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octothorp · 08-18-2014, 12:35 PM

Time for a summer roundup.

The men's national team won't play in the worlds as mentioned above, but they did complete an exhibition tour through Europe where they played 11 games, many against teams that will be in the Worlds this year. They went 5-6, including wins over 7th-ranked Turkey and 15th-ranked Angola. They also had close losses to Serbia, Croatia, Italy, and even their game against Spain was competitive (hanging within 10 points against a lineup that had both Gasols, Ibaka, Calderon, Rubio, and Navarro playing 20 minutes each has to be considered a big positive).

Joseph, Nicholson, English, Sacre, and Heslip were some of the big contributors through the tournament; great to see for Sacre, after there had been some concern that he wasn't going to be part of the team after pulling out of FIBAs last year. Heslip lead the team in scoring for a few games, and regardless of NBA prospects, looks to be a big part of the national team.

I probably don't need to tell anyone Wiggins' status, but seems pretty likely he and Bennett will end up in Minnesota in a few days. With Ennis in Phoenix, Stauskas in Sacramento, there are at least 3 new Canadians in the NBA this year, with two lingering questions:

Powell still hasn't been signed by the Cavs yet, and with Marion signing I don't think they'll sign him now. I think they'll renounce his draft rights in the coming weeks.

Sim Bhullar, against all predictions, has a non-guaranteed contract with Sacramento, and looks to have a reasonable chance of staying on contract and going to the d-league. As much as I thought it was an awful decision for him to declare for the draft, now I wonder if he had a promise of at least a d-league contract from Ranadive. I think it's shown now that Sacramento is going to give him every possible opportunity to succeed, so what more could you want for a guy in Bhullar's position? (But if I was a Sacramento fan, I'd be highly skeptical of this move.) My favorite thing to come out of Bhullar's time with Sacramento was the picture of him dwarfing 6'11", 270lb Cousins: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsHfEPrCEAAeVkW.jpg

Khem Birch also had a good summer league with the Wizards, but seemed like he was a contingency plan for them not resigning Seraphim. So with Seraphim resigning, hard to say where Birch falls. He's good enough to at least get a training camp invite, but it may be worthwhile for him to turn his attention to Europe now.

Along with Powell, the changes in Cleveland create uncertainty for Thompson: he'll be pushed back to bench player behind Love, and while he might get some playoff experience now, his roll will change. And Nicholson continues to be submarined in the Orlando depth chart, now probably moving behind Aaron Gordon. He needs to get out of there, onto a team where he's getting steady backup minutes.

Now, to the guys who won't be playing in the NBA next year:

Bachynski had a decent summer league, and there was some thought he might stick as a third center with Charlotte, but ended up signing with a Turkish team for 1 year.

Melvin Ejim got very little summer league time and will play in Italy next year.

Heslip doesn't have a contract yet but it makes a lot of sense for him to play in Europe, especially after showcasing his skills there with the national team.

Most notable Canadian freshmen next year:
Lyles (Kentucky), Egi (Harvard), Shayok (Marquette). Of these three, Lyles is the only one who has a real shot at being a one-and-done candidate, but I think that Egi is going to be another excellent PF after playing 3 or 4 years at Harvard.

Other Canadians who could be in the draft next year: Hanlan, Rathan-Mayes, Wiltjer, Pierre, Pangos. I'm really interested to see where Wiltjer is at after red-shirting for a year. It's hard for guys who fall so much in their rankings to recover any ground, but I think he made the right decision.

This coming year will also be the last year of Phil Scrubb's career at Carleton. Can he get onto the NBA scouting radars by next summer? He played a big roll on the exhibition tour this summer, and I can see him in the national team's long-term plans, regardless of where he ends up.

So, my updated 2016 depth chart:
C: Sacre, Olynyk, Bachynski
PF: Thompson, Nicholson, Bennett, Powell
SF: Wiggins, Ejim, Shepherd
SG: Stauskas, Heslip
PG: C. Joseph, Ennis, Scrubb

As I've said in the past, I think the strength of the program will be their stretch big-men. Nicholson's game has shown the potential to be extremely effective at the international level, and Olynyk, Bennett (and Lyles and Wiltjer in the future) could all be similarly effective. Few teams in the world could put out a starting lineup that can spread the floor as well as a lineup of Olynk, Nicholson, Wiggins, Stauskas, and Joseph, and then follow it up with guys like Scrubb, Heslip, and Bennett off the bench.

Looking further down the pipe, all of Montique Gill-Ceasar (2015), Justin Jackson (2016), and Jamal Murray (2016) continue to be seen as top recruits. My prediction is that Jackson is going to be a big part of the national team by 2020; I think his skillset as a point-forward is perfect alongside all those shooters.

08-18-2014, 12:35 PM	#99
octothorp Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: not lurking Exp:	Time for a summer roundup. The men's national team won't play in the worlds as mentioned above, but they did complete an exhibition tour through Europe where they played 11 games, many against teams that will be in the Worlds this year. They went 5-6, including wins over 7th-ranked Turkey and 15th-ranked Angola. They also had close losses to Serbia, Croatia, Italy, and even their game against Spain was competitive (hanging within 10 points against a lineup that had both Gasols, Ibaka, Calderon, Rubio, and Navarro playing 20 minutes each has to be considered a big positive). Joseph, Nicholson, English, Sacre, and Heslip were some of the big contributors through the tournament; great to see for Sacre, after there had been some concern that he wasn't going to be part of the team after pulling out of FIBAs last year. Heslip lead the team in scoring for a few games, and regardless of NBA prospects, looks to be a big part of the national team. I probably don't need to tell anyone Wiggins' status, but seems pretty likely he and Bennett will end up in Minnesota in a few days. With Ennis in Phoenix, Stauskas in Sacramento, there are at least 3 new Canadians in the NBA this year, with two lingering questions: Powell still hasn't been signed by the Cavs yet, and with Marion signing I don't think they'll sign him now. I think they'll renounce his draft rights in the coming weeks. Sim Bhullar, against all predictions, has a non-guaranteed contract with Sacramento, and looks to have a reasonable chance of staying on contract and going to the d-league. As much as I thought it was an awful decision for him to declare for the draft, now I wonder if he had a promise of at least a d-league contract from Ranadive. I think it's shown now that Sacramento is going to give him every possible opportunity to succeed, so what more could you want for a guy in Bhullar's position? (But if I was a Sacramento fan, I'd be highly skeptical of this move.) My favorite thing to come out of Bhullar's time with Sacramento was the picture of him dwarfing 6'11", 270lb Cousins: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsHfEPrCEAAeVkW.jpg Khem Birch also had a good summer league with the Wizards, but seemed like he was a contingency plan for them not resigning Seraphim. So with Seraphim resigning, hard to say where Birch falls. He's good enough to at least get a training camp invite, but it may be worthwhile for him to turn his attention to Europe now. Along with Powell, the changes in Cleveland create uncertainty for Thompson: he'll be pushed back to bench player behind Love, and while he might get some playoff experience now, his roll will change. And Nicholson continues to be submarined in the Orlando depth chart, now probably moving behind Aaron Gordon. He needs to get out of there, onto a team where he's getting steady backup minutes. Now, to the guys who won't be playing in the NBA next year: Bachynski had a decent summer league, and there was some thought he might stick as a third center with Charlotte, but ended up signing with a Turkish team for 1 year. Melvin Ejim got very little summer league time and will play in Italy next year. Heslip doesn't have a contract yet but it makes a lot of sense for him to play in Europe, especially after showcasing his skills there with the national team. Most notable Canadian freshmen next year: Lyles (Kentucky), Egi (Harvard), Shayok (Marquette). Of these three, Lyles is the only one who has a real shot at being a one-and-done candidate, but I think that Egi is going to be another excellent PF after playing 3 or 4 years at Harvard. Other Canadians who could be in the draft next year: Hanlan, Rathan-Mayes, Wiltjer, Pierre, Pangos. I'm really interested to see where Wiltjer is at after red-shirting for a year. It's hard for guys who fall so much in their rankings to recover any ground, but I think he made the right decision. This coming year will also be the last year of Phil Scrubb's career at Carleton. Can he get onto the NBA scouting radars by next summer? He played a big roll on the exhibition tour this summer, and I can see him in the national team's long-term plans, regardless of where he ends up. So, my updated 2016 depth chart: C: Sacre, Olynyk, Bachynski PF: Thompson, Nicholson, Bennett, Powell SF: Wiggins, Ejim, Shepherd SG: Stauskas, Heslip PG: C. Joseph, Ennis, Scrubb As I've said in the past, I think the strength of the program will be their stretch big-men. Nicholson's game has shown the potential to be extremely effective at the international level, and Olynyk, Bennett (and Lyles and Wiltjer in the future) could all be similarly effective. Few teams in the world could put out a starting lineup that can spread the floor as well as a lineup of Olynk, Nicholson, Wiggins, Stauskas, and Joseph, and then follow it up with guys like Scrubb, Heslip, and Bennett off the bench. Looking further down the pipe, all of Montique Gill-Ceasar (2015), Justin Jackson (2016), and Jamal Murray (2016) continue to be seen as top recruits. My prediction is that Jackson is going to be a big part of the national team by 2020; I think his skillset as a point-forward is perfect alongside all those shooters. Last edited by octothorp; 08-18-2014 at 01:01 PM.