Ahhhh, can you smell it? It’s that time of year where NBA rookies, along with journeymen, undrafted players, and guys just trying to make a paycheck all come together to play pick-up basketball. This smell can mean only one thing, the NBA Summer League.

This year’s summer league has been displaying front line talent with top draft picks Derek Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love. Rose and Beasley were the first to play in Orlando, while Mayo and Love have caught the attention of many in Vegas.

But why should anyone care that much about the games these guys are playing? In the first game of his NBA career, do you think Derek Rose will be facing off against the likes of Antonio Graves and Anthony Morrow?  Will Kevin Love be posting up against Josh Powell and Antwan Scott? I’m going to have to say that they won’t be any time soon, except for their next summer league game.

Some of the games air on NBATV throughout the day and can be interesting to watch at times. Some great dunks have come from the summer league, such as Gerald Green’s monstrous dunk in 2006 over some poor guy who is referred to as “some white guy” in the Youtube clip. But does the Summer League really show us much about how guys will translate into the NBA? These guys who are top picks may be playing hard but aren’t working their butts off night in and night out at these games. The play is sloppy from players who are expected to play better and it seems that the only guys who want to win are players on the fringe of making a team or a practice squad.

There is no team that takes the NBA Summer League as seriously as our own New York Knicks. This year’s first round pick, Danilo Gallinari, had a very poor first half in his summer league debut, but came back with a solid 2nd half. My question is, who cares? So Gallinari can make Darnell Jackson look like a fool on defense. Is that really so impressive? Should people be saying how Knicks fans can sit back and relax about their Italian stallion. Last year’s summer league MVP was Nate Robinson, and he has been one of the most inconsistent players on the east coast for the past year.

While the summer league is a nice opportunity to watch some of the top picks and their raw talent, it isn’t helping them mature and mold their game to the NBA level. In fact, it may be setting it back a bit with its unorganized play. These players should be practicing against opponents within the same stratosphere of ability that they have.

Maybe even put them in a room alone with 2 attack dogs just to toughen them up. Or perhaps have them spend a year in the military learning about survival tactics. Side point here, this would be a great reality show if you had to watch a dopey eyed Michael Beasley launch a grenade about 100 feet and then quickly jump into a trench. The point is that the NBA Summer League doesn’t truly gauge the talent that these top draft picks  have and that people should stop getting excited about great summer league performances. I’m pretty sure Gerald Green and Nate Robinson have stopped reminiscing about their great games they had in Vegas, and are focusing on the upcoming training camp where things get serious.