With little-to-no big name free-agents left on the board, the NBA has shifted into the dog days of summer. These next two months are when the superstar players take their time out of the limelight, relax, and hopefully improve their games for next season.
Not a lot of action for the superstar players (unless you’re playing in the Drew League in L.A. or trying out for Team USA in Vegas) means a chance for the undrafted or unsigned players to put themselves on the NBA map — or an NBA roster.
Before we focus on the unknowns, let’s catch up on what’s been happening in Vegas, where Team USA looks to fill a few roster spots for the 2014 World Cup team:
USA Basketball is hosting a four-day mini-camp to get a look at a few young players they believe can take the torch from LeBron James, who rumored to be done with Team USA Basketball. A few of those players include: Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, John Wall, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes, all of whom have a few highlights to share from their week out west. More from Dan Devine of Yahoo! Sports:
USA Basketball’s four-day summer mini-camp in Las Vegas closed up shop Thursday night with an intra-squad scrimmage that split the 28 young players vying for a slot on the U.S. men’s national basketball team and gave them an opportunity to state their cases for inclusion on America’s 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster.
Devine compiled a few highlights to view, and a few of the more impressive ones come from Davis and Irving, who both seem to be locks to make the team.
This play defines the ceiling of Anthony Davis. What other 6-11 forward/center in the NBA is capable of making that caliber of a block, leading a fast-break and delivering at the rim? All in one swift motion.
Speaking of possessing rare athletic ability, next up is John Wall. You’ll see Wall put on a spin move at warp-speed, dish out to the open Klay Thompson, and then finish the play with a put-back slam (off a completely vertical leap no less). He’s a point guard. And soon-to-be an $80 million man.
Like Wall, Harrison Barnes is another interesting young player. He’s had quite the fascinating career-arc, and he’s only heading into his second professional season. He’s gone from heralded recruit and Kobe comparisions to overrated, to underrated, to overrated, to a surprisingly great NBA rookie.
What’s next?
Devine notes that, while all of the above is impressive, the best body of work during the Team USA scrimmage was Kyrie Irving. Irving made rumbles last year as the most impressive player, and that was during camp with the A-team. This year, amongst his younger piers, Irving stood above the rest. He scored 23 points and dropped seven assists in just 19 minutes of work, but this highlight reel make it seem as if he was controlling every minute of the game. Enjoy.
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