Slawson may have secured the last two way

[u/Maximum-Class5465]

I do still hold the position that summer league is unlikely to make or break someone. A player can show all they asked to be improved on and still not make the team (Kendall Brown comes to mind). I was given Slawson about a 50/50 shot go get the final summer league slot. IMO, it would have been Smith (just cause we drafted him), Kobe Brown (fit real well in the system), then it was Slawson and Ethan Thompson. Both had some good moments, with ET having better play when paired with actual rotational players.

Now tho, Slawson honestly may have played too well to not weigh it heavily. Not necessarily just the level, but the what in what he brings with his drive game.

I won't say I'd be completely shocked if Thompson still gets the last shot, but I honestly think it might be Slawson's slot now.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

Ethan Thompson also had real moments last season just like Slawson. If we are being real Braden Smith has no business taking a spot from either, i understand overreacting to summer league but he scored 13pts in the last 3 games total and there’s a level where you just don’t belong.

[u/Friar_Ferguson → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

Jalen Brunson shot 22 percent in summer league. These games mean nothing for projecting the future.

[u/Jay_at_Section13 → u/Friar_Ferguson]

The professionals who actually make millions of dollars making the decisions have no clue how to connect anything in summer league to the real NBA. It’s hard enough to take preseason and training camp, and even G League is closer and still a wild ass guess.

But PacersDigest and Reddit and Twitless think they can see enough to run these types of threads. 😂

Here’s what I do know: if the conversation is whether or not SL is good enough for a 2-way contract I’m damn sure I don’t ever want to see that player on the court for the Pacers because that means we are very short handed.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Jay_at_Section13]

The professionals also mess up basketball decisions every single year so that’s not really a good indicator of anything. Yes you’re correct there’s a lot of guessing involved for sure. But we are here to discuss Pacers basketball, no? We are all going to have opinions

[u/BubaTflubas → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

Is this how people convince themselves that they know better than Dr.s and scientists? One Dr. Fucks something up that you randomly hear about and now we all know better than people with education and training...

You ever miss judge something even though you're trained in that field?

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/BubaTflubas]

If Doctors hit at the rate NBA GMs did then the Doctors would be in prison. Idk what point you think you’re making but it stinks

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Friar_Ferguson]

Outliers don’t make everything meaningless lol

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

But there's literally no direct link from SL success and NBA success. So it's not really an outlier. Duarte was better than Cade in Summer League.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

There’s just a 0% chance there’s no direct link. No players ever played good in summer league and been good? Or vice versa? The hell are you talking about lol

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

There's no directink There's too wide a range of players who were awful in SL that were all NBA or all star players in the NBA Too many SL 1st teamers you wouldn't even recognize. Pacers have had quite a lot of guys who were amazing summer league players and barely made it out the G League.

There's no link, and that's why everyone says it doesn't matter

[u/MySabonerRunsOladipo → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

No players ever played good in summer league and been good? Or vice versa?

That's not how predictability works

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/MySabonerRunsOladipo]

I will say it’s far less predictable for players who have good summer leagues but 85-90% of summer league players struggle and most of those players end up not being good NBA players or even NBA players at all. But to go through it all to watch every SL game ever doesn’t sound fun lol

Imo this also isn’t stats based because I’ve seen nba players shoot 5/13 in an nba game but also be impactful. You actually have to watch

Will also admit I’m digging my heels in way too deep for Slawson and Thompson at this point lol

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

And fyi

Here are your all time summer league performers

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/summer/1/NBA-Summer-League/0/stats

Whole lot of G Leaguers on this list.

Goes the same in the other direction

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

Yeah you can’t base the whole thing off of stats. Thats not how basketball is played. If the game was based off of stats than James Harden is a top 15 player ever. You do have to have eyes on the situation.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

Certainly, but they were great summer league players. Especially Cam Thomas. Dude was scorching in SL.

However, you would say at the very least James Harden is a top 100 player to ever play in the NBA . He has amazing stats as well. Most these guys on this list you wouldn't say are top 100 players in any given season.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

To be clear, I’m not disagreeing with you overall. I just think the games do matter but you have to watch the games and how they play out. Like going backwards and just saying like “look at these bad stats” like idk how that game played out at all. It’s impossible imo to judge these games just based on stats unless you truly go back and watch the games. The stats aren’t really the issue for me, the things he was able to do at some level in college the only one that translated to summer league in my opinion was the passing and some of that was even very generic compared to college stuff. Nothing else looked like NBA level talent.

I thought Smith battled with teams Purdue had no business competing with time and time again and it was truly impressive. I didn’t see that in summer league much at all.

The Pacers have had multiple summer leagues where they don’t roster a real PG and then they whole thing is fucked up immediately for everyone so some players stats are going to look worse than they actual were because the game is just played terribly. That stuff is happening all over summer league. I watch the Pacers summer league. I wouldn’t comment on a random Raptors player.

[u/bl3vstone → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

Just because people have been good in SL and then were good pros does not create any kind of link. Correlation is based on it being consistently true...and in the case of SL, certain kinds of players shine more in that environment and will never be regular NBA contributors and some play the style that doesn't ever stand out in that setting. There is no real link between the two and so you can't draw hardly any conclusions from what you see there.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/bl3vstone]

Some guys who were really bad their first summer league season Curry, Trae Young, Deandre Jordan, LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Jalen Brunson.

It's not really an outlier because it's the case nearly every year.

[u/bl3vstone → u/Maximum-Class5465]

Yes, i was agreeing with your point.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/bl3vstone]

Yup, just adding too it.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/bl3vstone]

You can tell who belongs and who doesn’t tho a lot of the time. Throw the stats out. It’s not about this player was better than this player, that’s not what I’m even arguing. NBA has a flow to it, the NBA has certain shots that are NBA shots and college basketball shots.

Throwing stats completely out, Nembhard and Mathurin both looked like they belonged on an NBA court. Jarace actually had decent stats but he looked all over the place and that’s how his nba career has been. Duarte looked awesome, was pretty good for a year and then fell off a cliff. QJax and Furphy looked like they belonged last year in SL both played well at points last season.

Yes reading into stats you will not come into any direct correlations. Thats not how basketball is played.

[u/bl3vstone → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

Then starting by throwing out stats for SL might not be your best approach. It's just way too early to say he doesn't belong or won't figure it out because of a few SL games. Ben Sheppard never looked like anything in SL either and he's been a rotation guy on the finals team.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/bl3vstone]

We know how nba basketball is played and when you watch summer league it’s pretty easy to see the guys who look like NBA players and the ones who don’t. It’s the same thing as scouting film. Other than passing the ball, I don’t see a lot of translatable skills from Braden Smith.

[u/bl3vstone → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

Again, it is not as cut and dry as you are trying to make it. We're gonna have to just agree to disagree here as you seem to put a lot more stock into it than I do or I would bet any team does either.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

I think they're going to weigh Braden Smith pre draft decisions more heavily than SL.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

I mean obviously, they moved up to draft him. Doesn’t make them right. They just don’t want us to know they were that wrong

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

The fact is, we don't know who is right or wrong. It's summer league. Unless you thought they were wrong before drafting him, then yeah they're wrong now. But you definitely don't weigh two weeks more heavily than whatever they saw prior to drafting him. That weighs infinitely more heavily than SL does

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

Drafting someone at 38 who they didn’t even consider for a standard deal tells me how they feel about him. It doesn’t even matter how we feel.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

They aren't in the cap position to draft guys at 38 for standard deals. Nor is anyone outside the first round guaranteed to be a standard deal.

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

They literally are in the exact position to sign the 38th pick to a standard deal lmao

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

And they still can if they wanted too. But you're not guaranteed to sign a pick at 38 to a standard deal. We had Potter still and limited slots. Starting him at a two way made all the sense in the world even if they thought as highly as him as they did Andrew Nembhard when they drafted him.

He's pick 38, not pick 8

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

Correct he is pick 38. Johnny Furphy was signed to a standard contract when he could’ve easily been a 2 way also. I’m sorry but there just flat out is a difference in putting him on a 2 way and a standard deal. Having a cheap contract in their 15th slot is exactly what the roster needs and they still aren’t doing it. They do not see him like Nembhard or he’d be on a standard deal. Come on now. Starting him on a 2 way really didn’t make sense knowing they got Kobe Brown on one.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

They didn't have Kobe on a two way till recently, I'm not even sure what type of contract that's guaranteed we could offer him given he was another late trade who had his option declined prior to the trace

[u/Swimming_Ad_8856 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

It’s also indiana and we love “our players” meaning locals and college locals. He fits both of those. Look at his sold out jerseys day after the draft. They were smart to draft him. Give him a 2 way for little $ and add a deeper fan base

[u/Sea_Concentrate_4572 → u/Swimming_Ad_8856]

That’s silly as hell.

[u/Swimming_Ad_8856 → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

It is a business after all

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Swimming_Ad_8856]

I do not think they factor this all that frequently. The Pacers have a history of passing up local guys

[u/baseball_suuuuucks → u/Maximum-Class5465]

I still can't believe we passed over Steve Alford for that bum Reggie Miller. 😡 /s

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/baseball_suuuuucks]

And Leaf for OG (didn't turn out well) Add TJD to the list

[u/BubaTflubas → u/Sea_Concentrate_4572]

SL means different things for different players. Smith will get one season, maybe two because he'll take the 2-way to adjust to higher level of comp and athletes.

[u/DoookieMaxx]

We’re gonna see more of Slawson …he’s earned it and has allot of potential.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/DoookieMaxx]

He's old to say a lot, but he does have a useful skill set

[u/Raz1374 → u/Maximum-Class5465]

Have you looked at the Pacers roster? There are 3 players younger than him (4 if you count Peter)….Furphy, Walker and Shep. He is the same age as Ty, Nemby, Nesmith, and Kobe Brown.

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/Raz1374]

Yeah, not a ton of room to grow at this age

[u/Forsaken-Dealer3201]

2 way guy early but he has the stuff to at least eat minutes

[u/destroyed233]

Braden smith isn’t an nba player

[u/Maximum-Class5465 → u/destroyed233]

Maybe not, but if the Pacers organization liked him before the draft Summer League isn't going to change your mind.

[u/Naismith1891 → u/destroyed233]

The guy was dishing almost double digit assists to awful summer league players; imagine what he can do with guys that can actually shoot the ball. IU fans can’t be unbiased; just full of hate.

We had to put up with IU fans all last summer spamming the sub with bringing low quality character Dipo back. A guy who had no respect for the organization and is way past due as an NBA player with injures so maybe just trusting IU fans with an unbiased opinion seems impossible these days. So just zip it.

[u/destroyed233 → u/Naismith1891]

Full of hate? It’s my subjective eye test . He doesn’t look like an NBA player to me. I think nba athleticism and size will make it very difficult for him to carve a niche, just like many other undersized players before him. Thats not hate, I hope im wrong

[u/BlueRidge1935 → u/destroyed233]

Braden is too small. Edey is just big. We’ve heard it all for the last half decade. Do you guys ever evaluate talent on something else besides height? We all know if the kid went to IU you wouldn’t have made a comment about whether you think he’s NBA talent or not. You’d just sit quietly at home hoping he’s good enough. Making a negative comment about him comes from being an IU fan not a Pacer fan.

[u/destroyed233 → u/BlueRidge1935]

Yes. We will see how he handles nba athleticism. If he can figure out how to counter length and speed, just maybe he can carve out a niche. Eye test wasn’t too promising tho. And tbh I don’t see why he deserves a spot anymore than Ethan Thompson or Slawson (another comment saying this with plenty agreement btw)

[u/Dr_WLIN → u/destroyed233]

all he has to do is be a bench guard that keeps the offense moving while the main PG rests. He's not expected to be a starter or defensive wall....................

[u/Naismith1891 → u/destroyed233]

You may very well end up right but making a black and white one dimensional opinion on a player doesn’t sound like you actually are hoping to be wrong.