garbage teams or not playing at all.

SA should consider keeping him in USA and work with him in the D-League. He has amazing tools. He simply needs to be developed as a player. The payoff could be huge.

Elemento it seems like the Spurs were the one's throwing him out the window too soon with the signings of both De Colo & Mills.

OT loss to the Mavs? Time to win 45 of the next 49 games before a 4-game losing streak.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Ryan Richards A
Coming into this game, it was easy for the Spurs to forget about Ryan Richards for the time being. He just hadn't done enough to warrant much thought.

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Explain to me how Richards could show his game in very limited minutes. He should have been given at least 20 to 25mins a game. Even with the lack of mins, it was pretty clear he has the skill set to play in the NBA. His ceiling will greatly depend on his work ethic. I think he should be invited to training camp but I don't seem him contributing much this year but it will be a nice piece to have for the future.

I really hope Richards gets a shot with the Toros. His skill set is very intriguing.

Thanks timvp. When do we get to hear the training camp invitees?

Man Richardson dunk was just plain Nasty.....Between him and Alexis it is an easy choice Richardson by far the Frenchie needs another two years and I don't know if he has the heart to be a player.

Anderson foot injury pretty much has ended his NBA career.

CJ I am glad played good I am hoping this well help the Spurs use him to package a deal to get a big.

As far as Richardson goes if we can give CJ a contract based on potential then we sure as hell can give one to Richardson. Going to Europe is not going to do anything for his game because why invest in someone you know doesn't want to be with you. The best thing for him and the Spurs is go sign him to a cheap contract and let work with him in the D-Leauge where you can bring him up for a couple of NBA games.

If RC could find a coach who can teach bigs then he should hire them. I mean we sucked at the free throw line and he went out and hired a coach for that why not one who can coach big men? We all know Pop sucks at developing big men....

Lol timvp troll hyping CJ so he can tear him down even more later

CJ seems to have all the qualities needed to be spurs point guard.
-court vision
-speed/quickeness
-defense and good help defender too.
-shooting from the 3 pt line in
-hes even getting to the rim more and more
-work ethic

At such a young age he already seems to grasp the spurs system. He needs to work on his handles but he's got a bright future ahead of him.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by acoelho1

explain to me how richards could show his game in very limited minutes. He should have been given at least 20 to 25mins a game. Even with the lack of mins, it was pretty clear he has the skill set to play in the nba. His ceiling will greatly depend on his work ethic. I think he should be invited to training camp but i don't seem him contributing much this year but it will be a nice piece to have for the future.

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+1

Thanks for the grades sir. Looks like the Spurs have a few big men to play with if they don't go the FA or trade route.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by acoelho1

Explain to me how Richards could show his game in very limited minutes. He should have been given at least 20 to 25mins a game. Even with the lack of mins, it was pretty clear he has the skill set to play in the NBA. His ceiling will greatly depend on his work ethic. I think he should be invited to training camp but I don't seem him contributing much this year but it will be a nice piece to have for the future.

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This isn't the first look the Spurs have had at Richards or Richardson.

Joseph was named in the all-SL team:
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/0...named-co-mvps/

Richardson?... C'mon son.


what's with Spur fans not knowing their own players' names?

Cory Joseph has proven he's an NBA rotation player.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BackHome

Man Richardson dunk was just plain Nasty.....Between him and Alexis it is an easy choice Richardson by far the Frenchie needs another two years and I don't know if he has the heart to be a player.

Anderson foot injury pretty much has ended his NBA career.

CJ I am glad played good I am hoping this well help the Spurs use him to package a deal to get a big.

As far as Richardson goes if we can give CJ a contract based on potential then we sure as hell can give one to Richardson. Going to Europe is not going to do anything for his game because why invest in someone you know doesn't want to be with you. The best thing for him and the Spurs is go sign him to a cheap contract and let work with him in the D-Leauge where you can bring him up for a couple of NBA games.

If RC could find a coach who can teach bigs then he should hire them. I mean we sucked at the free throw line and he went out and hired a coach for that why not one who can coach big men? We all know Pop sucks at developing big men....

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Who is this Richardson character you speak of?

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Originally Posted by Em-City

Richardson?... C'mon son.


what's with Spur fans not knowing their own players' names?

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Even Kendall Gill was calling him that.

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Originally Posted by Thomas82

Even Kendall Gill was calling him that.

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Kendall Gill? doesn't surprise me at all

cory joseph's remergence as a contender for a roster spot just further crowds the backcourt. parker/ginobili/green/neal/de colo/mills/joseph. that's 7 players for two positions.

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Originally Posted by 024

cory joseph's remergence as a contender for a roster spot just further crowds the backcourt. parker/ginobili/green/neal/de colo/mills/joseph. that's 7 players for two positions.

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I'm thinking that even if they pick up CoJO's option, he's Toro bound for another season.

I'm curious to see who is the better candidate coming out of training camp: Joseph or Mills? I would imagine Mills would have the edge, but who knows at this point.

As for Richards, I think rolling the dice on a contract might be the way to go. And then send him to Hakeem big man camp for as long as the Dream will work with him this Summer. And then see where he's at by training camp. Not likely, but it's an idea...

Corey Joseph will be coming to training camp filled with confidence. He is gonna need it, becasue the backup job is going to be very competetive.

I think Richards should make the UK roster. And give him a shot to work with Spurs to improve his game

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 024

cory joseph's remergence as a contender for a roster spot just further crowds the backcourt. parker/ginobili/green/neal/de colo/mills/joseph. that's 7 players for two positions.

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Neal and Blair to Orlando for O'Quinn

Bonner for Howard

It's good to see Cory could be an NBA player. Too bad for Anderson, hopefully he will recover his form.

How exactly does Anderson's fracture limit him now?

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

How exactly does Anderson's fracture limit him now?

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http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190368

Switching topics..
Sign Richards.
Will he be a bust (so to speak, hard to be a bust when you are pick # 49)
Probably, but when you look at all the other players in summer league and think of their ceiling - you get into- well maybe a good back up 2 or an insurance or 6 fouls at the 5 position (or seven fouls if you are talking summer league).

I wonder how Bonner would have performed in Summer League.

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Originally Posted by Stabula

I wonder how Bonner would have performed in Summer League.

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I like tearing down Bonner as much as the next guy, but let's be real (again).

Bonner would destroy the Summer League.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by acoelho1

Explain to me how Richards could show his game in very limited minutes. He should have been given at least 20 to 25mins a game. Even with the lack of mins, it was pretty clear he has the skill set to play in the NBA. His ceiling will greatly depend on his work ethic. I think he should be invited to training camp but I don't seem him contributing much this year but it will be a nice piece to have for the future.

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You have it wrong. Richards doesn't have the skill set to play in the NBA. He has all of the physical tools, such as athleticism, length, agility, etc. It's his lack of a skill set that is the problem.

The kid has the potential to be really good I don't know if it is skill or just that he doesn't have enough experience. His talent is first round caliber I just don't think he has had the coaching he needs to be able to reach his potential.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BackHome

The kid has the potential to be really good I don't know if it is skill or just that he doesn't have enough experience. His talent is first round caliber I just don't think he has had the coaching he needs to be able to reach his potential.

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+1

He would have been a 1st round pick if not for a bad shoulder.

Have to love amateur 'scouts' talking about 'skill set' as if they are in any position to make sweeping comments like that.

In other news, Joseph made the Summer League All Star team.

Regarding the folks who were saying have Richards go spend some time with Hakeem to learn the big man game, he ain't cheap.

http://http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/amar-e-stoudemire-pay-hakeem-olajuwon-100-000-151646393--nba.html

Well screw Hakeem, what about The ADMIRAL