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Clippers 2024 Summer League Grades
The 2024 Summer League is over, so here are some quick grades for the Clippers during their five-game stretch in Las Vegas.
Cam Christie: B+
Look, Christie was just 4-14 from two-point range and was muscled around a lot on the court. Still, he took an insane 7.4 threes per game and made them at a 40.5% clip, showing his ability to hit off the catch, off movement, and even off the dribble. His defense varied in effectiveness, but I think his lack of strength is more of a hindrance on offense than defense at this stage. If he can become an even competent defender and learn how to do some other stuff besides shoot threes on offense, he could become a real dude. Even as is, a guy at his size who can shoot like he can will probably have an NBA career of some kind. Promising stuff.
Kobe Brown: B
I thought this Summer League was a bit of a mixed bag for Kobe. His numbers – 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists – were impressive, and he clearly has a lot of skill for a guy his size. The worries, however, are persistent. First, is his three-point shot real? He shot very well in his senior season at Missouri after being a below-average shooter his first three college seasons, and was back to just a “meh” shooter in the G-League last year. He shot just 5-22 from deep in SL, and the shot didn’t look great. The bigger concern is on defense, as Kobe averaged 4 fouls per game (by far the most on the SL Clips) and frequently looked slow on that end. He simply has to be better on that end if he’s going to be able to play real NBA minutes, even with his playmaking, rebounding, and bully-ball offensive chops.
Jordan Miller: A
Jordan Miller was the best player in Las Vegas, leading the competition in scoring at 25.4 points per game and doing so on an insane 54.9/60/80.4 shooting line. More impressive yet, he did so without really dominating the ball, instead scoring the bulk of his points on threes, in transition, or in secondary action. Best of all, he was extremely impactful on defense, nabbing 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while playing strong on-ball and help defense. The high-level scoring is not something that he will be called upon to do in the NBA, but the defense, three-point shooting, and finishing look legit. It’s very easy to see him getting rotation minutes for a good team as soon as this year. An awesome all-around showing with almost no negatives.
Moussa Diabate: B
I thought Moussa had a pretty solid Summer League, averaging 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in 23.4 minutes pe game while shooting 64.1% from the field and 91.7% (11-12) from the line. The energy and hustle were there, as always, but Moussa also flashed some slightly more polished offensive moves, including patience around the rim, improved passing, and a much cleaner free throw form. Still, Moussa being undersized and raw on offense is a bad combo, really limiting his offensive contributions at the NBA level. He’s young enough he could get there, but I remain unconvinced he’d be giving rotation minutes this season.
Amari Bailey: D-
I was very excited to watch Bailey, as he was a highly regarded high school recruit a few years ago, had a solid freshman season at UCLA in 2023, and was productive in the G-League last year. Unfortunately, while Bailey is clearly very talented, his decision-making and motor were both questionable in Vegas, at best. He took bad shots, overdribbled, and didn’t hustle much on either end. It was very disappointing, as some of his moves on offense were legit and he has the size and tools to be a plus defender. Maybe Bailey is a guy who needs to go overseas for a couple years for his game to click into place.
RayJ Dennis: B-
Dennis had a very good start to Summer League, but trailed off as the competition continued. He clearly showed he was a better passer and ballhandler than Trevor Hudgins, winning the starting point guard spot after two games, but he was also ineffective as a scorer, going 9-18 from three but only 13-33 overall, making him 4-15 from two-point range. The lack of athleticism was a real drawback as a finisher, and that will only be more pronounced in the NBA. Still, Dennis kept the offense moving pretty well,
Elijah Harkless: B
Harkless is one of my least favorite archetypes of player – on-ball defense pest who doesn’t do a ton else on defense and is mostly a stationary three-point shooter on offense. His style of defense is particularly effective in Summer League, where the caliber of ballhandlers is much lower, so there’s no denying his impact on the team in SL, just how translatable his skillset is. He’s more of a point guard size player but can’t handle, playmake, or create like a lead guard, so his value on offense is almost entirely catch-and-shoot threes, which he made a few of in SL. A good showing by Harkless, but not a guy I’d have much interest in at the NBA level.
Terry Taylor: C
Taylor played the seventh most minutes on the team, averaging 15.8 per game, yet I barely remember him being out there. For a guy with a real amount of NBA experience, that’s disappointing. Taylor wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t good either. A perfect C grade.
Trevor Hudgins: C-
Hudgins was a knockdown shooter in the French LNB A last year, but was just 3/16 from three in SL play and 4/20 overall. Small sample size, sure, but that’s what we have to grade on, and Hudgins just could not buy a bucket. He also didn’t really show a ton of playmaking, averaging just 1.4 assists per game. The positives were that he basically never turned the ball over (1 turnover in 75 minutes) and that his defense was quite stout for a small guard. Still, it was a disappointing stretch for Hudgins, who I’m sure can shoot better but just didn’t.
Josh Bannan: D
Bannan was the worst Clipper who played real minutes in this Summer League. To be as fair as possible to Bannan, he was forced into playing backup center behind Moussa, and he’s simply not a center. He rebounded pretty well (4.4 in 12.5 minutes per game) but had zero blocks in over 60 total minutes and shot just 6/16 (37.5%) from the field. It felt like every time he came in the game, the other team went on a run. It’s not really his fault, but he also just isn’t athletic enough for the NBA.
DJ Rodman: Incomplete
Rodman played less than three minutes in Summer League, and looked pretty bad in that brief span. Him not playing more says a lot, but I can’t give him a grade for that.
Trentyn Flowers: N/A
Flowers was unable to play on the Clippers’ Summer League team for some reason due to restrictions from the NBL, so we didn’t get a look at him at all.
Dahntay Jones: A
The Clippers went 4-1 in Summer League, losing in the Semifinals by a single bucket to the eventual Summer League champion. The process may have looked even better than the results – the Clippers were disciplined and cohesive on defense, a rare feat in Summer League, and a testament to Jones and his staff. On offense, the Clippers mostly played unselfishly and moved the ball, another rarity. It’s a small sample size and you can’t take too much away, but Jones clearly coached the hell out of this Summer League team.