CAMERON BOOZER’S SUMMER LEAGUE DEBUT HAD A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING. 15 points, four boards, four assists. He shot 7-of-11 from the floor. But the numbers don’t really tell the story. It was the way he moved out there. Like he already belonged.
The Memphis Grizzlies picked him third overall in June’s draft, after trading away Ja Morant to Minnesota. That move signaled a full reset. And watching Boozer operate against the Thunder on Friday, you could see why the front office felt confident hitting that reset button.
He posted up. He stepped out and hit a three. He found cutters with passes that made the defense look silly. For a 19-year-old in his first NBA action, the game looked slow. (And yeah, his dad Carlos was courtside watching the whole thing.)
One summer game is one summer game
Let’s not get carried away. Summer League basketball is basically organized chaos with worse lighting. But there’s a difference between looking lost out there and looking like you’ve done this before. Boozer looked like the latter.
At Duke last season he averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting nearly 40 percent from three. That’s not a project. That’s a player who walked into college as a grown man and walked out ready for the next level. Memphis saw him as a building block. After one Summer League game, nothing has changed that view.
What’s interesting is where he fell in the draft. Most mocks had him going second overall. He ended up third, behind AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson. Some scouts questioned his upside. But if his debut is any indication, Boozer doesn’t care about pre-draft rankings.
Memphis doesn’t need him to be Morant. They need him to be great at what he is: a versatile forward who can score from all three levels and make teammates better. That’s what he showed in his first 24 minutes of pro ball.
The Grizzlies have a long road back to relevance in the West. But watching Boozer play, it’s not hard to believe they’ve found someone to lead the way.
Leave a Comment