NBA Summer League

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

The Drew League in the heart of Watts is the longest, and most competitive, running summer league in the world, going strong for over 30 years. It's also where NBA stars like Nick Young, Baron Davis, Paul Peirce, Bobby Brown, Gabe Pruitt and many others show up to display their skills.

In this exclusive FanHouse video we visit the league and find out which NBA players have been dunked on and never returned. The Drew, as it's known, is much more than a basketball league; it's the only entertainment for a community that has no bowling alleys, theaters, or arcades.

Check out the video after the jump.

The Summer League in Las Vegas is a time for rookies to get some run before their first NBA season, and a time for fringe players and D-Leaguers to try and get a contract. Rod Benson falls into the latter category, but an injury kept him from seeing the court for the Raptors. But hey, the trip to Vegas wasn't a total loss. Check out this trick that Rod learned while hanging in one of the Palms' (many) hot spots.



"All you gotta say to these breezys is" ... that was awesome. I doubt that an articulate professional basketball player like Benson needs tricks like these to lure women back to his room in a Vegas hotel, but the rest of us usually can use all the help we can get. Thanks, Rod!

As unintentionally hilarious as it was to see Nate Robinson's summer league jersey retired (ie, nailed to a concrete wall) on Sunday, it was even more awkward to watch a couple of maintenance guys immediately take it down within minutes of the last game's final buzzer. Kudos to Frank Madden of Brew Hoop for the steady hand taking the video. I was standing next to him, but as you can hear in the final five seconds, I was too dumbstruck to do anything but crack wise.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

DJ Augustin was showing why the Bobcats had such faith in him to be the point guard of the future this weekend in Vegas before knee tendonitis set him back, prompting him to shut it down after three games in anticipation of training camp.

However, he was nice enough to answer some questions about being coached by Larry Brown, on creating opportunities for his teammates, and of course, whether he'd get a head tattoo.

MM: How's the knee?

DJ: It's getting better. It's getting stronger every day and I just want to get ready for training camp.

MM: So the coaching staff wanted to shut you down, just as a precaution?

DJ: I don't want to hurt it any worse, so I just want to get treatment.

MM: Larry Brown is notoriously hard on point guards. Is that something you were concerned about, or are you just ready for the challenge?

DJ: No, I've played for tough coaches all my life, and they only push you because they want you to be the best player you can be. As a point guard, you've got to be demanding because that's the player running your team.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

In the last year, a dark cloud has been cast over the NBA. Or maybe it's more of an oddly colored umbrella. There is a clear conspiracy outlined by bizarre coincidences that are obviously part of a greater conspiracy.

No, not that thing. Or that thing. The other thing.

Bloggers are constantly wondering as to the validity of what is alluded to in hushed tones as "The Cheesecake Factory thing." It began simply, with whispers and vague references. Then, the first comprehensive report was published by ESPN's TrueHoop, outlining the longstanding relationship between NBA players and the Calabasas Hills, CA headquartered restaurant chain.

Then there were more reports. And still more. It has become clear that this is more than just a selective set of responses. This is a phenomenon.

And so, here at the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League, at the intersection of the major and minor leagues, with USA basketball practice mere hours away and a bevy of young NBA players and select veterans in attendance in a popular NBA vacation spot, we elected to test the hypothesis.

Hypothesis: Given the concentration of NBA players, staff, and personnel in Las Vegas, and the ratio of said individuals to the number of Cheesecake Factories, a trip to Cheesecake Factory will result in at least one NBA player "run-in."

After watching the Jerryd Bayless nova-explosion, we headed off to test our theory. Our investigators? Myself, our own Matt Watson, and Frank from BrewHoop. Join us after the jump for our discoveries.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Unless the Suns plan on running Steve Nash into the ground, they really, really need to find a backup point guard this summer. As things currently stand, second-year man DJ Strawberry looks like the favorite for the job, but as Terry Porter told me after Saturday's game, Strawberry may still face some more competition.

"Our roster's not fully completed yet," said Porter, "so we're going to see exactly who else we're going to bring in before we make that decision. DJ, we wanted to give him a lot of opportunities here to try to play that position. It's not something he did naturally in college -- he kind of was a combo -- but we think he has a lot of positives and upside. We like that he competes extremely hard and that he can do some things."

In five summer league games, Strawberry averaged 18.0 points and 3.0 assists but also turned the ball over 3.4 times a game. Obviously, the guy has some work to do.

As far as his front court, though, Porter did seem pleased with what he saw from rookie Robin Lopez.

Here's a look at the top ten players we saw at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

1. Jerryd Bayless: Who cares that him running point was like a Ben Stiller movie or that he managed so few assists his teammates almost decided to bring their own ball on the court to play catch? The kid was transcendent. Floaters, fadeaways, dunks, steals, you name it. If it's got flash, Bayless was unleashing it on someone this week.

2. Kevin Love: You know how some people's college game just doesn't transfer to the pro game? Yeah, Kevin Love won't be having that problem. Tough, resilient, with a range of moves and offensive versatility to go along with the sweetest, yes, outlet pass we've seen, Love was incredibly impressive.

3. Anthony Randolph: Youth and athleticism rules! The lanky Warrior started the week off with a bang and played solid throughout. His impressive handle really made him stand out, along with a tenacious effort on defense.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Kevin Love looked like the real deal in Las Vegas, manhandling the competition en route to averaging a league-high 13.5 boards a game. He would have finished with more, too, had he not played just 18 minutes in his final game due to a sore left Achilles. Wearing a bag of ice on his shoulder and on his left foot after Saturday's game, Love talked with me about what he needs to work for the rest of the summer.

Matt Watson: Has this experience meet your expectations?

Kevin Love: I adjusted pretty well. I still need to pick up on a lot of defensive aspects of the game, but other than that, I rebounded the ball well, shot the ball pretty well from the field and got to know a couple of my teammates I'm going to play with next year. So overall I think it was successful. I just need to ice my ankle a little bit and I'll be fine.

MW: Was there anything that now you know you have to work on a little bit more?

KL: Definitely the defense. I think that as every rookie would say, the biggest thing they have to improve on is the defense. That's going to have to be key for me before training camp and getting ready for the regular season.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

A couple of days ago, I wrote that the player who impressed me the most in the Las Vegas Summer League was Kevin Love. After examining more evidence, I'd like to re-phrase that.

I still think that Love is the most NBA-ready prospect I've seen -- and I'll go so far as to say that he's my early pick for Rookie of the Year -- but Jerryd Bayless has been flat-out electric. He had the crowd in awe as he put up 36 points in a close game last night, including 17 in the final quarter.

All in all, he's averaged 29.8 points in four games. He warmed up for today's game with his teammates, but he's spent most of the game sitting on the sidelines with his hand wrapped in ice. (It's nothing serious -- an MRI was negative -- but after being named to the USA Select Team that will scrimmage against Team USA over the next few days, he could use the rest.)

Bayless was awarded the T-Mobile NBA Summer League Top Rookie trophy before tonight's game, which, judging by the way he filled the bucket, is an honor I completely endorse.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

That's Nate Robinson's jersey hanging from the wall here at UNLV's Cox Pavilion. The reigning 2007 Vegas Summer League MVP had it retired today during a ceremony at halftime between the Knicks and Timberwolves game. He only appeared in two of New York's five games this year, but he was being honored in part for playing four straight years in the league.

He's the first player in Summer League history to receive the honor ... but for some reason, seeing his jersey hanging there cracks me up. Being named one of the best all-time players in a bunch of games that no one ever remembers seems like a backhanded compliment, no?

In any case, when asked about the ceremony last night, he seemed genuinely enthusiastic. "It's crazy, right? Yeah, it's kind of awesome. First time ever, so I'm glad I could be the first one. It's kind of cool. Maybe I'll set a new trend."

Keep reading for a better view of just how lonesome Robinson's jersey looks.