The Boys of Summer League
July 10th, 2009 | by Garrett Wilson |For reasons beyond my comprehension, the Vegas Summer League is a major event in the NBA off-season. Despite the fact that the rosters are composed largely of hopeless NBA hopefuls mixed in with a smattering of recent draft picks. I suppose the euphoria for this week-long tournament for nothing is largely driven by fans hoping to catch a sneak peek of their favorite team’s newest draft day additions with the off chance that an undrafted diamond in the rough can be discovered along the way.
Well, Laker fans… don’t hold your breath this summer. The only draft pick playing for the Summer League Lakers is second-round pick Chinemelu Elonu who is so raw that he makes sushi look well done. Even if Elonu is the second coming of Elgin Baylor, he has pretty much zero chance of seeing any kind of playing time this summer, assuming he can even make the opening night roster.
The only other familiar face on the Summer League roster is Adam Morrison and his mustache. Morrison’s sole goal will be to prove to the Lakers that his knee is healthy again and his game has recovered. Or at least that is what Morrison is hoping to do. The Lakers, probably not so secretly, are hoping Morrison demonstrates that he still has some potential so that he has more value on the trade market outside of his expiring contract.
The entire Lakers’ Summer League squad looks like this:
| Num | Player | Position | Height | Weight | From |
| 50 | Aron Baynes | C | 6-11 | 270 | Washington State |
| 23 | Tony Gaffney | F | 6-8 | 220 | Massachusetts |
| 14 | Terrel Harris | G | 6-5 | 190 | Oklahoma State |
| 30 | Ben McCauley | F | 6-8 | 235 | North Carolina State |
| 10 | Taylor Rochestie | G | 6-1 | 185 | Washington State |
| 15 | Alan Anderson | G-F | 6-6 | 223 | Michigan State |
| 11 | Dominique Coleman | G | 6-3 | 190 | Colorado |
| 41 | Chinemelu Elonu | F | 6-10 | 240 | Texas A&M |
| 1 | Justin Hawkins | F | 6-7 | 220 | Oregon State |
| 35 | David Monds | F | 6-8 | 240 | Oklahoma State |
| 6 | Adam Morrison | F | 6-8 | 205 | Gonzaga |
| 55 | Luke Schenscher | C | 7-1 | 260 | Georgia Tech |
| 20 | Mustafa Shakur | G | 6-3 | 190 | Arizona |
For all intents and purposes everyone besides Elonu and Morrison are auditioning for everyone but the Lakers since LA is already over their alloted 13 player limit (assuming Odom re-signs) as set by Mitch Kupchak. That doesn’t leave any room for any of these youngsters and journeymen to make the team even if they go wild and light up the Summer League.
So, sorry to ruin your fun over these five games, but that’s just the truth.
Tags: Adam Morrison, Analysis, Chinemelu Elonu, Summer League
