Summer League is finally here for the Clippers. A few notes:
- The game is not on live television, so you’ll have to go here and pay $4.99 to watch it (and any other summer league game). Not a bad investment if you have the time. NBA TV will be re-airing the game at 6 a.m. PT, so remember to set the DVR if you can’t watch it online.
- Courtesy of Clippers.com, here’s a short bio of the entire roster. Without representation from this past draft, they will feature a mix of lesser known college guys (keep an eye on Cameron Moore, 6’10″ forward from UAB) and your standard NBA veterans looking to catch on (Hilton Armstrong, Adam Morrison and Antoine Wright). Mostly longshots for the roster, but the odds are in favor of someone making an impression.
- All eyes will be on Eric Bledsoe and Trey Thompkins. Thompkins missed out on summer league during the lockout last season, and has perhaps the most to gain from this week. The Clippers’ frontcourt is thin, and he’s talented enough to give them good minutes. He profiles as a stretch 4 with good range, but he might need to show he can bang down low to get minutes from Vinny Del Negro. As for Bledsoe, this is his time to shine. He’s proven he belongs on the big stage, but he gets an opportunity to show how far he’s come since his turnover-filled days as a summer league rookie. He should dominate, and part of that is facilitating the development of Thompkins.
- Travis Leslie, the only other Clipper under contract on the roster, will miss the entire week with a strained right calf. It’s a bummer for Leslie, who loses development time, as well as an opportunity to show off his athleticism in an environment built for athletes.
