LAS VEGAS — The first two picks of the NBA draft squared off Tuesday night before the biggest Summer League crowd so far. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green have that kind of star potential. Both showed it in moments.
Beyond that?
It’s. The. Summer. League.
Also: Henry Ellenson. Remember him?
No?
He was the Detroit Pistons’ first-round pick five years ago. He looked good in the summer. He’s now out of the NBA.
So don’t take too much away from a single game in Las Vegas, or even two games, which is how many the Pistons’ No. 1 pick has played in his professional career. As Cunningham said after his Pistons lost to Green’s Rockets, 111-91, “it’s a long journey … I can’t skip ahead to Year 3.”
As much as you wish he could. As much as he wishes he could. As much as I wish he could, mostly so that I could say with certainty who got the better player between Cunningham and Green.
But I can’t. Neither can the Pistons. Neither can you. As much as all us want answers.
What we can say is that Cunningham’s magnetism on the court is real. That he did nothing Tuesday night to show he can’t be the centerpiece of something special. That he can shoot off the dribble, after he’s created space. That he will learn when and where to probe the angles and openings as he gains experience. That if his teammates make a few more wide open shots, his assist numbers will rise.
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That he needs to add a few more pounds. That he needs time to adjust to the speed at this level. That he, by his own admission, has much to learn … about everything.
When asked about his play against the Rockets, the first thing he said was that he can be “a lot” better defensively.
“I feel asleep a couple times,” he said.
As for his shooting? (He went 8-for-18.)
“Missed a couple shots short I feel like we’re lined up,” he said.
Self-awareness is a heck of a trait at any age. It’s a gift at 19.
Pistons general manager Troy Weaver called Cunningham a human connector the night he drafted him. That’s easy to spot on the court. Not just in huddling his team or leaning into their ears for one-on-one suggestions or pep talks, as he did when he told Killian Hayes he didn’t know of too many point guards who could defend like he could.
And before you dismiss these moments as a diversion from his uneven offensive performances two games in, remember how often teams win big without a gravitational pull in the center.
How about none. Because it matters. Though it helps when the player who exudes that pull also stands 6 feet 8, can control the speed of game in spurts and can lift into a step-back three after a crossover.
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Yes, Cunningham struggled in the paint at times. He needs to get stronger. He also showed he can put a defender on his hip, cup the ball, and finish through contact.
So, it’s there. It’s all there. It will just be a while before it’s all there consistently.
Until it’s there, we will speculate. And project. Which can be fun. Which is why the Thomas & Mack Center’s lower bowl was packed. And why fans rose to their feet and marveled each time the Cunningham and Green showed some spice, like when Cunningham dribbled behind his back — from right to left — beyond the left wing in the first half and drilled a 3-pointer in Green’s grill.
It was the highlight of the night, revealing, in a few seconds, the variety of Cunningham’s skills. Before the behind-the-back dribble, he was surveying the defense. What he saw was Sekou Doumbouya, who was being guarded by someone that Cunningham thought he could take if Houston switched.
He also saw Green, with whom he will be linked to for a while, who hasn’t been shy about saying he was the best player headed into the draft.
Green played well for the second game in a row. He scored 25 points and continued to shoot it well here in the desert. His springy, quick-twitch skill is easier to see than Cunningham’s more cerebral, below-the-rim, all-court attack.
And yet?
Green struggled to score when matched up against Cunningham, sometimes even struggling to dribble — Cunningham picked him and led a runout that led to an assist and, on the way back up the court, a howl.
You think these two weren’t motivated?
Yeah, they were. And, yeah, they were aware of the hype. And, yeah, Cunningham enjoyed it. The buzz, the noise, being back in an arena with fans; his year at Oklahoma State was without them.
“I wanted to put on a show,” he said.
But not at the expense of his team.
“The main goal was to try to get the chemistry right with our young core and figure each other out,” he said. “We have bigger goals to try to reach. It’s a summer league game.”
Indeed, it is.
Perhaps not an ordinary one, but a Summer League game, nonetheless.
On Tuesday night, two of the most promising young players in the league went at it. Green scored more points. Cunningham looked like the more complete player. And while Green’s team won the game, it will be a while before we know who won the night.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.