Utah Jazz rookie guard Darryn Peterson didn’t play particularly well on Wednesday night in his NBA Summer League matchup versus the San Antonio Spurs at Cox Pavilion. The No. 2 pick in the NBA draft shot 4 of 16 to score 15 points with four rebounds and four assists.
But at least he played.
As Peterson participated in his fifth summer league game – including two in the Salt Lake Summer League – A.J. Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick of the Washington Wizards, sat on their bench at Thomas & Mack Center and watched them play the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s normal for top picks to end their summer league after playing a couple games, and Dybantsa won’t play again this week, having been shut down for good by the Wizards.
Clippers rookie guard Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 overall pick last month, also sat out the matchup with Wizards – hours after Sacramento Kings rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. sat (against the Boston Celtics) as the No. 7 pick.
Resultantly, the nightcap crowd at Thomas & Mack resembled that for UNLV’s games: sparse and tepidly enthused.
As disappointing as the practice is for those who paid for NBA Summer League tickets, it’s sensible for teams to exercise caution with top draft picks they hope someday become franchise changers. It’s not like the setting tends to offer additional intel on top prospects — whom teams spent the last year and in some instances, longer, scouting — and the injury risk can outweigh the reward.
Summer League rosters are mostly comprised of undrafted players or G Leaguers competing intensely to catch the attention of scouts and executives watching them play. That can lead to sloppy execution in conjunction with an uptick in physicality derived from the well-meaning maximum effort.
Not that Caleb Wilson seems to care.
The No. 4 overall pick last month and rookie forward for the Chicago Bulls, Wilson hasn’t yet missed a Summer League game — with Chicago’s fourth game set for Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers at Thomas & Mack Center — and explained his mindset Tuesday to reporters after Peterson sat out their showcase matchup.
“I feel like I’m different than all of them,” Wilson said in reference to Dybantsa and Peterson. “I can’t say they don’t enjoy basketball. But I enjoy basketball. Like, I love this. … So, I’m going to play as much as I can. As much as my team will let me. I’m not the type to go away from a game because I don’t feel good because I know in the NBA I’m not going to feel good some games. As long as I don’t have an injury or something wrong with me, I’m going to play every time because people come from all over the world to see me play. So, I don’t want to let them down, too.”
But as Wilson noted, teams are in charge of how much their prized rookies (or second-year players) play in the summer and such is their right to shut them down, disappointing for spectators or not.
That’s why it was a pleasant surprise to see Peterson active on Wednesday night, attacking the basket, firing jumpers, defending with vigor and competing with verve, his scoring efficiency notwithstanding. Perhaps he won’t play his Summer League finale, having showed his coaches and brass enough.
Understandable in the case that he doesn’t.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
