2023 Summer League Champs

[cavsfever]

Just shows how far the NBA has come!

 

[The Oi]

These are nicer than NBA championship rings from the 70s!

Willis Reed let me wear that ring outside of the Angelo Brocato during Mardi Gras in ‘04.

He drove by with another guy in a Mazda Miata and was parking his car to get some ice cream and then go to one of the seafood groceries nearby.

I actually started talking to him not knowing who he was.

He said he liked to make barbecue shrimp and started talking about how “New Orleans does shrimp differently than any other city in the world. Get it next door. Best you’ll ever have.”

When his friend called him Willis and I looked down and saw the ring, it all added up.

I introduced myself and said “Hi Willis, my dad was a huge fan of yours. Pretty cool that I’m getting barbecue shrimp advice from a Hall of Famer.”

He leaned down for what seemed like ages and got right in my face. He squeezed my hand so firmly I thought it was going to break.

“Barbecue shrimp. Heads on. Best you’ll ever have.”

Then he slipped the ring off of his finger and put it on mine. He turned around and the guy next to him was taking a photograph with an old school Kodak camera.

The picture printed out and he handed it to me. The two guys walked away without saying a word. Didn’t even get the ice cream he said he was there to buy.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Yeah, right now I'd say he should not be an initiator. Focus on playing off ball and maybe pushing in transition after getting the board.

I'd hope they never try to put him in that role. His handles are light-years away from those needed by an NBA PG. And for what? Having another combo-guard type to play your ball/my ball?

He's not a natural PG, and trying to turn him into one rather than having a clearly defined off-ball role likely will make him a worse player, and may exacerbate ball-stopper tendencies as he tries to play wanna-be PG.

Way better off just trying to improve/refine what he is, rather than try to turn him into something he isn't.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Willis Reed let me wear that ring outside of the Angelo Brocato during Mardi Gras in ‘04.

He drove by with another guy in a Mazda Miata and was parking his car to get some ice cream and then go to one of the seafood groceries nearby.

I actually started talking to him not knowing who he was.

He said he liked to make barbecue shrimp and started talking about how “New Orleans does shrimp differently than any other city in the world. Get it next door. Best you’ll ever have.”

When his friend called him Willis and I looked down and saw the ring, it all added up.

I introduced myself and said “Hi Willis, my dad was a huge fan of yours. Pretty cool that I’m getting barbecue shrimp advice from a Hall of Famer.”

He leaned down for what seemed like ages and got right in my face. He squeezed my hand so firmly I thought it was going to break.

“Barbecue shrimp. Heads on. Best you’ll ever have.”

Then he slipped the ring off of his finger and put it on mine. He turned around and the guy next to him was taking a photograph with an old school Kodak camera.

The picture printed out and he handed it to me. The two guys walked away without saying a word. Didn’t even get the ice cream he said he was there to buy.

Totally believable except for Willis Reed putting his massive ring on your tiny finger.

I'm guessing it wasn't your finger, and that the ring was still too big.

 

[Cavatt]

I'd hope they never try to put him in that role. His handles are light-years away from those needed by an NBA PG. And for what? Having another combo-guard type to play your ball/my ball?

He's not a natural PG, and trying to turn him into one rather than having a clearly defined off-ball role likely will make him a worse player, and may exacerbate ball-stopper tendencies as he tries to play wanna-be PG.

Way better off just trying to improve/refine what he is, rather than try to turn him into something he isn't.

He's also just too good off ball. He will be a much bigger threat spotting up, cutting and relocating. Putting the ball in his hands would be madness on the Cavs. You can see him playing with either lead guard or Caris pretty easily.

 

[narbar32]

Totally believable except for Willis Reed putting his massive ring on your tiny finger.

I'm guessing it wasn't your finger, and that the ring was still too big.

"He reached down to put the ring on and I reflexively recoiled and shuddered. But then he gripped my shoulder with his other hand and said to me in a booming whisper that was at once both gentle and menacing, 'It will be okay.'

I don't know if it was the fiery warmth in his eyes or the stoic firmness of his grip, but I believed him."

 

[BodegaBayCav]

The SL is a great way to spend a long weekend in Vegas. You get to see a lot of stars walking through casino's. I am 6' 1", and I feel like 5' 4" when I walk beside these guys.

The games are really fun. You get to sit about 5-20 rows back for $45 and you can stay all day and watch 8 games if you want. The players play harder than regular NBA players and half of them know they have no chance of ever malking the NBA, but this is their chance to make a few bucks and spend 10 days in Vegas on someone else's dime. And maybe, if you play on the Cavs, win a damn nice ring.

Merrill, Bates, I. Mobley, Travers, Porter, Nance, and Diop will all play in the NBA some day.

If this was our teams from 2019 or 2020, four of them would be seeing NBA minutes by the end of the season. But, this is the 2023-24 season and the Cavs roster is stacked, so we can give these players time to develop in the G League or overseas.

It is a great time to be a Cavs fan!

 

[cavsfever]

The SL is a great way to spend a long weekend in Vegas. You get to see a lot of stars walking through casino's. I am 6' 1", and I feel like 5' 4" when I walk beside these guys.

The games are really fun. You get to sit about 5-20 rows back for $45 and you can stay all day and watch 8 games if you want. The players play harder than regular NBA players and half of them know they have no chance of ever malking the NBA, but this is their chance to make a few bucks and spend 10 days in Vegas on someone else's dime. And maybe, if you play on the Cavs, win a damn nice ring.

Merrill, Bates, I. Mobley, Travers, Porter, Nance, and Diop will all play in the NBA some day.

If this was our teams from 2019 or 2020, four of them would be seeing NBA minutes by the end of the season. But, this is the 2023-24 season and the Cavs roster is stacked, so we can give these players time to develop in the G League or overseas.

It is a great time to be a Cavs fan!

RCF meetup in Vegas at next years summer league!

 

[Jscc]

Willis Reed let me wear that ring outside of the Angelo Brocato during Mardi Gras in ‘04.

He drove by with another guy in a Mazda Miata and was parking his car to get some ice cream and then go to one of the seafood groceries nearby.

I actually started talking to him not knowing who he was.

He said he liked to make barbecue shrimp and started talking about how “New Orleans does shrimp differently than any other city in the world. Get it next door. Best you’ll ever have.”

When his friend called him Willis and I looked down and saw the ring, it all added up.

I introduced myself and said “Hi Willis, my dad was a huge fan of yours. Pretty cool that I’m getting barbecue shrimp advice from a Hall of Famer.”

He leaned down for what seemed like ages and got right in my face. He squeezed my hand so firmly I thought it was going to break.

“Barbecue shrimp. Heads on. Best you’ll ever have.”

Then he slipped the ring off of his finger and put it on mine. He turned around and the guy next to him was taking a photograph with an old school Kodak camera.

The picture printed out and he handed it to me. The two guys walked away without saying a word. Didn’t even get the ice cream he said he was there to buy.

This should be a Disney movie.

 

[The Oi]

This should be a Disney movie.

This vibe.


Might take a strike.

Once us RCF writers start getting paid what we’re worth, I’ll see what I can do. You wouldn’t believe what kind of salaries the guys at the top here are taking.

 

[The Oi]

Totally believable except for

The Mazda Miata part didn’t send up any red flags?

"He reached down to put the ring on and I reflexively recoiled and shuddered. But then he gripped my shoulder with his other hand and said to me in a booming whisper that was at once both gentle and menacing, 'It will be okay.'

I don't know if it was the fiery warmth in his eyes or the stoic firmness of his grip, but I believed him."

19 Shades of Gay

 

[The Oi]

This story is loosely based on an experience I had as an 8 year old briefly meeting former Green Bay Packer Ray Nitzchke at a candy convention where he did let me wear his Super Bowl ring.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Will Bates and CPJ defend their summer league championship next summer?
Cavs going B2B.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

This story is loosely based on an experience I had as an 8 year old briefly meeting former Green Bay Packer Ray Nitzchke at a candy convention where he did let me wear his Super Bowl ring.

Hmm. Well, I've got a story about being squeezed between former Browns Lou Groza and Jim Houston in my early 30's....

@2 For The Brew

 

[The Oi]

Hmm. Well, I've got a story about being squeezed between former Browns Lou Groza and Jim Houston in my early 30's....

@2 For The Brew

Get on with it.