Top 5 areas of focus for Sam Presti to consider during Summer League
Burton and Diallo:
Deonte Burton and Hamidou Diallo are presumably the two players who’ll get the majority of attention in terms of the above stated needs.
Burton stands out for his pregame dunks and seemingly underutilized skill set. Rumor has it he’s already put in the work to resculpt his body so expect a much thinner version of the guard in Vegas. The question is can he translate his G-League success to the varsity level on a much more regular basis.
And, with the exit of Paul George can Billy Donovan rely on Burton taking on a much larger role with the necessity for consistent top line stat production in scoring, playmaking, and rebounding.
Related Story. Revised role should clear path to increased minutes for Burton in 2019-20. light
As for Hamidou Diallo, his efforts last season were directly related to pre and post injury. Prior to his All-Star weekend dunk contest win the wing was receiving regular minutes and playing with confidence.
Post break and subsequent injury his minutes were cut and the reason why isn’t obvious. Did he suffer a confidence loss? Was it the rookie wall? Or was it simply a matter of Billy Donovan losing faith in the youngster?
Regardless of the reasons behind his slashed minutes with the varsity squad for Diallo to win over Presti and Donovan, he’ll need to showcase palpable growth in Vegas. Specifically, has the youngster added versatility to his offense especially in his playmaking ability and shooting. How improved is his shot making and has he added range to his floor spacing which can be consistently relied on?
And, did he hit the weight room to add strength in order to not be pushed around defensively.
Again, while bigger decisions are yet to be made, the growth of these two youngsters is a priority and one which will help determine the next steps.