{"id":54604,"date":"2025-07-10T16:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/54604\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T16:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:55:09","slug":"nikola-topic-bronny-james-and-more-non-rookies-to-watch-at-las-vegas-summer-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/54604\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Topi\u0107, Bronny James and more non-rookies to watch at Las Vegas Summer League"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cooper Flagg is playing!<\/p>\n

OK, now that I\u2019ve gotten that out of the way, I\u2019m here to inform you that many other notable players who are not Flagg will take the floor at Las Vegas Summer League<\/a>, including several who aren\u2019t rookies at all.<\/p>\n

I know this is a shock to the system, because summer league is usually about rookies. After all, this is the first chance for fans to see how all the lottery picks will look on an NBA floor. By the time a young player\u2019s second and third seasons have rolled around, we know a lot more about them \u2026 usually.<\/p>\n

But not always. Take Nikola Topi\u0107, for instance. He is an NBA champion, and in three months, he\u2019ll play his first regular-season NBA game.<\/p>\n

The Oklahoma City guard spent his entire rookie season watching from the sidelines while rehabbing a knee injury and is only now in playing shape. Even in June, the Thunder weren\u2019t sure he\u2019d be ready for summer league.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Thunder won a championship while they had a lottery pick redshirting. It\u2019s one of many reasons why this team looks stacked for the next several seasons and perhaps beyond<\/a>. And Topi\u0107 is ready now. The 6-foot-6 Serbian took the court for each of the Thunder\u2019s first three summer games in Salt Lake City, the preamble to the \u201cmain event\u201d when all 30 teams play in Las Vegas starting Thursday.<\/p>\n

If you thought he would go through some growing pains while playing in his first games in over a year, you were right. Topi\u0107 shot 11 for 37 and had more turnovers (17) than assists (15). Bright spots included six steals, and beyond the stats, the tape showed some good stuff: Topi\u0107\u2019s ability to quickly push in transition at his size stands out, and he can make one-handed passes with either hand. That\u2019s one of the reasons it will be interesting to see him live: Size and speed stand out in person and are much harder to sense through a TV set.<\/p>\n

When I caught up with Topi\u0107 during the NBA Finals in June, he was enjoying the ride with the Thunder but champing at the bit to get on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to get in a game.\u201d Topi\u0107 said. \u201c(But) it\u2019s been amazing just to be a part of this team, it\u2019s really fun, just to be around these guys. I didn\u2019t think that we were going to be so connected and have such good chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Topi\u0107 also has a perfect mentor as a big guard in teammate Alex Caruso, who took him under his wing and showed him the ropes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdvice on a regular basis,\u201d Topi\u0107 said. \u201cMental stuff about the league. It\u2019s a new environment for us rookies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he finally gets to put some of those tips into practice, and fans will get a chance to see right away. Topi\u0107 and the Thunder will play on the first day of summer league when they take on the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

So, circling back to my main topic (see what I did there?), Topi\u0107 is the biggest name to watch of the non-rookies in Vegas, but he\u2019s not the only one. Here are some other second- or third-year players I\u2019ll have a close eye on:<\/p>\n

Johnny Furphy, Pacers<\/p>\n

An observer during Indiana\u2019s march to the finals, Furphy suddenly becomes an important player for the Pacers in the wake of offseason changes to Indiana\u2019s roster. The 6-7 Australian was an early second-round pick in 2024 on whom I had a lottery rating<\/a>. I\u2019m partial here, but we just didn\u2019t see a lot of him in his rookie season. He only played 379 minutes for the Pacers and was mostly a bystander, with just a 13.0 percent usage rate, and he only saw 10 games in the G League.<\/p>\n

This summer, however, Furphy should have a lot more responsibility and a chance to stake his claim to rotation minutes at age 20. He\u2019ll need to show he can create a reasonably efficient offense with more regular reps on the ball.<\/p>\n

Tidjane Salaun, Hornets<\/p>\n

The sixth pick in the 2024 draft was in a perfect situation for a young rookie, on a rebuilding team that needed to give him all the developmental minutes he could handle. Alas, \u201chandle\u201d is in the eye of the beholder, as Salaun didn\u2019t exactly force the Hornets to keep him on the court even in their dilapidated state. He finished with a ghastly 7.7 PER on 33.3 percent shooting from the field in 60 games<\/p>\n

He\u2019s only 19 and was in his first year over from France; the Salaun pick was never about immediate output. Nonetheless, the Hornets need to see something. This summer might give us better insight into whether the idea of Salaun as an athletic 3-and-D combo forward has real traction or is just, well, an idea.<\/p>\n

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Devin Carter drives to the basket against Cleveland\u2019s Sam Merrill. (Ken Blaze \/ Imagn Images)Devin Carter, Kings<\/p>\n

The 2024 lottery pick missed all of last year\u2019s summer league while he rehabbed a shoulder injury, one that knocked him out until midseason and left him behind the curve once he returned. Shooting and scoring in particular were problems, as he finished at 29.5 percent from 3 and 43.9 percent on 2s.<\/p>\n

Carter played as an undersized shooting guard at Providence, but his best chance of sticking at the NBA level is at point guard, where his scrappy defense and plus rebounding are more likely to give him an edge, and his size won\u2019t be a liability. But can he make enough shots and create enough space off the bounce to run an offense? We\u2019ll get a good test.<\/p>\n

DaRon Holmes II, Nuggets<\/p>\n

Summer league in 2025 can\u2019t go any worse for Holmes than 2024 summer league did \u2026 right?<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t remember, Holmes tore his Achilles tendon in his first appearance as a Nugget and missed the entire season. The stretch big from Dayton has a chance to make an impact as a change-of-pace center or big forward if he can regain the form that made him a late first-round pick in 2024, especially because the Nuggets are starved for both shooting and frontcourt quality. Speaking of which \u2026<\/p>\n

Spencer Jones, Nuggets<\/p>\n

Apologies for over-indexing on Nuggets, but we need to talk about Jones. He was perhaps the best two-way player in the league who wasn\u2019t promoted to a roster spot last season, instead returning to the Nuggets on another two-way contract. He\u2019ll have to battle his way into minutes on a talented roster that is in win-now mode, but the 6-7 forward might have enough chops as a shooter to pull it off.<\/p>\n

Jones shot 50 percent from 3 in the G League last year after making 40.9 percent his senior year at Stanford, and he\u2019s not just a one-note player. He\u2019s also an active defender who averaged three \u201cstocks\u201d (steals + blocks) per game in his 11 G League contests last season. He only got 125 minutes with the Nuggets, nearly all in garbage time, but Denver\u2019s thin bench means the opportunity could be there.<\/p>\n

Ariel Hukporti, Knicks<\/p>\n

Welcome to the most provisional roster spot in the league. Hukporti has a non-guaranteed deal worth $1.98 million, but at the moment has total roster security because keeping the 2024 late second-rounder is the only way the Knicks can stay below the second apron<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alas, that job security is only for a few months. Take a closer look at Guerschon Yabusele\u2019s deal for just south of the taxpayer midlevel exception: It left the Knicks enough wiggle room to not only sign a veteran into their 14th roster spot but also to waive Hukporti before his guarantee date in January and sign a veteran for the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

If New York cuts him in January, waits the maximum 14 days to fill the roster spot and signs a vet for the rest of the season, I have the Knicks clearing the bar with enough room to also sign a veteran to their 15th roster spot on the last day of the season. (Alternatively, the Knicks could also send cash to another team to take Hukporti off their hands and then backfill the roster spot with a veteran, something they can do as early as December.)<\/p>\n

Anyway, the best way for Hukporti to avert this outcome is to show out in summer league. No pressure.<\/p>\n

Bronny James, Lakers<\/p>\n

James has a fully guaranteed deal this year, but after that, everything is up in the air. If LeBron James isn\u2019t a Laker after this season, it\u2019s hard to see them keep riding with Bronny unless he\u2019s earned his stripes by then; next year\u2019s deal is only 50 percent guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Right now, James is threading a tight needle as a 6-2 3-and-D guy; either the 3 or the D part needs to be pretty exceptional to overcome his height and limited ballhandling. The other pathway for him to become a keeper is to improve his handle enough that he can legitimately play point guard. Historically, that\u2019s an uncommon development after age 20.<\/p>\n

James played in two games in the California Classic but only played 25 total minutes and didn\u2019t make much of an impression aside from one cool dunk; we hopefully will see a good deal more of him in Vegas.<\/p>\n

Kobe Bufkin, Hawks<\/p>\n

The rare third-year player showing up at summer league, Bufkin had a rough summer in his 2023 rookie season and has been plagued by injuries ever since, only appearing in 27 games over his first two seasons. He also didn\u2019t exactly set the league afire in those 27 contests (13-of-59 from 3, 9.7 career PER). The Hawks haven\u2019t quite moved on from him yet, but they\u2019re not exactly gift-wrapping minutes for him either. He\u2019ll need to earn it.<\/p>\n

Part of that is coming to Vegas and showing he can run an offense, get to the rim and beat shot blockers and hit enough jumpers to keep defenses honest. Bufkin has defensive potential if he can get his offense to an acceptable level, although his slight build already puts him at a disadvantage on this roster (it\u2019s tough to play him and Trae Young at the same time). Right now, however, Bufkin needs to settle the question of whether he should play at all, and whether Atlanta should pick up his fourth-year option for $6.9 million.<\/p>\n

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Baylor Scheierman could benefit from more minutes if he can prove himself at summer league. (Cary Edmondson \/ Imagn Images)Baylor Scheierman, Celtics<\/p>\n

Selected late in the 2024 first round as a 24-year-old rookie, the thought was that Scheierman might be able to help right away, given his age. That didn\u2019t play out in his rookie season, when most of his 31 appearances came at the end of blowouts.<\/p>\n

Scheierman showed a bit more promise in his 14 G League games, hitting 41.1 percent from 3 with two dimes for every turnover and will have to display that mix of shooting and secondary ballhandling in Vegas. If he can make an impression, there is a wide-open pathway to minutes on a strip-mined Celtics roster missing Jayson Tatum and a traded Jrue Holiday.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Collier and Cody Williams, Jazz<\/p>\n

Utah drafted five players in the first 35 picks in the 2023 and 2024 drafts. Other than Kyle Filipowski, can any of them play? That\u2019s the question we\u2019re hoping Collier and Williams can answer more positively this summer. (Of the other two, Taylor Hendricks is still injured, and Keyonte George is not playing.)<\/p>\n

Collier needs to shoot better and tighten up his decision-making on the ball, but he made progress last season. His best plays are outrageous, but he\u2019s still too inconsistent. Let\u2019s be honest, I\u2019m listing him here mainly so I can include this pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of particular interest, however, is Williams. A 2024 lottery pick at 10th, one pick ahead of Matas Buzelis, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s an exaggeration to say he was the worst roster player in the league last season. The Jazz drafted him knowing he was a developmental pick, but a 3.7 PER on 41.9 percent true shooting? Yikes.<\/p>\n

Filling out physically will help Williams deal with the physicality that so easily threw him off as a rookie, but he also needs to shoot and finish a lot better. The shot isn\u2019t broken, so the 25.9 percent mark from 3 is likely an outlier on the downside, but that wasn\u2019t the only issue. Williams struggles getting into pull-ups, and his half-court game off the dribble is, shall we say, still developing.<\/p>\n

The Jazz need to see some progress in Year 2, or the other first-rounders Utah brings in during this rebuild will quickly pass him. He had two double-figure games in his three outings in Salt Lake City, so \u2026 baby steps?<\/p>\n

10 more names\u2026<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to print the phone book here, but while I have your attention, let me close by circling a few other names to file away for summer league.<\/p>\n

First, five more potential guys who could take a big step up this summer:<\/p>\n