The Detroit Pistons’ offseason moves into the next phase tonight when they will take on the Orlando Magic in the first game of Summer League.
The game will be shown on ESPN and will showcase a lot of young talent, including Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and rookies Ausar Thompson, Marcus Sasser, Anthony Black and Jett Howard.
We expect some of these players to turn into stars, or at least role players, so if they have big games, no one will be surprised. But nearly every year in Summer League, there is at least one player that no one has ever heard of who has some big outings and convinces fans that he’ll be a contributor on an NBA roster.
Usually the Summer League legends are never heard from again. Recent examples include Tyler Cook, Luka Garza and who can forget the great Henry Ellenson?
Hopefully one of these guys will eventually turn into an NBA rotation player, as the Detroit Pistons have yet to really hit on an undrafted or two-way guy in the Troy Weaver era. So will there be a Summer League legend this year?
Detroit Pistons: Who will be this year’s Summer League legend?
My guess is Tosan Evbuomwan, an undrafted forward out of Princeton who the Pistons signed to an exhibit 10 contract this offseason.
Summer League games usually devolve into up and down battles with a lot of sloppy play and turnovers, so players who thrive on the break and making plays in transition usually do well. Evbuomwan is one of those guys, as the 6-foot-7 forward loves to grab rebounds and initiate the break going the other way.
I could see him being involved on both ends of some highlight-reel alley oops, as he is an underrated passer, logging more than 300 assists in his final two seasons at Princeton while mostly playing from the point-forward position.
He may not get run right away, but I expect we’ll see a heavy dose of Evbuomwan as Summer League progresses and some of the main guys hit the bench.
Another option is nepo-baby Buddy Boeheim, who did start to get hot shooting the ball in the G-League last season. I could see him putting up a monster game or two in the Summer League, though he’s not fooling anyone with that defense.
While Summer League is a great chance to see some young prospects try to fight their way into the league, it’s important to keep things in perspective. Most of these guys are not going to play in the NBA, and the ones who will are not busts if they have a bad game.
But as we know, social media doesn’t work that way, so I am sure we’ll see some candidates for this year’s Summer League legend before they promptly disappear and are never heard from again.