Las Vegas Summer League: Fantasy basketball managers should keep on eye on these NBA players

The 2024 Vegas Summer League won’t reach last year’s hype, but there are plenty of young players afforded the chance to showcase their talent. It’ll be chaotic and messy, but hey, we hoopin!

From a fantasy standpoint, I’ll be focusing on the sophomores and third-year players over the rookies because the vets in this circumstance generally have more success in fantasy than the first-year guys — especially with the 2024 draft class being considered one of the weakest in years. Still, I’ll be tuning in to assess the development of several players to get a better read on their progress and their chances of becoming a fantasy asset next season.

Omitting players like Keyonte George, Keon Ellis, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Brandin Podziemski, who have nothing to prove here, here are the players I’m watching ahead of the 2024 Vegas Summer League.

The “Vets”

Walker Kessler – C, Utah Jazz

Kessler’s production stalled after a promising rookie campaign, so it’s unsurprising that he is headed for his third Summer League appearance. I doubt he’ll play beyond a few games, but he’ll need a good showing in Vegas to either:

A) Restore confidence in Utah’s coaching staff to replace John Collins as the starting center of their rebuild or

B) Play well enough for another team to give up a first-round pick for his services

Assuming he stays in Utah, this will be a pivotal opportunity to develop more chemistry with their future point guard, Keyonte George. Here’s George getting easy buckets with Kessler in the pick-and-roll:

Kessler’s off to a decent start too, averaging 7.0 points, 10.5 boards, three blocks and two steals per game at the Salt Lake City Summer League. He didn’t live up to last year’s fifth-round ADP, so hopefully, he can take this momentum into Vegas.

Kobe Bufkin – SG, Atlanta Hawks

After spending much of his rookie season in the G-League, the former Michigan combo guard only appeared in 17 games for the Hawks. For what it’s worth, he balled out for College Park, averaging 23.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game last year — he can hoop:

Kobe Bufkin has really showcased his entire offensive repertoire in…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-11 16:54:54

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