Mountain Dew Orlando Pro Summer League winners and losers

The NBA is preparing to descend upon Las Vegas for the annual NBA Summer League. It is the NBA convention of sorts as league personnel and executives all gather in one place to discuss basketball business. And maybe watch a bit of Summer League basketball.

Most of the teams prep their young players under Vegas’ bright lights with fans streaming into the UNLV Thomas and Mack Center to watch some bad basketball. Others like the quiet of watching their bad basketball in a practice gym in Central Florida.

The Mountain Dew Orlando Pro Summer League took place this week at the Amway Center in front of the closed-door crowd of executives and media. While the league certainly lacks a lot of the star power it is still every bit as Summer League-y as the one in Vegas.

Read More: Prospects to watch in Las Vegas Summer League

The Orlando Summer League once again had a stellar finish. As long as you forget the nearly two minutes of missed shots and questionable decisions that marked the fourth quarter before Luke Kennard nailed the game-tying 3-pointer near the end of regulation.

Eventually, Ding Yanyuhang found Johnathan Motley as he got doubled on a post up for the game-winning basket to deliver the Dallas Mavericks the Summer League title — and the accompanying hat and t-shirts.

But who wins Summer League does not really matter. With a load of promising lottery picks playing in the league, it gave everyone their first chance to look at the next crop of NBA players. Of course, not everyone shone in the spotlight. With so many players looking for work in the NBA, it is a pressure-packed week for everyone.

Here are our winners and losers after a week of basketball in Orlando:

Winners: Rookies who played

The thrill of Summer League is seeing rookies play for the first time just a few weeks after they are drafted. It is the unofficial NBA debut for the next generation of NBA players. And while everything that happens at Summer League should be taken with millions of grains of salt, the rookies who suited up at Summer League all looked decently good.

Summer League, in many ways, is about figuring out who cannot play. And it is safe to say Luke Kennard, Bam Adebayo, Jonathan Isaac and T.J. Leaf at least held their own in Summer League action.

Isaac, the sixth overall pick, looked a bit further along than many believed with his defensive intensity and length. His offense still has a long way to go but by the end of the week he was gaining confidence and beginning to take over. He averaged 10.3 points per game, but he scored nine points in the first quarter and a half of his third game before a hip injury knocked him out for the week. He was active on the glass and showed every bit of his athleticism.

Bam Adebayo put up maybe the best stats of the week for a rookie. He averaged 17.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. The Miami Heat were more than happy to let him experiment with his offensive game as he took several jumpers to limited success. But the things everyone expected Adebayo to do — rebound and score around the basket — he did. And he did it better than just about everyone else did at Summer League.

Luke Kennard was billed as a shooter and he was not afraid to let it fly. And he did so efficiently. He scored 17.2 points per game and hit 46.5 percent from the field. Kennard was smart coming around screens and draining shots, including the one that forced overtime in the championship game. And T.J. Leaf showed up well too averaging 12.7 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Indiana Pacers.

Losers: Rookies who didn’t play

Inevitably some rookies do not get the chance to play, and that leaves their futures as a bit of a mystery. It was a constant theme throughout the Orlando Summer League.

Malik Monk tweaked his ankle in practice the week leading up to Summer League and missed the entire event. Frank Ntilikina had a lingering knee issue from his season and just arrived from France following a championship run for Strasbourg. He was in Orlando but did not play for the New York Knicks. Jonathan Isaac played only three games, exiting his best offensive game with a hip injury.

None of these injuries are serious at all. But they prevented them from playing as much as they could have during the week. Half the reason everyone watches Summer League is to see these rookies play. And their lack of star power in the league definitely took away from the festivities.

Winner: Henry Ellenson

Henry Ellenson’s rookie year with the Detroit Pistons was rough. He played in just 19 games, averaging 3.2 points per game and hitting 10 of 35 shots. Ellenson simply could not find his way onto the court, even on that Pistons team that seemed to be going nowhere fast.

Ellenson needed a fresh start to his career. And if he is going to prove himself as a NBA player, Summer League was a good place to begin. Ellenson was perhaps the best scorer at Summer League, averaging 17.4 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. He was given the opportunity to fire away and dominate on the ball, and he did well. Ellenson used his size to get his shot off and was not afraid to shoot it — 75 field goal attempts in five games.

Whether that translates to the NBA? That is the part that is a mystery. Ellenson shot only 44.0 percent from the floor with his high volume. He had a tendency to fall away on every shot despite his size. Perhaps if the Pistons can used him as a stretch-4, they can get him more open looks and keep him on balance.

This week gave a clue that he might still be a usable player.

Loser: Stephen Zimmerman

It is never fun to see a player get cut in the middle of Summer League. Orlando Magic center Stephen Zimmerman was the unfortunate victim of bad contract timing.

Zimmerman, the No. 41 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, was always viewed as a project. The rail thin center needed to put on muscle and grow his skills. And in some ways throughout the week he showed an ability to hold his own. He was great crashing down from the weakside and blocking shots. And he had his moments where he showed tremendous talent.

But he still had not put on the weight he needed to bang around with bigger centers. He still got pushed around on the post and his lack of strength made it tough for him to finish. He scored 5.0 points per game on 6-for-15 shooting. That is not going to be good enough no matter who you are as a center.

With his contract set to be guaranteed at the end of the week, the Magic cut bait on the former McDonald’s All-American just three days into Summer League. He was coming off the bench for the team after just one game in favor of Matt Costello, a journeyman D-League player. That is not a good sign for a second round pick. And now he is a free agent.

His loss was Przemek Karnowski’s gain though. After barely playing in two games for the Charlotte Hornets, Karnowski was a late addition to the Magic’s roster. The 7-foot, 300-pound center averaged 17.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game. He probably does not have the defensive skills to make it in the NBA. But he took advantage of the opportunity.

Winners: Eric Moreland and Dwayne Bacon

Summer League is a time for opportunity. And a couple players earned themselves some contracts this week.

Dwayne Bacon, the second round pick for the Charlotte Hornets, averaged 15.4 points per game including 29 points in the fifth place game against the Orlando Magic on Thursday. Bacon had plenty of scoring moments throughout the week. It was enough to get him a two-year guaranteed deal.

Eric Moreland similarly played his way into a contract.

Moreland, a 6-foot-10 center, posted 7.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the Detroit Pistons through the week. That is not the most impressive stat line for a player. But Moreland was solid on both ends. And the Pistons obviously liked him enough to keep him off the Summer League team. That is the dream for so many of the players here.

Losers: New York Knicks

The New York Knicks are always losers. Always and forever.

Prized rookie Frank Ntilikina? Unavailable for Summer League. Team executives enjoying a laugh while looking at their phones presumably with Carmelo Anthony’s odd morning workout on it? Instant meme. Playing in the 8 a.m. game on Championship Thursday? Well, at least they won that game.

There was very little redeeming from watching the New York Knicks’ Summer League team for the second straight year. At least last year, the Knicks pulled Ron Baker off their Summer League squad. Aside from Damyean Dotson putting up solid scoring numbers, the Knicks really had nothing going for them. And they lost — a lot. They finished in seventh place in the eight-team league.

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So, yeah, the Knicks are the losers even in Summer League.