Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Vivint Smart Home Arena kicks off the NBA Summer League from July 1-3. The Utah Jazz will host the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies for six games. Some of the NBA’s “brightest young stars” will take the court, here’s who to look out for:
Cleveland Cavaliers
Three of the Cavs' 2019 draft picks will work to earn one of the two open spots on the roster, with the anticipated release of David Nwaba and J.R. Smith, according to cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
A lot of Cleveland fans are excited to watch Jalen Hudson make his NBA debut. Hudson completed his college career with the Florida Gators; but like LeBron James, he is a St. Vincent-St.Mary High School graduate. He proved himself as a talented 3-point shooter his first season with the Gators hitting slightly over 40%.
If Dean Wade can stay healthy throughout the summer league and into the regular season, he could be a reliable forward for the Cavs. Both his junior and senior seasons at Kansas State were cut short due to a foot injury. He joins the summer roster with a 38.6% 3-point shooting average and All-Big 12 accolades.
Yovel Zoosman, a 6-foot-7 guard from Israel, joins the Cavaliers with experience in the EuroLeague with Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he made his professional debut when he was 17-years-old. While he only averaged 14:46 minutes over 30 games, he comes with 2018 FIBA Under-20 Championship MVP under his belt.
Memphis Grizzlies
In an interview with Hoops Hype, John Konchar described himself as "a 3-and-D guy." During his four years at Purdue-Fort Wayne he made 41.6% of his 3-pointers.
San Antonio Spurs
Lonnie Walker IV will be looking to use both the Salt Lake and Las Vegas series to earn a more stable position on the Spurs’ roster. Walker spent the past year bouncing back and forth between the Spurs and their G-League team in Austin.
Chimezie Metu and Drew Eubanks are also second-year players hoping to stand out against 2019 draft picks Keldon Johnson, Luka Samanic and Quinndary Weatherspoon
Utah Jazz
Jazz center Tony Bradley is the only active player on the summer league roster. Bradley just wrapped up his second season with the Jazz, where he mostly played with the Salt Lake Stars.
Justin-Wright Foreman, Jarrell Brantley, Darnell Edge, Frankie Ferrari, Juwan Morgan, Miye Oni, and Josh Sharma will all be making their NBA debut with the Jazz during the Summer League.
