Miami Heat: 5 takeaways from 2017 NBA Summer League
By Frank Urbina
4. Gian Clavell was another bright spot
Considering the quality of the roster Miami took to both Summer Leagues — one that featured just two guys with guaranteed spots on next season’s team — it was somewhat difficult to find many prospects to get excited about.
Just compare the players rocking Heat jerseys over the past few weeks to Miami’s Summer League rosters of yesteryear:
That closing lineup from a meaningless 2015 Orlando Summer League matchup had five guys who went on to have — or already had — NBA experience: Tyler Johnson, Zoran Dragic, James Ennis, Justise Winslow and Willie Reed. This year’s entire Summer League team won’t have that many guys reach the top level of basketball.
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Nonetheless, apart from Adebayo and White, one guy who may have given himself a chance is Gian Clavell — a two-way wing out of Colorado State.
Clavell started out slowly in the Orlando Summer League, averaging just 5.8 points in 21.0 minutes a night. However, he acquitted himself once the games went west.
In five games at the Las Vegas Summer League, the 6’4″ 2-guard scored 12.4 points per contest on 45.2 percent shooting. More than anything, his effort on the less glamorous side of the ball stood out, even in the pickup ball-oriented style of play so common in the offseason.
There’s a chance that his defense and three-point shooting over the past few weeks earned him a spot with the Sioux Falls Sky Force — Miami’s G-League affiliate.