Memphis Grizzlies: 4 players who raised their stock during Summer League
Santi Aldama Summer League Stats
After a couple of rough outings to start Summer League, Santi Aldama turned a corner against the Timberwolves in Las Vegas, erupting for 22 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks.
Grizzlies Twitter took a collective sigh of relief after that outing vs Minnesota because it got really really bad prior to that moment.
Aldama looked lost at times, got pushed around too often and made really poor decisions with the basketball.
Damichael Cole of the Commercial Appeal reported Aldama as being in his own head a bit too much.
"“I feel very confident, but yesterday, it was kind of weird, Aldama said. “I wasn’t playing my game. I think the key is go to sleep, forget about it, it’s a new day. I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, so just do it again and start from scratch.”"
His game against Minnesota and the next game against Brooklyn were fantastic outings— probably the best stretch of basketball we’ve ever seen from Aldama in a Grizzlies uniform. It was quite the turnaround for the young reserve player.
He was hitting three-point shots, finishing near the basket, and being aggressive on defense. He finished the final three games of Summer League with seven total blocks.
It’ll be interesting to see how he looks come training camp time in the fall. Some time in the weight room and film room will do Aldama a lot of good.
Can he make the jump from reserve player to rotation player next season? He’ll have a chance as long as Jaren Jackson Jr. is sidelined. Santi Aldama has a chance from going from picking up a few minutes of garbage time minutes to being able to crack the rotation.
Here’s how Santi Aldama performed in all of his appearances for the Grizzlies this summer:
- Grizzlies vs 76ers: 13 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts
- Grizzlies vs Thunder: DNP
- Grizzlies vs Jazz: 14 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast
- Grizzlies vs Clippers: 4 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast
- Grizzlies vs T-Wolves: 22 pts, 8 rebs, 6 stls, 2 blks
- Grizzlies vs Nets: 31 pts, 9 rebs, 3 blks, 2 asts
- Grizzlies vs Celtics: 10 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blks
Kenneth Lofton Jr. Summer League Stats
The wild card and perhaps the biggest surprise in all of Summer League was the play of Kenneth Lofton Jr, an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech.
Lofton made headlines around the NBA for his magical performance against Chet Holmgren and the OKC Thunder in Salt Lake City. He looked like a younger Zach Randolph playing bully ball against the taller, but much lighter 2022 No. 2 overall pick.
Signing “Junior” to a two-way deal may be the most shrewd move of the entire draft process for GM Zach Kleiman. He was one of the most consistent and mature players on the court for the summer league squad.
He has a silk, soft touch. He knows how to use his body to gain an advantage over just about any opponent and has excellent passing vision.
It’ll be interesting to see how he will fit into the plans for the team next season. Going into Summer League, no one really though Lofton had a chance to be on the main roster, but after watching him compete in six games, it’s clear he’s ahead of some of the players the Memphis Grizzlies actually drafted.
His stellar play has many wondering if the team should go ahead and convert his two-way contract with the Hustle to a full-time, guaranteed deal on the main roster.
Here’s how Kenneth Lofton Jr. looked in 2022 Summer League action:
- Grizzlies vs 76ers: 9 pts, 3 rebs, 1 blk
- Grizzlies vs Thunder: 19 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl
- Grizzlies vs Jazz: DNP
- Grizzlies vs Clippers: 18 pts, 4 rebs, 1 ast
- Grizzlies vs T-Wolves: 4 pts, 10 rebs
- Grizzlies vs Nets: 11 pts, 8 rebs, 4 asts
- Grizzlies vs Celtics: 16 pts, 2 asts, 2 rebs, 1 stl