WEBVTT - Why The End Of Summer League Is Still Important

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<v Speaker 1>All sad. The Summer League exhibition in Las Vegas that

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<v Speaker 1>nearly killed me is over. Google for yourself really fast

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<v Speaker 1>in me, the Las Vegas throat. It's not what you

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<v Speaker 1>think it means. It really is not. That's what I

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<v Speaker 1>had pause for the last nine days in Las Vegas.

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<v Speaker 1>Turns out the frequency of my voice doesn't penetrate pause

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<v Speaker 1>at the club. You know what I'm saying. A title

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<v Speaker 1>game between the Rockets and the Cavs ended tonight. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you know that the Cleveland Cavaliers were thirty to one

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<v Speaker 1>to win the whole Summer League? Did you know of that?

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<v Speaker 1>Just a beat down over the Rockets. The Rockets hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>lost the game before Amani Baits and friends came through

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<v Speaker 1>with the Tomahawk to decapitate the Houston Rockets. Did you

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<v Speaker 1>watch it? No? I know you didn't. Don't even lie

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<v Speaker 1>Cam Whitmore. By the way, one MVP. We'll talk about

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<v Speaker 1>that in a little bit. Remember he was expected projected

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<v Speaker 1>to be a top five pick, and then even the

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<v Speaker 1>team that's light years ahead of everyone else, the Golden

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<v Speaker 1>State Warriors, passed on him so that he goes to

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<v Speaker 1>the Houston Rockets at twenty, which begs the question, though,

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<v Speaker 1>does anyone really give a shit about the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the Summer League? A lot of people joking in the

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<v Speaker 1>Twitter streets saying that it should have been shut down

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<v Speaker 1>after the first weekend. Most big league players leave big

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<v Speaker 1>parties tended only happened in the first few days, which

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<v Speaker 1>is actually a lie considering that the WNBA parties were

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely lit. Cannice Parker was getting busy on the dance

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<v Speaker 1>floor anyway, I digress. ESPN coverage take a dive like

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<v Speaker 1>broadcasters you've never heard of, and Isaiah Thomas start debating

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<v Speaker 1>the usefulness of the silent e in the English language,

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<v Speaker 1>like that's where we're at in the summer leagues. Teams

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<v Speaker 1>shut high draft picks down after the second game. Interest

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<v Speaker 1>in buzz memes by Josiah starts to weigh on the internet.

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<v Speaker 1>It becomes one of those boo boom, boom boom. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like just straight dust mothballs in the Twitter streets. So

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<v Speaker 1>who cares about the second half of Summer League? Does

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<v Speaker 1>anyone actually give a shit? Who wins the tournament? That's

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<v Speaker 1>a very complicated question. It depends on who you ask.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are Ausar Thompson, if you were aiming Thompson

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<v Speaker 1>a fifth pick in the draft, top five lottery pick.

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<v Speaker 1>You probably don't care. I mean that affects your life

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<v Speaker 1>in absolutely no way. Are you worried about the Warren

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<v Speaker 1>Legarry Summer League ring and the Envy P Trophy. The

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<v Speaker 1>answer no, shade to Warren in the Summer League MVP trophy,

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<v Speaker 1>But no, like that does not affect you at all.

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<v Speaker 1>Like you see Summer League as a way to announce

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<v Speaker 1>your arrival to the league, to show out, to show

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<v Speaker 1>your teammates what's up, to show the batties out there.

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<v Speaker 1>Who needs to be putting a target on your back.

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<v Speaker 1>You're already getting four years, five years guaranteed, You're probably

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<v Speaker 1>repped by Bill Duffy, you probably got multiple endorsement deals already,

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<v Speaker 1>set up gatorade cases in your garage, shoes on, shoes

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<v Speaker 1>on shoes, h what else do you need? Life's good.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you win the Summer League, I mean, it's

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<v Speaker 1>just you're just sitting there in street clothes, popping a

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<v Speaker 1>bottle of Rose Champagne, get your mug on ESPN, tork

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<v Speaker 1>with Holly Row and navigate your new found fame. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you are an undrafted free agent. If you're a

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<v Speaker 1>second round pick, the championship game, get to the championship

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<v Speaker 1>game where eyeballs are on you. Important, eyeballs are on you,

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<v Speaker 1>very important. It's an extra game in front of a

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<v Speaker 1>national TV audience. It's an opportunity to showcase your skills

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<v Speaker 1>to your coaches and your organization. And more importantly, if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't latch onto your original team in the summer League,

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<v Speaker 1>it's more important that you show yourself to other teams.

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<v Speaker 1>Like Max Streuce. Max Struce initially impressed at the Bulls

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<v Speaker 1>Summer League while secretly catching the eye of Andy Ellisberg

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<v Speaker 1>and pat Riley, and then he parlayed that into a

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<v Speaker 1>ten day contract with the Heat and into a sixty

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<v Speaker 1>three million dollar contract with the Cavs. That is what

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<v Speaker 1>the exposure at summer League can do for a player

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<v Speaker 1>who very badly needs exposure. Even if fans aren't in

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<v Speaker 1>the stands, they are. It's a convention, baby, they're executives

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<v Speaker 1>and scouts and they still remain and they are everywhere

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<v Speaker 1>like fleas, like flies, like rodents. They are putting in

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<v Speaker 1>the time watching Orlando versus Dallas. Yuck at nine pm,

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<v Speaker 1>yuck at the cock center. Yuck on the last Friday

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<v Speaker 1>night of Summer League. Yuck. And they think about it

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<v Speaker 1>like it's Game seven of the Western Conference Finals. Kobe

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<v Speaker 1>Buffkin might as well be Kobe Bryant to them to

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<v Speaker 1>like a third string scout who lives for this shit.

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<v Speaker 1>He just wants to talk about wingspan and like hip

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<v Speaker 1>size and mobility. That's him, that's his shit. And it's

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<v Speaker 1>a good thing too, because the vast majority of Summer

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<v Speaker 1>League roster players never make it to the NBA, but

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<v Speaker 1>a ton of them are gonna play professionally somewhere. Summer

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<v Speaker 1>League will give him instant credibility, instant access to their

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<v Speaker 1>tape where you cook a lottery pick. He's been touted

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<v Speaker 1>as the next best thing, and you know what, you

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<v Speaker 1>twisted his ankles up. That is how a kid from

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<v Speaker 1>Towson ends up making seven figures a year at Olympiacos

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<v Speaker 1>or Fenner Bacchi or Leon Aboju or any of the

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred euro teams that exist there. And some of

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<v Speaker 1>these guys they parlay Euros success then as a path

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<v Speaker 1>back to the league as a scout or executive or

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<v Speaker 1>a coach, as brand ambassadors. It's corporate liaisons, and god forbid,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe they actually make it to the league League. Talk

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<v Speaker 1>to Patrick Beverly about that. They just want to be

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded in the game that they love. They're willing to

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<v Speaker 1>spend years traveling by bus, probably at the little tippy

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<v Speaker 1>top of the bus, like those double deckers in the

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<v Speaker 1>dusty roads and the icy snow conditions and the Balkans,

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<v Speaker 1>just to figure out a way to play one more season,

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<v Speaker 1>just to figure out a way to win at any level.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of these guys return the Summer League to start

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<v Speaker 1>the process all over again, like moths butterflies. That's kind

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<v Speaker 1>of beautiful to me. So here's what we're not gonna do.

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<v Speaker 1>We are not mocking the end of summer because we

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<v Speaker 1>didn't see chet Holmgren, or we didn't see Victor wembin Yama.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, I figured out a way to say

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<v Speaker 1>his name, it's not Wambayama anymore. It's wembin Yama. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So we're good there. Summer League isn't just for them.

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<v Speaker 1>It's for Wendell Green and Luke Trevers and Craig Porter Junior,

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<v Speaker 1>all of whom have played for the Cavs. It's for

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<v Speaker 1>Trevor Huggins and Matthew Mayer, har Harrel and James Huff

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<v Speaker 1>of the Rockets. This means something to them, So celebrate

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<v Speaker 1>Summer League from beginning to end. It's like the end

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<v Speaker 1>of a marathon. You're too tired to celebrate it properly,

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<v Speaker 1>but you know you did something and you accomplish something great.

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<v Speaker 1>I cannot wait for next year. I absolutely flourish at

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<v Speaker 1>Summer League. It is the best thing in the NBA.

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<v Speaker 1>Event Wise, I'll see you guys next year. Dum