The Hive Sports

by Alma Bean

Feature Image by Rick Bowmer of AP Photo

One of the first signs of the new NBA season is the trials of Summer League. With the California Classic already underway, the next event to start is the Salt Lake City Summer League. Each year since 2015, Salt Lake City has hosted four teams before they make their trip to Las Vegas for the main event. Below are the players you should keep an eye out for this year’s event in Salt Lake.

Memphis Grizzlies

With Memphis releasing their summer league roster just 24 hours before their first game, there is still plenty of names to keep an eye out for over the next three days. First thing to notice is that on their 14-man roster, six of the players were apart of Memphis last season to some capacity. The biggest names of those guys are GG Jackson II, Jake LaRavia and Scotty Pippen Jr. with Jackson being one of the surprises of last year’s draft class and LaRavia and Pippen Jr. both going into their third season. Memphis being plagued by injuries last season gave many young, hungry players the opportunity to show off their skills as an NBA player. Though these three athletes stood out amongst the rest, they’re in need a little fine tuning to their craft to stay on an NBA roster.

Even with a roster containing six players that have NBA minutes under their belt, many will be eager to see Memphis’ rookie talent. Memphis made three selections in the 2024 NBA Draft selecting Zach Edey, Cam Spencer and Jaylen Wells. Spencer and Wells are proven shooters from college that are willing to catch and shoot with no hesitation which Memphis was lacking in last season. If these second-round picks can impress enough front office members during the summer, Memphis might have some heat coming off the bench early in the season. Edey on the other hand has shown that when he’s on the court, the paint will be protected with ease. What has been surprising to most is his production during the NBA Combine showing that he has the ability to stretch the floor which has not been shown during his time at Purdue. Will be intriguing to see if the Memphis coaching staff will be willing to experiment with Edey’s floor spacing on offense with his roster spot already guaranteed.

For the locals, there are two players on Memphis’ roster that might catch their attention. Former Utah Ute center Timmy Allen will make his return to Utah after transferring to Texas starting in the 2021-22 season and the other is backup point guard for the Salt Lake City Stars Isaiah Miller. Allen earned his first NBA minute last season with Memphis as injuries continued to stack up for them as he played in five games averaging around 25 minutes per game. Miller is still waiting for his call to the NBA as he’s going into his fourth season in the G League.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Though Oklahoma City is one of the up-and-coming teams in the league, their summer league roster is not as explosive as in years past. This year’s roster contains just four players who have seen NBA minutes, three of which mainly saw garbage time. Of those players, two of which will be on watch for Oklahoma City, Ousmane Dieng and Keyontae Johnson. Dieng, going into his third season, has struggled to find his way into the rotation as lingering injuries to his hip and wrist have prevented him from being the great lottery prospect from France in the 2022 NBA Draft. Johnson, who had his own health issues going into his rookie season, is looking to prove to the Oklahoma City fan base that he can be a contributing factor to this championship caliber team. Knowing that Johnson is a scoring heavy forward that has a hot hand beyond the perimeter shooting a little over 40 percent at Kansas State, he has the ability to be a key rotational piece if healthy.

Johnson won’t be the only confident shooter on OKC’s summer league team with the addition of undrafted rookie sensation Jack Gohlke. After an impressive showing during the 2024 NCAA March Madness, Gohlke was able to lead the Oakland Golden Grizzlies to an upset over a heavily favored Kentucky after he shot 10/20 (50%) from beyond the perimeter. Though his luck ran out in the next round, Gohlke became a name on every NBA scouts’ radar as a potential sleeper if undrafted. If Gohlke is unable to live up to his name, second round pick Ajay Mitchell out University of California Santa Barbara will try to take the spotlight. The three-year starting guard out of UCSB has shown that he is effective on all levels of the court and will not shy away from the spotlight if his name is called.

For the locals, Utahns will be quick to recognize the four-year star out of Weber State, Dillon Jones. During his collegiate career, Jones has shown steady growth from each year in his offensive abilities and some cases, having to be the focal point of Weber State’s offense. Now that he will not be depended on to get a backet, Jones will be able to focus on furthering his development on a roster that ready to win now. Though Weber State’s campus is an hour north of Salt Lake City, his impact was large enough to draw in a crowd.

Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia’s roster will have the most experience in the NBA of all the rosters in Salt Lake City with four players having three or more seasons in the NBA. One of those players that will have a chip on his shoulder is the former first round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft R.J. Hampton. After being a highly touted prospect for the Orlando Magic, Hampton is on his fifth team in five seasons as he struggles to crack the rotation for bench minutes. With his experience in the league, if Hampton shows any signs of struggle during his time in Salt Lake City, he might be confided to the G League or potentially playing overseas.

Utah will be the first to see Philadelphia’s rookies in action as Jared McCain and Adem Bona will take center stage. Though many will know McCain for his fame on social media, his skill on the court speaks for itself as he finished his freshman year at Duke with shooting splits of 46.2/41.4/88.5 as their starting point guard. Unlike McCain, Bona isn’t going to shock you with his amazing shooting ability but will impress you with his lockdown defense. Averaging nearly two blocks a game in his two years at UCLA, Bona has great value as a second-round pick with him being the third center on an injury prone front court and former MVP Joel Embiid to guide him.

Philadelphia has two locals on their summer league roster with one being favorite to some in Salt Lake City. Tony Bradley, who spent three seasons in Utah, is making his return as he is entering his seventh season in the NBA after spending last season in the G League with the Texas Legends. The other local played for the SLC Stars last season, Romeo Langford. Langford has had stints with the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs and will use this time over the summer to show that he has what it takes to make a championship contender better as a role player.

Utah Jazz

Even as the host team, Utah might have one of the more impressive teams for this event. With six players who have seen minutes with Utah totaling 100 starts and 228 games played, this roster might have the strongest team chemistry in Salt Lake. Though fans will be coming out to see their young stars such as Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh, the player that will have the most to prove is Walker Kessler. Though this will be his first appearance in summer league play, injured his rookie season and with Team USA for the FIBA World Cup in year two, Kessler has been on a downward trajectory with Utah. Going from strong defensive starting center to the backup offensive liability, Kessler needs to have a strong showing a make an argument to take the starting center position once again. Kessler is still one of the best defensive centers in the league but will need to make the jump offensively to get back on track with his impressive rookie season.

Unlike any other team in the league, Utah will be going into summer league with three drafted rookies in back-to-back seasons. Last year Utah was only able to have one of their three rookies play due to injuries but this year we will see all of Utah’s rookies front and center. To most, Utah managed to get a steal with every selection being Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski. Williams will have the most attention upfront being the 10th selection in the 2024 NBA Draft and being the young brother of Oklahoma City star Jalen Williams but has the potential to make a name for himself early. With Williams being a threat on all three levels, he has the potential to be a three-and-D forward that will elevate Utah’s lacking defense immediately. Collier will improve Utah’s ball movement instantly as they managed to get one of the best ball handlers and facilitator in the draft class. Filipowski managed to drop to the second round, but for Utah they managed to get a player that can play now and make an impact every time he’s on the court whether it’s his defensive coverage or his ability to stretch the floor. Utah’s rookies will be the talk of the team all season long as they develop into their roles.

Being the host city, everyone on this roster could be a reason for locals to watch but two players from the SLC Stars will be playing for a potential NBA contract. Keshawn Justice and Taevion Kinsey will try to shine through this Utah heavy roster in hopes of making the jump to the NBA level. Both Justice and Kinsey played for Utah for both SLC Summer League and in 2K24 NBA Summer League last season. Kinsey also just recently signed a two-way contract with Utah.

Overview

We will soon enough get our first view of NBA basketball with Salt Lake City Summer League. Though the Delta Center will not be filled with All-Star level talent, there will still be plenty of talent in the building. There will be two games on each day as all four teams will play each other once. All games will be broadcasted on ESPN with the first being tonight between OKC vs. Philadelphia at 5:00 p.m. MST with Memphis vs. Utah following at 7:00 p.m. MST.