Seven things we learned from the NBA Summer League

1. Damian Lillard is better than we thought.


Damian Lillard is going to be good. How good, is yet unclear, but he knows how to play. He'll be given the reins in Portland from day one, so he'll have plenty of opportunity to learn on the job. If he develops, he could provide a great tangent with LaMarcus Aldridge for years to come.


2. Jared Sullinger really is going be the steal of the draft


'Sully', as the Boston fans already call him, showed in the Summer League why he was projected as a top ten pick before his injury. He can face-up or play with his back to the basket, and he's an efficient scorer in the paint. Look for Sullinger to play an important role of the bench for the Celtics this coming season.


3. The Bobcats actually drafted the right guy!


Maybe the most stunning thing about the summer league was seeing the Bobcat's go unbeaten en route to the best record. Summer doesn't matter a whole lot, but the Bobcats do have some young talent now, and Kidd-Gilchrist showed us all just why the 'Cats took him with the second pick. Given Charlotte's draft history - (Adam Morrison anyone?) -, just picking the right guy, is a major step in the right direction.


4. Thomas Robinson may struggle a bit in Sac-town


Robinson produced mixed performances in the summer leagues. He started of pretty positively, and put up good scoring numbers throughout, but his efficiency was alarmingly poor for a big man. Robinson needs to learn how to play with his back to the basket in the NBA. He's relying to much on his face-up game and he needs to get into the paint more often.

5. The Rockets package for Dwight is looking nice


Surely there's no better package for the Magic than Houston's three rookies, draft picks, and some expiring contracts. In one fell swoop, Orlando could get young talent and clear their current bad contracts, as well as making themselves a bad enough team to be in the high lottery at the end of next season. Royce White in particular, looked great in Vegas.

6. Jeremy Lin is no longer a Knick?!!!?


Ok, this isn't exactly about the summer league, but it was the biggest NBA story of the last week. This was a stunning (and idiotic) U-turn by the usually financially irresponsible Knicks front office. Lin would have made all of that luxury tax money back for them in endorsement deals, and the third 'poison pill' year of his contract would have been a giant expiring deal. It would have been a massive trade chip for a Knicks team that will likely be locked in as a perennial 4/5 seed by then.

7. Malcolm Thomas will play in the NBA next season


Thomas represented the Bulls in the summer league, and after his impressive performances, he was named on All-Summer League team. Thomas is an energy guy, not unlike Taj Gibson, who'll get on the boards - offensively and defensively - and run the floor well. He has a number of teams interested, including the Bulls, Suns, and Clippers. Someone's going to give him a shot.