Contracts are signed, meaning Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray are officially players in the National Baksetball Association. Summer league showings can be mirages at times, of course you get to see the top draft picks out there showing why they were picked. On the other side of the coin are guys that teams are simply taking flyer on, hoping to catch uncover a diamond in the rough or just filling out their rosters with.
This all without the expertise or watchful eyes of savvy veterans. One could say the skill level is slightly above a summer pro-am. However it is still fun to watch, with all the athleticism and fast-paced play on display.
Both Huskies took a while to get their contract signed, with Murray waiting until one game left in the summer league season before signing and getting on the court. Although the Spurs probably liked what they saw in Murray's one game, with the young Seattle product scoring 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting in only 24 minutes.
While he did look rusty, committing four turnovers in those 24 minutes, he showed his explosiveness throwing down an alley oop off a back door cut to the hole, that and he got another transition basket finishing strong after racing up the court in a blur.
Murray displayed great ability to play off the ball, which will help him get on the court and in well with Greg Popovich. He seemed to play well with UCLA product Kyle Anderson sharing ball handling duties, and with Patty Mills, Manu Ginobili and of course Tony Parker on the roster, his ability to be effective not being the primary ball handler will surely be an asset.
Chriss however, got off to a rough start. He had only four points in 29 minutes against the Portland Trailblazers on Saturday. Not only that, but he was completely emasculated as Jake Layman put him on a poster that will surely be displayed proudly at Layman's parents' house. If you're wondering who Layman is, he definitely wasn't the lottery pick Chriss was, he was a four-year player out of the University of Maryland drafted in the second round and 47th overall.
Doubts surrounded Chriss over whether or not he could actually play ball, or if he was all natural athletic gifts. He should get plenty of opportunities to play his way out of it, but hopefully he doesn't develop any long lasting bad habits along the way.
Hoep is that Chriss will get the hang of what it's like to play in the pros, but for now he'll be able to tread water and eat off lobs and transition buckets in the mean time.
Photo: Flickr/Dave Sizer