The season kicks off tomorrow (10/22) and we have more guys to follow than in recent memory, albeit not a lot of expected impact players. I'll try to post clips and guys' lines on here. Last year, we had quite a bit of discussion on Monte, who remains the hot bet to get the most PT of ex ISU guys. Here's where they are, with my thoughts on their expected impact on the team to start the season (I don't claim to be an expert).
Monte Morris - Denver Nuggets. Established himself last year as a solid role-player off the bench, with his usual ball security and reliability to go with an improving shot. Denver has a LOT of depth; we'll see how this impacts Big Game.
Georges Niang - Utah Jazz. From what I can take from pre-season, Georges will have some work to do to get up to a, say, 10-minute guy on a nightly basis. He didn't shoot well in pre-season and the Jazz have need shooting. He did have a good run for them in playoffs so I think they trust him on the court; I'm just not sure if Q. Snyder thinks they NEED him with the additions they've made.
Abdel Nader & Deonte Burton - OKC Thunder. It feels to me like Nader still has the advantage over DB for playing time; I think he'll get rotation minutes. Both will be impacted by Andre Roberson's expected return though. I'd hope that Nader will shoot the deep ball more consistently and that Deonte can be more consistent overall (his shooting, too, needs to improve).
Matt Thomas - Toronto Raptors. From NIck Nurse's recent press conference, it seems like he feels like Matt can help on the offensive end but is not yet confident in his D being NBA-level. No surprise there. Hopefully, Matty Ice can work his way into a specialist role as a shooter but I'm guessing minutes will be sparing early on.
Talen Horton-Tucker - LA Lakers - Talen's health is the first issue to deal with. He still has an injured foot and was held out of pre-season. When he makes it back, he'll be behind the curve in conditioning and the speed of NBA play so I wonder if we'll see him with some G-League time. My expectations aren't high for much of an impact in his first season.
Marial Shayok - 2-way contract Philadelphia 76ers - I think that the 76ers are hopeful that Shayok can contribute some in the next few years. He got some pre-season PT and did OK. He has the size to guard multiple positions and be a 3-and-D guy.
Naz Mitrou-Long - 2-way contract Indiana Pacers - Naz is older than most 2-way guys from what I can tell. I wonder if he's kind of an insurance policy. There haven't really been a lot of indications from Indiana that they're looking for contributions from him but I guess sometimes it comes down to doing well when there is a chance brought on by roster moves or injuries or something. He didn't get much PT in pre-season games so I assume he'll mostly be at Ft. Wayne with their G-League club.
Lindell Wigginton - Iowa Wolves (I think). 3 Canadians in a row. It seems official that he'll play in Des Moines this year.
Bubu Palo - Sioux F. Skyforce - It seems he's coming back for - what? - his 6th year or so in the G- League. Might be time to try to get paid overseas a little as he hasn't seen an NBA regular season game yet.
Did I miss anyone? (I don't count Wes Johnson).
Monte Morris - Denver Nuggets. Established himself last year as a solid role-player off the bench, with his usual ball security and reliability to go with an improving shot. Denver has a LOT of depth; we'll see how this impacts Big Game.
Georges Niang - Utah Jazz. From what I can take from pre-season, Georges will have some work to do to get up to a, say, 10-minute guy on a nightly basis. He didn't shoot well in pre-season and the Jazz have need shooting. He did have a good run for them in playoffs so I think they trust him on the court; I'm just not sure if Q. Snyder thinks they NEED him with the additions they've made.
Abdel Nader & Deonte Burton - OKC Thunder. It feels to me like Nader still has the advantage over DB for playing time; I think he'll get rotation minutes. Both will be impacted by Andre Roberson's expected return though. I'd hope that Nader will shoot the deep ball more consistently and that Deonte can be more consistent overall (his shooting, too, needs to improve).
Matt Thomas - Toronto Raptors. From NIck Nurse's recent press conference, it seems like he feels like Matt can help on the offensive end but is not yet confident in his D being NBA-level. No surprise there. Hopefully, Matty Ice can work his way into a specialist role as a shooter but I'm guessing minutes will be sparing early on.
Talen Horton-Tucker - LA Lakers - Talen's health is the first issue to deal with. He still has an injured foot and was held out of pre-season. When he makes it back, he'll be behind the curve in conditioning and the speed of NBA play so I wonder if we'll see him with some G-League time. My expectations aren't high for much of an impact in his first season.
Marial Shayok - 2-way contract Philadelphia 76ers - I think that the 76ers are hopeful that Shayok can contribute some in the next few years. He got some pre-season PT and did OK. He has the size to guard multiple positions and be a 3-and-D guy.
Naz Mitrou-Long - 2-way contract Indiana Pacers - Naz is older than most 2-way guys from what I can tell. I wonder if he's kind of an insurance policy. There haven't really been a lot of indications from Indiana that they're looking for contributions from him but I guess sometimes it comes down to doing well when there is a chance brought on by roster moves or injuries or something. He didn't get much PT in pre-season games so I assume he'll mostly be at Ft. Wayne with their G-League club.
Lindell Wigginton - Iowa Wolves (I think). 3 Canadians in a row. It seems official that he'll play in Des Moines this year.
Bubu Palo - Sioux F. Skyforce - It seems he's coming back for - what? - his 6th year or so in the G- League. Might be time to try to get paid overseas a little as he hasn't seen an NBA regular season game yet.
Did I miss anyone? (I don't count Wes Johnson).