After one of the team’s better outings in Las Vegas in recent memory, it’s time to sit back and unpack some Clippers Summer League takeaways. Of course, during the week, the Summer Clippers are a team that’s trying to win games, but the larger goal of the organization is to develop and evaluate prospects and fringe roster talent. Let’s take a look at each player from LAC’s Summer League roster and what their outlook with the organization is going forward:

• Jason Preston: The third-year guard entered Summer League playing for his NBA future, and it doesn’t seem to have worked out. He averaged 9 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds on the week, looking less dangerous offensively than LAC’s other guard options due to his lack of speed. Preston missed his entire rookie season with injury and was good at the G-League level last year, but he doesn’t seem close to an NBA player right now. The Clippers extended the decision date on his non-guaranteed contract until October 1st, which is likely a sign that the team thinks his small salary could have utility as trade filler. It’s possible that if a consolidation trade goes down without him that the team could keep him on the roster… but I don’t see it. In two of the Clippers’ three wins, Preston was benched in the second half in favor of more effective backup guards.
• Xavier Moon: I think we should have expected the 28-year-old Moon to be too good for this level, and he was. Moon averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 55% from the field, 58% from three, and 92% from the free throw line, earning All-Summer League Second Team honors. X’s main limitation at the NBA level are obvious: he’s officially just 6 feet tall (and I think he’s probably shorter), making him a target on defense and less effective as a scorer and passer against lengthier, more athletic NBA opponents. A player his size is always going to have trouble getting clean looks off in the NBA, and while he’s a good shooter he doesn’t quite have the quick-trigger, off-the-dribble shooting prowess he needs at his size. I think Moon would be perfectly capable as an emergency depth ballhandler, whether that’s in a roster spot freed up via trade or back on another two-way contract. The downside there is his age, since you’d theoretically want a younger guy with upside in those deep bench roles. That said, I’d be pretty pleased to see him wind up on a minimum deal, whether it’s with the Clippers or elsewhere.
• Jordan Miller: The Clippers’ second round rookie was invisible for much of the week despite starting all 5 games, averaging just 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. It’s easy to see him on the floor and get the appeal–he’s bigger than I expected, and has a legit NBA wing frame in a competition full of guys who are a little too small to play their position at the highest level. But the production never really came to match. He only attempted 10 threes (and only made 3) all week, and aside from a couple of opportunistic hesitation moves to get past his man to the basket, didn’t have notable impact on these games. You don’t expect second round rookies to dominate these games, so in one sense it’s a good sign that he wasn’t terrible, but he certainly didn’t excite. And at 23 years old, he doesn’t have the same runway that most rookies do to develop. Look for Miller to get a two-way contract for next season and spend virtually the whole year with the Ontario Clippers.

• Kobe Brown: The 30th overall pick in last month’s draft, Brown is the only player on these Summer Clippers who has a guaranteed contract for next season. Kobe definitely grew into Summer League, which is fair for a rookie transitioning from the NCAA. In the early games, he had moments where he looked comfortable and aggressive, but the overall production didn’t translate, mostly via inefficient offense. Then came Friday night’s game against the Sixers. In probably the most dominant individual performance in Clippers Summer League history, Kobe put up a record 35 points, mostly on dunks and threes. It was disappointing that he turned his ankle early in the team’s finale and didn’t get a chance to build on that performance. One Summer League game can easily be an outlier, but coupled with his growth over the week, I’m left feeling better about Brown as a prospect at the end of the week than I did coming in. There are still some lingering questions: one is that he performed at his best at center, not power forward, which is going to be much trickier to build capable NBA lineups around at first. I really liked seeing how comfortable he was getting high-volume three point attempts up. And while I don’t think he’s going to be able to play switchable defense at the NBA level (rookies are almost never good on defense, and Kobe’s foot speed on switches is a long-term concern), he was active and well-positioned this week, helping create a lot of turnovers. I think that Kobe will spend time in Ontario next season, and the acquisition of KJ Martin pushes him another rung lower in the competition for forward depth minutes. He won’t be a top-10 rotation guy, but if he is retained in potential upcoming trades, the Clippers should find opportunities for him throughout the year to get him some reps and see how he holds up.
• Moussa Diabate: The Clippers’ sophomore big man showed some of the same flashes that he showed in this competition last summer, but ultimately only played 2 games again due to a rib contusion, meaning we didn’t get to see as much of him as we would have liked. The good news: after a year of G-League experience, his rebounding and shot blocking were both improved from his first Summer League, and the physical tools that made him an intriguing prospect to begin with showed up again. The bad news: the defensive activity, rebounding, and shot blocking, while improved, didn’t take quite the leap that I had hoped to see in order to really declare him an NBA-caliber player this summer. The offense remains incredibly raw, and he doesn’t seem as able to harness his athleticism on that end to be the above-the-rim threat he’s going to need to be as a raw, athletically gifted big. The best-case scenario remains something in the vacinity of Clint Capela, but we’re still far, far away from that. Moussa will be back on a two-way contract next season, spending most of the year in Ontario continuing to develop his game. I don’t think the Clippers will be shy about giving him regular season run with the big club if Ivica Zubac or Mason Plumlee miss time, but the road he’s on leads back to Las Vegas for a do-or-die third Summer League next year, much like his current teammate Jason Preston had this year.

• Matt Morgan: Despite being relatively quiet in a relatively small role (he played 4 games and under 20 minutes per game off the bench), Morgan was the Clippers’ third-leading scorer in Vegas, averaging 10 points while shooting 40% from the field and 32% from deep. I’m not worried about the shooting efficiency–he’s got enough of a track record as a high-volume, high-efficiency shooter to not overreact to 4 games. He didn’t pop as much as you would want a soon-to-be 26-year-old with high-level pro experience to, but his breakneck speed and three-point shooting profile make him an intriguing potential bench scoring guard. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have NBA interest, especially since he has two-way eligibility, but as an MVP finalist in France last year, he’ll have some good offers from overseas as well.
• Jordan Bowden: The Long Island Nets wing got more opportunities earlier in the week than he did as it went on, and his comfort level getting three point attempts up from the wing position was noted. I think he’s undersized for that role at the NBA level, so while he was a solid role player for these Summer Clippers, I don’t really see him as a guy I’d be inclined to want them to prioritize for two-way consideration.
• Brodric Thomas: 26-year-old Thomas has the most NBA experience of anyone on this Summer Clippers roster, and after shaking off some rust, he showed that as the week went on. He got more playing time in the last three games without Diabate, playing power forward in lineups built around Kobe Brown at center, and showed his experience with really great defensive positioning, taking a bunch of charges against bigger opponents. He also flashed some nice isolation scoring down the stretch of games. Overall, though, at 26 years old, as an undersized wing with an iffy track record as a shooter, I think he’s more likely to look for overseas opportunities than make an NBA roster.

• Bryson Williams: The Clippers’ secondary big man got more action than anticipated with Moussa missing three games, but wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity. Despite looking good in flashes off of the bench in the first two games, Williams struggled harshly enough in games 3-5 as a starter that I have a hard time seeing the Clippers target him for a two-way deal next season when they already have Brown and Diabate to develop at PF and C. LAC prioritized getting him to Ontario last fall, and it wouldn’t shock me to see him reprise his role as a backup big man for the Clippers in the G-League next year.
• Xavier Castaneda: Despite being on an exhibit 10 deal, we didn’t see much of Castaneda in this Summer League. He’s a tiny guard who scored 22 points per game last year for a small college, and I don’t think we got a lot of surprises from his performances in Vegas. He shot pretty poorly, but you can see the quickness and shooting comfort. I would expect him to be cut from his exhibit 10 instead of making it to a two-way spot and join the Ontario Clippers next season as a normal G-League player.
• Keaton Wallace: As a tenured Ontario Clipper, Wallace has been on the fringes of Clipper two-way conversations in recent years, even actually getting on a two-way for a few days last year. He made a really nice impact in the Clippers’ huge comeback win against the Philadelphia 76ers, but overall I think he’s too undersized for his role to translate to the next level. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on the radar for a two-way deal based on familiarity and the organization having kept him around the fringes in the past.
• Fred Sims: Sims was brought in as the 13th man on a 13-man roster, likely for emergency depth if anyone pulled out or got hurt. He got one short shift in the final game, and got to score, which is always a nice moment. I don’t think there’s any consideration of a Clipper or NBA future here.
• Nate Renfro: The Clippers’ third big this week, Renfro got a chance to play backup minutes in each of the team’s last three games. He had a couple of highlights and is clearly a spring, athletic finisher, but the skillset isn’t there to have NBA potential as a 6’8″ center.

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Clippers Summer League Takeaways
Lucas Hann

As the NBA Las Vegas Summer League comes to a close, the Clippers will play a consolation game against the Lakers after they fell just short of making the semifinals on point differential tiebreaker. The Battle For LA: Vegas Edition will take place at 7:00pm Pacific on ESPN2 and in the Thomas & Mack Center as the final game of this year’s Summer League before tomorrow’s championship bout. The Lakers finished 2-2 in their original four-game slate, with their most recent game being a 31-point thrashing by the Grizzlies on Friday night.

With the Clippers playing for nothing and some boxes checked, it will be interesting to see what players get opportunities in this last game. Xavier Moon has separated himself all week as a poised pro, while Kobe Brown finally put it all together to have an absolutely dominant performance on Friday. Has the team seen enough from them to give them the night off? Sophomore big man Moussa Diabate only played in the first two games due to a rib contusion, and presumably we won’t see him again tonight (although that hasn’t been announced by the team). Third-year guard Jason Preston has had a disappointing week in Vegas, being benched down the stretch twice for backupg guards (once Matt Morgan, once Keaton Wallace) who were more capable of helping the team win. Will he get another run-out or will the team feature the likes of Morgan, Wallace, and Castaneda more aggressively as they prepare to make decisions on camp invites and two-way contracts? Jordan Miller is probably a safe bet to play to get another game under his belt at the end of a quiet week, but you never know; the Clippers may opt to give free agents one last opportunity since Miller’s spot on a two-way contract next season is already secure.

I expect that we’ll see the full stable of reinforcements, as the Clippers’ bench is primarily made up of veteran free agents trying to get NBA spots. If any sit out, it could be a sign that they are close to securing a deal, whether in the NBA or something lucrative in Europe. That means Morgan, Wallace, and Castaneda should all be expected to play today, alongside wings Brodric Thomas and Jordan Bowden, and bigs Bryson Williams and Nate Renfro. Williams has started twice in Diabate’s absence, but struggled in both contests, with Clippers SL coach Dahntay Jones ultimately favoring a smallball approach around Kobe Brown with Thomas added to the lineup. We’ll see if that change is reflected in the starting lineup, if Brown even plays today. Guard Fred Sims is the last player on the roster and the only one who has yet to appear for the Summer Clippers; often, it’s normal for everyone to at least get a game, but Sims’ professional track record is pretty far below his teammates’ and I think it’s possible he came knowing he wouldn’t play unless guys got pulled out of action.

The Summer Lakers have been led by second-year guard Max Christie, but he missed their last game with a hip injury. I would expect them to be as safe as possible with a roster player who has already had a great month and hold him out again. Some other notable Lakers are 17th overall rookie Jalen Hood-Schofino and 40th overall rookie Maxwell Lewis. They’ve also gotten good production from undrafted sophomore Syracuse stretch forward Cole Swider, who played sparingly on a two-way deal with LAL last year, G-League vet L.J. Figueroa, and undrafted free agent big Colin Castleton, who is already on a two-way for next season.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

2023 NBA Summer League: Clippers vs Lakers Preview and Open Thread
Lucas Hann

The Summer Clippers got their third win in a row Friday afternoon against the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite being down by 15 at halftime, the Clipper surged back to win the second half 61 to 35 and the game by 11 points. However, it wasn’t the margin that they needed to secure advancement to the Summer League playoffs, as a massive 28-point victory would have been required to pass the Brooklyn Nets on point differential to secure the lone spot available for a 1-loss team.

Still, while it would have been fun to see this crew play a game with stakes on Sunday–and a potential sixth game had they won and advanced to the final–there are more important things than the Summer League Standings. Here’s one that will thrill the Clippers more than a chance to compete for the Summer League Championship: rookie Kobe Brown putting up a monster 35 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks while shooting 6-9 from two-point range and 7-10 from downtown. We often make a lot of the fact that the play in Summer League is significantly below the quality level of the NBA, and that we’re looking for players to really pop and “graduate” form Summer League. After three games where he showed interesting signs and promising moments but didn’t put it all together, Brown was truly dominant in Friday’s game, clearly the best player on both ends of the floor from the tip to the final horn. A couple of scouting notes on Kobe’s game beyond just “he was great”: he’s looked better at center than PF alongside another big so far; where he lands as a three-point shooter is yet to be seen (somewhere between the 23.5% he was shooting this week entering Friday’s game and the 70% he shot on Friday) but the volume in which he’s attempting them is a great sign; and, while his defensive activity has shown up in the steals column all week, it’s at least worth noting that he had 7(!) fouls today to bring his total up to 19 committed through 4 games.

Some other notes on important Clipper performers in this game:

• Xavier Moon, who has been the team’s leader all week, had a tricky shooting night and couldn’t quite take over down the stretch like he had in the first three games. I think we all knew he wasn’t going to go 5 games without missing in the fourth.
• Keaton Wallace, who didn’t play in the first 2 games and barely got on the court on Wednesday, had a really stellar offensive outing. He finished with 14 points on 5-9 shooting, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers in 20 minutes off the bench, playing almost the entire second half as the team went away from Jason Preston.
• Speaking of Preston, the third year guard isn’t having the week he would have hoped for. Despite having the highlight of the game, a truly breathtaking cross-court bounce pass in traffic to find Brown for a dunk, he had a mostly anonymous performance and his lack of speed continued to hurt the team’s offense. He was pulled after just 3 minutes in the third quarter and didn’t return, playing just under 15 minutes on the day.
• Second round rookie Jordan Miller also continued his anonymous Summer League, though perhaps his size and defensive contributions (combined with some extra patience for a new draft pick) have helped the coaches keep him on the floor. He had 4 points on 1-6 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, and didn’t really have an impact offensively aside from a nice eurostep for his only field goal. Career shooting splits aren’t defined by a one-week sample in Summer League, but the early returns aren’t good. He’s just 2-9 from deep in over 100 minutes so far, and while I can overlook percentages on a small sample, his lack of comfort in getting more of these looks up is definitely an early concern.

The Clippers finished the initial 4-game phase of the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League in 6th place out of 30 teams, which should certainly be considered a success considering the relative lack of Draft pedigree on LAC’s roster compared to opponents from across the league. However, since only 4 teams advance to the playoff phase, the Clippers will be left with a single consolation game on Sunday evening against the Los Angeles Lakers. The roommate rival franchises will play at 7pm Pacific on Sunday on ESPN2 in the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lakers finished initial play 2-2, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies (who the Clippers beat by 9) by an astonishing 31 points Friday evening.

The Clippers’ approach, which involved bringing in an older-than-usual roster featuring players who have succeeded in professional leagues around the world instead of undrafted free agents, raised this team’s floor, especially on the defensive end. Whether they successfully found a diamond in the rough remains to be seen–Matt Morgan, Jordan Bowden, Brodric Thomas, and Bryson Williams have all had their moments, but none have popped as can’t-miss NBA-caliber players. Still, it’s entirely possible that one of them has impressed enough in these games (and the highly important practices with Clipper coaches, which we aren’t privy to) to earn a two-way contract next season.

Clippers vs Sixers Game Recap: Brown’s 35 Powers Comeback
Lucas Hann

As the NBA Las Vegas Summer League comes to a close, the Clippers have their final regularly scheduled game against the Sixers. If you’ve got Friday afternoon off of work, you’ll get to watch the Clippers face off against the Sixers at 2:00pm Pacific on ESPN2, or in the Thomas & Mack Center for folks making the trip for this weekend’s games (or, god forbid, still there after going for last weekend). The Sixers are 1-2 in Vegas after also going 1-2 in the Salt Lake City Summer League last week (yes, all 4 of the Clippers’ SL opponents so far played in extra games last week before coming to Vegas)

The Clippers have started third-year point guard Jason Preston, veteran fringe guard Xavier Moon, rookie wing Jordan Miller and rookie forward Kobe Brown in each of their three games so far. Moon has clearly been the MVP and leader of this team, averaging 14 fourth quarter points per game so far. Each of the other Clipper prospects has had moments without quite breaking through, which is especially notable for third year guard Jason Preston, whose status with the organization is up in the air. Sophomore big man Moussa Diabate started the first two games before missing the third with a rib contusion; it’s unclear if he’ll return to the lineup for this game. Bryson Williams moved into the starting lineup as a replacement big man in Diabate’s absence, but the Clippers spent the bulk of the second half playing around Brown at center with backup wing Brodric Thomas on the floor as they matched up with a Grizzlies squad that lacks height.

In addition to Thomas, G-League wing Jordan Bowden has appeared off the bench in each game for the Clippers, adding shooting in each of their wins. Speedy guard Matt Morgan was held out of their last game, and it’s unclear if this was due to injury, contract developments (sometimes free agents pull out to avoid injury if they are receiving interest or offers), or preplanned rotation to get different guys opportunities. The Clippers’ last game saw the first minutes this summer for guards Xavier Castaneda and Keaton Wallace, as well as big man Nate Renfro. Fred Sims Jr is the sole Summer Clipper who has yet to appear. If the Clippers are sticking to a rotation plan, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the core guys who have played all three game so far take Friday off–it’s standard procedure as part of agreements with agents that guys who come to Summer League as backups will still get an opportunity to play so they have tape for scouts.

As far as Summer League goes, this game isn’t without stakes for the Clippers, as they actually still have a chance to make the Summer League playoffs. All 30 teams play 4 scheduled games, with the top 4 going into semifinal games and the remaining 26 getting a consolation game. The results of Friday’s contests will determine if the Clippers head for a consolation game this weekend or a semifinal Sunday. They will need to not only win to finish 3-1 and have a shot, but win by as much as possible to beat out other 3-1 teams on the point differential tiebreaker. A win by fewer than 13 points eliminates them, while 28 is the number that more realistically gives them a good shot at passing current 4th-place Brooklyn, who are 3-1 with a +10.0 point differential. It’s worth noting that the largest margin of victory in Vegas this summer has been 23, so it would take a herculean effort for the Clippers to pull off. Fortunately for them, they’re playing a Sixers team without much NBA talent. Jaden Springer has been held out for most of Summer League with an injury, leaving undrafted rookie Terquavion Smith and G-League vet Javonte Smart (who has some minimal NBA experience on two-way contracts with Milwaukee and Miami) leading the way.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

2023 NBA Summer League: Clippers vs Sixers Preview and Open Thread
Lucas Hann

After securing their first win of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League on Monday night, the Clippers are back in action against the Memphis Grizzlies. Folks who aren’t bound to the 9-5 will get to watch the two 1-1 teams face off at 12:30pm Pacific on NBATV, or in the Cox Pavilion for basketball tourists in Las Vegas. This Summer Grizzlies group also has a little more experience together by virtue of going 2-1 in the Salt Lake City Summer League lead-up event, with their only loss coming in the finale where their big-name players were rested.

The Clippers have started third-year point guard Jason Preston, veteran fringe guard Xavier Moon, rookie wing Jordan Miller, rookie forward Kobe Brown, and sophomore big man Moussa Diabate in each of their first two games. French MVP finalist guard Matt Morgan, Long Island Nets star wing Jordan Bowden, former NBA wing Brodric Thomas, and former Ontario Clippers big Bryson Williams have rounded out the 9-man rotation off the bench. So far, each of the Clippers’ prospects (Preston, Miller, Brown, and Diabate) have shown flashes but failed to truly break out and demonstrate superior, NBA-caliber talent. Preston in particular is in a perilous position, as his contract for next season is not guaranteed and he could be released after Summer League if he doesn’t impress. 28-year-old Xavier Moon has undoubtedly been the best player on this roster, taking over offensively late in games to average 16 (!!) fourth quarter points. No other Clipper is averaging 16 points per game. Morgan has shown his speed and shooting off the bench and is second on the team in scoring with 12 points per game, but has yet to truly break out despite closing Monday’s win ahead of the struggling Preston. Bowden was quiet on Saturday but got hot from deep to finish with 18 points on Monday; Thomas has just 5 points on 2-9 shooting total so far. Williams has been a mixed bag but has been active and had good moments; he was with the Clippers in training camp last season and could be considered a candidate for a two-way contract. We have yet to see several depth players on this team; it’s customary for everyone who is brought to Summer League to get some type of shot, so we’ll see if and when the Clippers incorporate undrafted rookie guard Xavier Castaneda, international pro guard Fred Sims Jr., Ontario Clipper guard/wing Keaton Wallace, or international forward/big Nate Renfro.

On the other side of this match-up, the Grizzlies have an assortment of relevant NBA talent. Kenneth Lofton Jr performed well enough in 24 appearances last season as an undrafted rookie on a two-way deal to earn a real contract with the team going forward. Sophomore 19th overall pick Jake LaRavia got his feet wet in the NBA last year with 35 games played. Sophomore 23rd overall pick David Roddy earned a regular rotation spot, averaging 18 minutes per game in 70 appearances. Sophomore undrafted guard Jacob Gilyard made one appearance last season on a two-way contract signed after Lofton was promoted to the main roster. 48th overall pick rookie G.G. Jackson, 47th overall pick sophomore Vincent Williams Jr, and 56th overall pick rookie Tarik Biberovic will also likely get their opportunities. This will be a good test for the Summer Clippers as they go up against an opponent with more headlining proven NBA talent than they possess–an opportunity for them to prove they belong in the league next season.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

2023 NBA Summer League: Clippers vs Grizzlies Preview and Open Thread
Lucas Hann

The 2023 edition of the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League kicked off on Friday, but the Clippers and Jazz both have to wait until the nightcap of day 2 to get in on the action. After a couple of full days of anticipation, we’ll get to watch the Summer Clippers tip off against the Jazz at 7pm Pacific on ESPN2, or in the Thomas & Mack Center for basketball tourists in Las Vegas.

We’ll look for Jason Preston, Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown, and Moussa Diabate to take on leading roles for the Summer Clippers. Miller, Brown, and Diabate will all be on the Clippers next season, while Preston’s status is up in the air–his contract has a guarantee date after Summer League. Diabate and Preston, in their 2nd and 3rd Summer Leagues, should look more comfortable than in past iterations and be the leaders of this squad. The Clippers will also look to veteran Xavier Moon for a steady hand bringing the ball up, and try to get a look at Xavier Castaneda, an undrafted rookie guard that the team signed to an exhibit 10 deal (a training camp invitation with the team option to convert into a two-way contract).

Some other names that I’ll be keeping an eye on are Keaton Wallace (a tenured member of the Ontario Clippers who was briefly on a two-way deal last season), Matt Morgan (a finalist for the LNB MVP in France last year), Brodric Thomas (who has 44 NBA games under his belt for the Rockets, Cavs, and Celtics since going undrafted in 2020), and Bryson Williams (an undersized stretch 4/5 with Ontario Clippers experience shot 42% from three at Texas Tech in 2021-22 and in France last season). I’m interested to see who the 5th starter is alongside (presumably) Preston, Miller, Brown, and Diabate. Moon, who started next to Preston in the backcourt for Ontario last season, is a logical fit, but the Clippers seem to be prioritizing getting a look at several new established veterans from non-NBA leagues, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Morgan or Thomas get the nod.

Don’t be surprised if the Summer Jazz look like the much more coherent side in this contest. While the Summer Clippers are playing their first game together, the Jazz played three times earlier this week in Salt Lake City, going 1-2. Headlined by sophomore lottery pick Ochai Agbaji, who played real rotation minutes for the Jazz last season and is averaging 19 points and 9 rebounds so far this summer, the Jazz also feature rookie top-10 pick Taylor Hendricks, who hasn’t played yet with a hamstring strain. Other notable Jazz are beat up: 2019 Spurs first round pick Luka Samanic, who was briefly with the Jazz last season, left their last game with a knee injury; rookie 28th overall pick Brice Sensebaugh is day-to-day recovering from knee surgery, and returning two-way contract guard Johnny Juzang missed their last game. While all of their statuses for Saturday evening are unknown, we can expect Agbaji to be flanked by 16th overall pick Keyonte George, who has scored 16 points per game so far this summer.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

2023 NBA Summer League: Clippers vs Jazz Preview and Open Thread
Lucas Hann

The LA Clippers announced their summer league roster on Saturday, highlighted by the return of Moussa Diabaté and first round rookie Kobe Brown:

Clippers fans will be most excited to see sophomore big man Moussa Diabaté, rookie forward Kobe Brown, and rookie wing Jordan Miller. Look for all three to be featured heavily in Las Vegas as the three Summer Clippers who are guaranteed to be a part of the team’s 18-man roster next season. Brown will be on the normal 15-man roster on a rookie scale contract, while Miller is expected to be placed on a two-way contract as a second round rookie. Diabaté is currently a restricted free agent after being on a two-way last season–it remains to be seen if he’ll be added to the 15-man roster or brought back on another two-way.

Third-year guard Jason Preston is also back for another stint with the Summer Clippers, after two years of scarcely playing as a member of LAC’s roster. Preston has a non-guaranteed contract that was set to become guaranteed if not released by July 7th, but the Clippers and Preston mutually agreed to push that deadline to July 18th. This will allow the Clippers to see how Preston does in Summer League before deciding on his fate for next season–it also, importantly, gives the team more time to determine if they need his $1.8M salary as filler in a trade under the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement’s more restrictive trade rules. Notably, fellow third-year Clipper Brandon Boston Jr. is not heading back to Vegas this summer, with the Clippers already deciding to guarantee his salary for next season. Are the Clippers just looking to give other guys opportunity, since they already know Boston can dominate G-League level competition? Or is Boston involved in ongoing trade talks for James Harden? There’s no real way for us to know.

A few other Clipper-adjacent names will be here: Xavier Moon has spent time with the Clippers in each of the last two seasons as an emergency ball-handler, but at 28 years old doesn’t realistically have NBA upside. He could be a candidate for a two-way contract next year in a similar emergency capacity, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go in another direction. Xavier Castaneda is an undrafted free agent who will reportedly compete for a two-way spot for the Clippers in camp, although it’s worth remembering that the guys the Clippers extend those offers to on draft night rarely actually make it to the roster. I’m a bit puzzled by the team listing him as a 6’1″ forward, since RealGM lists him as a point guard–I’m wondering if this was just a clerical error. The 23-year-old averaged 22 points per game for Akron last year as a 5th-year season while making 39% on a high volume of three-point attempts–it wouldn’t surprise me to see him scoring in Vegas as well. 24-year-old guard Keaton Wallace has spent the last two years as a high-impact starter on the Ontario Clippers and was a backup for the Summer Clippers last year. He spent a few days on a two-way contract with LAC last season and could be a leading candidate to earn one this year with the third two-way spot being added.

Beyond that, the Clippers have brought on a slate of undrafted players from previous years who are playing in other professional leagues. Jordan Bowden, a 26-year-old 6’5″ wing who went underafted out of Tennessee in 2020, has spent the last 3 years with the Long Island Nets of the NBA G-League, averaging 17 points per game as a starter last season. Matt Morgan, a 6’2″ 25-year-old guard who went undrafted out of Cornell in 2019, is one of the most intruiging names on this roster. Morgan averaged over 20 points per game as a breakout star in the French LNB last season, one of the best non-NBA leagues in the world, where he was named as one of three MVP finalists alongside #1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama. Nate Renfro, a 26-year-old 6’8″ forward who went undrafted in 2019 out of San Francisco, left the G-League last summer for the competitive Greek league, where he posted modest averages of 7 points and 6 rebounds as a starter. Renfro is a non-shooter who attempted just 3 three-point attempts in 38 games last season, missing all of them.

Fred Sims Jr., a 26-year-old 6’4″ guard who went undrafted in 2018 out of Chicago State, is harder to track down. He has no G-League track record and his last appearance in a league tracked by RealGM was in Portugal in 2020. Eurohoops has him appearing in the second tier in Austria before seemingly playing for the Limon Sharks in the Costa Rican league most recently–I honestly wonder what the story is behind him getting brought in. On the other hand Brodric Thomas, 6’5″ out of Truman State, actually has the most NBA experience on this roster–he’s played in 44 total games for Cleveland, Houston, and Boston, though he didn’t appear in an NBA game last year. In both of his previous Las Vegas Summer League stints, he started and averaged double figures. It’s unclear if he played professionally last year after being cut by the Celtics in training camp. Lastly, Bryson Williams, a 6’8″ 25-year-old forward who went undrafted in 2022 out of Texas Tech, spent time with the Ontario Clippers last season before joining a team in France for their final 7 games of the season. He averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench for Ontario, notably making 35% of his threes, before averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds in france while shooting 42% from deep. Williams also shot 42% from three on low volume in his final year at Texas Tech (as a sixth-year senior), giving him a track record as a stretch 4/undersized 5.

Overall, the Clippers clearly trended older/more established for their summer league roster this season. The youngest player by almost two full calendar years is Diabaté, who was their rookie last season. Finding the right combination of guys to put together a team for a week is never easy, but there certainly seems to have been a vision here in pursuing players that have proven themselves (in varying degrees, since not all 13 guys can play significant minutes) in other professional leagues. If the Clippers determine that one or two of these players from around the world have taken the leap to NBA-caliber in their mid-20s, securing them on a two-way contract for next season would be good business.

Clippers Release Summer League Roster
Lucas Hann