Sebastian Pruiti, otherwise known as the guy taking over basketball blogging, put together a great piece on DeMarcus Cousins and the passing ability he’s shown early on in the Summer League.

One thing that a rookie big struggles to pick up when they come from college to the pros is passing.  This is because the ways that teams send doubles are different and more complicated, there is more ball pressure, and the defenders are bigger/quicker.  However, DeMarcus Cousins looks very comfortable identifying defenses and making the correct pass in the half court.  Cousins was only credited with one assist during his debut, but he showed the type of instincts you don’t usually see as a rookie, let alone a 19 year old rookie:

Check it out here.

“Beat L.A Beat L.A!”

That chant came from Clipper Darrell when he was watching the Kings turn an early 0-9 deficit into a glorious victory over the Lakers.

And while the rivalry wasn’t exactly renewed with Tuesday’s action, it was fun to watch the way the Kings’ meaningless victory happened.

Before we get into how the players played, check out my contribution to the Daily Dime on ESPN.com. Wrote about Devan Downey and how he changed the game for the Kings:

Downey’s biggest downside — his size (5-foot-9) — is also probably what allows him to be so effective in a setting like this. There’s no true zone defense to prevent him from driving to the basket. Teams can pack it in against him, but they still have to abide by man-to-man principles for the most part. Downey capitalizes by finding holes in the defense that only quick, small point guards can get into. And when he gets deep into the defense, he makes things happen for his team.

“Once you get in that paint, it’s going to suck everybody in,” Kings summer league coach Mario Elie said.” And it’s going to enable our players to get open looks.”

Click the link to check out the entire section.

- Devan Downey: Let’s talk about Devan Downey first and foremost. The Lakers were doubling Cousins instantly on the touch in the post and rotated very well to take away any flow of offense the Kings could muster. When Downey came into the game, he found ways to make things happen. The Lakers couldn’t stop him from getting into the lane. He’s simply too quick and he is able to use his size to get into places most bigger guards can’t. Downey’s vision and patience with the ball is pretty incredible too. He rarely rushed anything on offense and seemed to make the correct play every time.

Downey has a place in this league and games like this will get the narrow view of what a point guard looks like to go away. Downey is probably going to be the smallest guy on the court every game. It’s rare that he’ll have a size advantage or simply not be at a size disadvantage. But cases like him always make me thing of Earl Boykins and something he said. A reporter once asked him to describe how he’s able to be so effective despite his size. Boykins replied that he’s always been the smallest guy so it’s not an adjustment to him when he plays.

With Downey he’s not at a disadvantage because he knows how to play as the smaller guy. He can get his shot off amongst the trees because he sees the floor so well. When he gets in the paint, he sees the play developing and already knows how it will finish. On defense, being so low to the ground allows him to guard against the dribble better than anybody. He can be a smaller Lindsey Hunter or a slightly smaller Ty Lawson. There is a place for a guy like Downey who just knows how to play. I’d be shocked if he’s not on a NBA roster this season.

- DeMarcus Cousins: I got giddy pretty quick over Tyreke Evans last year because you could just tell he was better than everybody on the court. He was bigger, stronger and quick enough to get wherever he wanted on the floor. With DeMarcus Cousins, it’s the same thing all over again. He’s the best player on the floor. He’s so good and so feared that he’s being doubled immediately when he touches the ball in the post. In Summer League! This guy has every tool to be one of the best big men in the NBA. There’s no way the Kings can’t or shouldn’t start him at the center position on opening night.

Cousins posted a 19 and 12 double-double while showing skills all over the court with his passing, defensive positioning and shot blocking. He struggled from the floor with an 8/20 shooting performance. He battled Derrick Caracter early and actually was pretty frustrated with the way he played. Caracter’s defense was nice but Cousins still got a lot of shots he wanted. They just didn’t fall. Defensively, I think it’s clear that he can’t guard guys that stretch the floor. Caracter was able to get out to 20-feet and knock down the jumper and DMC looked uncomfortable out there.

Overall, DeMarcus is just better than every big man here. He’s one of those players that you can just tell is going to be a huge problem for his opponents.

- Donté Greene: Donté was nails out there against Gerald Green and the other wing players. He knocked down a couple of threes on the left side of the floor and perfectly stretched the defense off of guard penetration. The best part of his role here in Summer League though is being a coach on the court. Donté’s basketball IQ is on display here and it’s really high. He knows the right places to rotate and relays the info pretty quickly to his younger teammates. I’m not sure how much of his game here is being worked on but his leadership is definitely getting some reps.

- Hassan Whiteside: Whiteside’s defense looked a lot more controlled to me in this game. He only ended up with two blocked shots but he wasn’t flying all over the place and getting himself out of position. Offensively, it’s pretty awkward. He needs a lot of work on just getting the ball up to a shooting position efficiently. Once he gets to the shooting position, his touch and spatial awareness are really poor. Offensively, he’s strictly an alley-oop or tip dunk kind of weapon. But as long as he’s protecting the basket and rebounding, it doesn’t matter.

- Omri Casspi: Omri struggled quite a bit out there. He faded unnecessarily on a couple shots and his free throw shooting was horrendous at 1/6. I’ve always thought the free throw shooting form would be fine but he really doesn’t look comfortable or confident shooting them. Good thing it’s just summer league.

- Donald Sloan: Donald Sloan is not blowing me away with the way he is playing. He’s struggling to get the offense going, his defense is just okay and he’s not a threat to really get his own basket. I don’t think he’s a player that has no place in this league because he’s clearly managing the game and trying not to commit a bunch of turnovers. But I’d like to see him turn it loose a bit. Devan Downey did more yesterday than Sloan’s done in two games.

- Sylven Landesberg: This guy knows how to score the basketball. Aside from getting to the lane really easily, his defense was also on display. He’s not a lockdown guy by any means but there aren’t a lot of weaknesses in his game. At least, he hasn’t shown any yet.

- Wayne Chism: Chism doesn’t make sense on the Kings roster because they’re so deep in the frontcourt but he’s showing a real ability to score the ball. He’s very quick and decisive when he has the ball and that’s what you need in a forward off the bench.

Extra Notes
- There was a play in the second half in which the Kings had a side-out-of-bounds inbound pass to Downey who went backcourt to take it. Unfortunately, that’s against the rules and he was called for the backcourt violation. Mario Elie screamed at him that this wasn’t college anymore and he couldn’t do that. Downey turned to John Wall who was sitting courtside and said he didn’t know it was against the rules. Rookies…

- The Maloofs were courtside for the game and in the area they were all very impressed by the newfound size and length of their young frontcourt players. At one point, someone in the area exclaimed, “Look how we play with those trees in there. This is a lot different than when Kenny Thomas was with us.” Poor K9.

- Expect Dionte Christmas to get some big run in today’s game. Sounds like it’s his time.

With the debut of DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside officially in our memory banks, seems like a good idea to recap how the entire team did during the Summer League. First off though, I’m going to pimp out something I wrote for the Daily Dime that came out this morning on ESPN.com:

Cousins’ apparent obsession with contact on the defensive end of the floor slams nicely into the offensive side of the court, too. He forced his way into the paint against the Pistons’ big men with nimble feet and an uncanny ability to shift his weight to put the defender at a disadvantage. When Detroit doubled him, he showed vision in his passing game that you don’t see with a lot of guys his size. It wasn’t revolutionary; it was just another weapon at his disposal.

The list of ammunition in his arsenal is more than he was able to show at Kentucky. When asked about his jumper that he employed from all over the floor, he responded, “I’ve had it, but Coach Cal didn’t need me to do it at UK.”

Click the link to read the rest of it.

Now, onto my thoughts on the team:

- DeMarcus Cousins: I don’t think you could have watched DMC yesterday and not be blown away by how good this guy is going to be. I sat next to David Thorpe during the game and he was amazed that Cousins wasn’t the second pick in the draft. Cousins passing ability and physical nature impressed me the most throughout the day. He made a lot of passes that most centers in the league can’t make. His vision in the block and moving to the basket is something the Kings can really use. His only problem was that the execution of the passes was a little sloppy at times. But you can live with that as he builds up more experience in those situations.

Cousins’ outlet passes are also something that will be of great value to the Kings. His rebounding is spectacular and he’ll easily be a walking double-double in this league. With him owning the boards so well, it will give him a lot of chances to toss good outlet passes to get the Kings some quick offensive options. He’s also capable of trailing the play and diving hard to the basket or being a good jump shot option. His follow-through on the jumper was unfinished and short a lot but you can easily fix that. He’s a complete offensive force that can defend pretty well in a team concept. Kings once again got extremely fortunate in capitalizing on other GMs’ mistakes.

- Hassan Whiteside: Sort of a sexy line for Hassan, who was dubbed “SWAT” by Cousins. Five points, five boards and five blocks. Hassan went up and got some really incredible blocks during his time on the court. Some of them seemed impossible and some of them seemed like goaltends but when he was on the court, he was a threat to come from the weakside and erasing any attempt. He and Cousins played well together defensively.

The problem I saw with Whiteside is he’s sort of lost on defense until he gets a chance to go make a play on a shot. He’s sort of just wandering around out there. He’s also a little too aggressive in challenging shots and while it works in Summer League, it’s going to hurt the Kings in the season if he ever plays. Teams will be able to crash the glass against him and have an advantage on the offensive boards. It’s something you can correct with teaching but it’s not a guarantee that it will be fixed. With that said, he’s exciting out there on defense and should be a nice option for alley-oops and tip dunks. The guy is beyond long and lanky.

- Omri Casspi: Casspi was night-and-day from what we saw in Vegas a year ago and what we saw on Monday. He was one of the most confident players I saw on the court all day long. His jumper looks as smooth as ever and his movement toward the basket is very direct. Everything he does has a purpose. He appeared to be in complete control of his part of the game. Defensively, he did a great job of locking up one of the best scorers in the Summer League. Austin Daye has been killing his defensive assignment so far and Casspi found a way to take away his effectiveness. Now Casspi is too good for the Summer League at this point in terms of skill and ability, but it’s good to see him working on defense.

- Donté Greene: At this point, we know Donté’s game. So we don’t really need to analyze it in a Summer League platform. What I noticed the most out on the floor was his leadership. He got on Whiteside for not hustling back on defense on a play in which the Pistons got a transition score. He directed guys around on offense and called out switches, assignments and adjustments on defense. DG could very easily be the leader of this team in a couple of years. He’s already a great locker room guy and he’s showing in Vegas that he can be a strong voice in directing his team on the court.

- Ryan Thompson: Casspi shouldn’t get all of the credit for locking up Daye. RT showed toughness in defending Daye in the mid-post and cutting off his quick first step. Offensively, he got a relatively easy 12 points in just 18 minutes on the floor. He has great touch from the outside and seems to be another guy that gets to the free throw line an exorbitant amount. I’d like to see him guard more of a playmaking shooting guard than a small forward he can easily cut off. To make this team (and the league in general), he’ll need to be able to keep up with quicker guys. I do not doubt that he can. I just want to see him do it.

- Tyrese Rice: You can look at the 15 points from Rice and be impressed with the box score line he put out there but if you do, you’re missing the point of the way he played. Everyone knows he can score. It’s what he did in college. Teams want to see him effectively run a team and I didn’t see much of that from him yesterday. He missed wide-open teammates on multiple occasions. He dribbled way too much with his down and struggled to get plays going quickly. On a couple of occasions with the clock running down, Mario Elie was shouting for him to start the play and each time he took three or four extra seconds to get it going. He found Chism for a nice dunk at the end of one of these plays but it had more to do with the horrible Detroit defense than it did with him. He needs to show more of a point guard mentality to win some favor with NBA front offices.

- Donald Sloan: The Kings newest member of the team did a nice job of moving the ball around and getting guys in the right spot. Defensively, he’s very quick and has a strong base. But we didn’t get to see him really run the team all that much. Thompson, Greene and Casspi initiated a lot. I’d like to see him being more of a leader and a creator in the next couple of games to see what he can do. Defensively, I’m intrigued to see him against smaller, quicker guards to see if he can keep up.

Final thoughts

- Mario Elie is a perfect coach for running this Summer League team. He was as vocal with the Kings when the game just started as he was when he emptied the bench as they closed out a 29-point victory. He was constantly working with Cousins and Whiteside to help them realize where they needed to be in defensive rotations. As the game wore on, he didn’t let the Kings let up because he knew it was about the young guys learning how to play in this league. Unfortunately for the Kings, there are a ton of GMs and front office people in the league. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t given a head coaching job in the next two years.

- Sylven Landesberg has a very quick first step. He blew by his defender multiple times and if given more of a role, he should be able to put up some points in a hurry.

- Communication was the biggest key for the Kings. Defensively, they knew where to be and on offense, they didn’t have too many clogged, broken plays. Donté and Omri were huge parts of this because they genuinely tried to coach up their teammates and give them hints to be successful. Cousins was also surprisingly active in this role too. He talked to everybody who would listen. The more this team talks to each other on the court, the better off everybody is.

DeMarcus Cousins speaks after his Summer League debut in which he posted 14 points and 10 rebounds in the Kings 97-68 victory over the Pistons (audio dips at times and DMC’s busted lip doesn’t help):

The Kings 2010 Las Vegas Summer League roster was sort of announced. My good friend and yours, Marty Mac, dropped the names of the players on the team today on his new blog. Jason Jones later confirmed those players for The Sacramento Bee.

Here is the roster:

Guards: Devan Downey, Dionte Christmas, Sylven Landesberg, Tyrese Rice, Donald Sloan and Ryan Thompson (Yes, JT’s brother)

Forwards: Omri Casspi, Donté Greene, Wayne Chism, Lee Cummard, Jasol Ellis and Tyren Johnson

Centers: DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, Connor Atchley and Steven Hill

Overall, that’s 16 players. You probably noticed that Tyreke Evans and Jason Thompson won’t be playing. By now, Jason Thompson has earned the prestige of not having to play on the Kings’ summer league team. This was not a rite afforded to Spencer Hawes last season but JT has progressed far more in his two years than Spencer did in his first two seasons. Tyreke Evans will be training with Team USA and frankly, showed in his rookie year that he’s far beyond any summer league basketball.

Of the Kings regular rotation guys, they’ll have four players (Omri, Donté, DeMarcus, and Hassan) running in Vegas. Last year, we got a glimpse into just how special the Kings top pick could be when Tyreke bullied his way to the basket against guys like Brandon Jennings, Toney Douglas and whoever else was unfortunate enough to have to guard the Rookie of the Year bulldozer. Now, we’ll all get a chance to see DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside make their sort-of professional debuts.

But outside of the Kings contractual regulars, getting to know the rest of the team seems like a good idea. The Kings have anywhere from three to five roster spots to fill and with the plans to hold off on the free agency frenzy, any one of these guys could play well this summer, get invited to training camp and work his way onto the regular season roster. So here’s a little breakdown of each player and what he could bring to the table.

Sylven Landesberg | SG | 6’6” 207lbs | Virginia

Did you look at that video? Who did that remind you of? It was sort of eerie how much these highlights reminded me of Tyreke. I’m not saying he’s nearly as good as Reke but the way he attacked the basket, used his body, stayed under control and finished plays was very reminiscent of the 2010 Rookie of the Year. Landesberg is a very good attacking guard. He puts a lot of pressure on the defense by finding his way to the basket. He rebounds well, converts at the line and is extremely strong with the ball. His biggest drawback is that he’s not a good shooter from outside. Even though he improved his freshman 3-point shooting of 31% to a sophomore mark of 38%, the guy struggles to find his stroke from outside. At the pre-draft combine, he made just 15/25 college threes, 11/25 NBA threes and 18/24 mid-range jumpers off the dribble.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I think it’s very high. If I had to pick one guy from this group to earn himself a contract with the Kings, it would be Sylven. Even though the Kings need shooters more than anything on the perimeter, they probably won’t be able to pass up on a guy that gets to the basket so easily. A strong performance from Sylven (and with the way he plays, I expect nothing less) probably earns him a lot of points with Geoff Petrie.

Dionte Christmas | SG | 6’5” 205 lbs | Temple

Dionte Christmas is another guard with high-scoring abilities. At Temple, he filled up the buckets with a barrage of scoring. His jumper is a little funky with a slight hitch in it in the style of Michael Redd and he has this weird tendency to move his right leg forward when he shoots off the dribble. But the shots usually find the bottom of the net so maybe that won’t matter. He’s also a pretty good defender. He can get pushed around a little bit but his instincts and footwork are pretty good. Where he’s lacking is his ability to get to the basket off the dribble. His ball handling is that great and he’s not a very good athlete considering the position he plays. Part of the reason he didn’t make a team last year is it’s hard to stand out as a guy teams have to have when you’re lacking athletically.

Likelihood to make the Kings: He’s another guy that could make this team if he shoots the lights out. He definitely has NBA range and he can make it from both the spot-up and off-the-dribble situations. And since the Kings already have a couple of truly versatile guards, they may just be looking to add cheap shooters this off-season as they head towards next summer.

Wayne Chism | PF | 6’9” 246 lbs | Tennessee

Chism is a guy that uses his quickness to catch players off guard inside. He’s not particularly athletic and since he’s around 6’9” he’s not exactly towering over the competition at the next level. So he has to use his quickness and reach (7’0”) to make plays on both ends of the floor. He doesn’t mind shooting the three when given the chance but that doesn’t mean you want him to shoot it (32% in college). What works for Chism is the fact that he rarely quits on plays and you don’t really expect him to do as much as he does. He has good strength inside to go with that reach.

Likelihood of making the Kings: I would say he almost has no chance. The Kings frontcourt is especially loaded after the draft and Chism doesn’t seem to be dynamic enough to get noticed in a way that would make Geoff Petrie want to add him to the roster. Maybe if he works hard, he’ll get a training camp invite.

Connor Atchley | PF/C | 6’10” 225 lbs | Texas
Atchley is not a guy who is high on the center prospects list for many teams. He has good height and length to play inside but he’s a little light on strength. He played in the D-League last season with the Iowa Energy and the Dakota Wizards and really wasn’t that bad. His Per-40 minute averages of 16.1 points and 9.5 rebounds are very respectable. He gets pushed around on defense a little because of his lack of strength and he has a difficult time scoring with his back to the basket because of the same reason. But he’s decent enough to carve out a minor career for himself.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I’d say it’s an improbable feat for Atchley to make this Kings team. He just isn’t the type of player that stands out and even if he did in the summer league, the Kings really have no use for him.

Lee Cummard | G/F | 6’7” 190 lbs | BYU

Here are the things I can tell you about Lee Cummard. He has a child. His old AIM handle was “leesalty.” He can flat-out shoot the rock. At BYU, he never shot under 51.7% from the field, made 85% or more of his free throws in two of his three years and shot well over 40% from three in his three-year career. Give him daylight and he’ll bury you with a long-range shot. He’s an okay athlete but might get abused physically at the next level. He mostly a spot-up shooter and probably can’t create his shot in the NBA.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I’d say it’s not going to happen. Even though the Kings need outside shooting, Cummard probably isn’t a gifted enough athlete to justify bringing him aboard. If he was able to handle himself a little better athletically on defense, his ability to shoot the ball would make him a strong candidate for at least a D-League affiliate. But he has a lot to improve on if he wants to play professional basketball in the United States.

Devan Downey | PG | 5’9” 170 lbs | South Carolina

You may remember Devan Downey from the time he lit up the Kentucky Wildcats and upset them in the SEC. Downey destroyed first round picks like Eric Bledsoe and the number one overall prize of the 2010 draft, John Wall. Downey is really small for an NBA point guard but he also might just be one of those guys that plays to the level of his competition and finds a way to get things done. He’s a pretty good scorer in a variety of ways. The problem with him wanting to play at the next level could be the fact that he’s much more of a scorer than a point guard and there isn’t a huge market for 5’9” shooting guards. Regardless, he should be a fun watch this summer.

Likelihood to make the Kings: It probably isn’t likely because there are better and bigger point guards out there. But if Downey can prove he’s adept at running a team then maybe he can earn himself a training camp invite and another chance to prove himself.

Ryan Thompson | SG | 6’6” 220 lbs | Rider
(WARNING: NSFW Audio Track)

Ryan Thompson is actually a lot more than just JT’s little brother. RT (not Regional Transit) can play and is a really good outside shooter. Even though he struggled with his shot in his senior year, he shot over 42% from three in both his sophomore and junior season. The nice thing about Ryan though is he’s not just a guy that settles for the jumper. He attacks the basket quite a bit and shows a well-rounded offensive repertoire. His biggest drawback has been his ability to get quality scoring opportunities when defenders overplay his right hand. His defense is okay but with better shape, his lateral quickness could greatly improve.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I actually think if he can prove he’s an NBA three-point shooter then he has a great chance at making training camp with the Kings. A lot of people will claim it’s because of his namesake but that will just be an ignorant assessment. Ryan has the potential to be a teammate/opponent of his brother someday.

Tyrese Rice | PG | 6’1” 190 lbs | Boston College

Rice reminds me a lot of Darrick Martin in the way he attacks offensively. Their jumpers are even kind of similar. Rice has a lot of moves and does a great job of scoring the basketball. His game oozes streetball and I don’t mean that as a knock. He just seems to have a certain flair to everything he does on the court. The problem though is he’s not a very exceptional athlete and he’s pretty small compared to most athletic point guards in the league. He needs to prove he can run a team because most of his teammates at the next level will be able to handle the scoring load.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Not very high. Yes, the Kings could use another guard on the roster but if they take on a third point guard, this guy is going to have to be able to defend and distribute. Rice seems much more like a scoring guard first.

Steven Hill | C | 7’0” 245 lbs | Arkansas

Steven Hill is a lot more agile and athletic than the hair and headband let on. He has explosive leaping ability for a guy his size and great length to go with it. He can score with his back to the basket and had a brief stint with the Thunder in 2009. Hill didn’t show a great ability to rebound but he’s improved that over the last two years in the D-League. He’s a very solid defender that challenges shots well.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Again, the froncourt is very stacked but that doesn’t mean he can’t play in the NBA. He just needs to go to a team that has more of a need for size.

Jason Ellis | SF | 6’7” 200 lbs | Boise State
I’ll be honest: I’ve never heard of this guy. And there isn’t a lot of information on the internet for him. His biggest accomplishment might be having the same name as a professional skateboarder. He rebounded well in his four years at Boise State with a career average of 7.9 in 27 minutes per game. At this point, it definitely seems like I’m just filling space here so I’ll move on.

Likelihood to make the Kings: I just don’t know who this guy is. Maybe he can make the team but I’ve never seen him play. I will say that there isn’t a single guy that has made the Kings in the last 10 years that I haven’t seen play before they signed. That doesn’t bode well for Jason Ellis.

Donald Sloan | G | 6’3” 205 lbs | Texas A&M

Donald Sloan became a fairly high-volume scorer (17.8 ppg) in his last year as an Aggie but it also might be because he took nearly 13 shots per game. Sloan isn’t much of a playmaker in terms of guard play but he’s a very electric athlete. His outside shooting has been pretty suspect in his college career and his defense leaves something to be desired. But he should be good for a highlight or two this summer.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Kings need shooters at the shooting guard position and Sloan doesn’t really fit that bill. Also, he’s very undersized at 6’3” and that’s going to automatically turn teams away unless he plays at an unreal level for him. He will not make this Kings team but I expect him to be entertaining for the crowd.

Tyren Johnson | SF | 6’8” 204 lbs | Louisiana-Lafayette

No joke, this is the only “highlight” video I could find for him. I don’t know if that says more about his playing career or beat-making abilities. Tyren is a decent-enough athlete who probably won’t be able to play the 3 or the 4 but will have to find a way. He has three-point range but I would advise against him shooting that shot. He showed good rebounding and playmaking ability his senior season. He also turned the ball over a lot. He’s going to either have to get quicker or much stronger to find a position in this league.

Likelihood to make the Kings: Even though the Kings could use another wing player, I think the stigma and reality of Tyren being a tweener for the 3 and 4 inhibit his chances of getting a training camp invite. He can change that by playing his tail off in the six games this summer and performing well in practice. Otherwise, I think he’ll have to stick to the beat laboratory.

Here’s the Kings schedule for the Las Vegas Summer League:

Monday, July 12th - Kings vs Pistons at 3 pm
Tuesday, July 13th - Kings vs [Redacted] (Tribute to Mr. Aykis) at 5:30 pm
Wednesday, July 14th - Kings vs Wolves at 7 pm
Friday, July 16th – Kings vs Raptors at 3 pm
Saturday, July 17th - Kings vs Bulls at 5:30 pm
Sunday, July 18th – Kings vs Mavericks at 5 pm

I’ll be at all of the games as I gallivant around the city of Las Vegas with other TrueHoopers and media members a like.

This video via Kings Connect of Tyreke Evans giving us a tour of his hotel room at the Palms when he was in Vegas for the Summer League.

Two things:

1) It’s really cool to see how his face lit up when he showed the camera his NBA contract. You could see the elation and how much that meant to him. Kind of gives you chills.

2) No offense to the Imperial Palace but you would never confuse my room in Vegas with the room Reke stayed in.