Trail Blazers, Knicks and Pistons favored to win NBA Summer League in Las Vegas

NBA Summer League kicks off in Las Vegas Sunday, August 8 with teams looking to get an early evaluation of their draft picks and young talent while some players are hoping to catch the eyes of a franchise and land on a roster before the preseason.

The Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons are co-favorites to win Summer League at +500, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The Orlando Magic are next at +850 and the Denver Nuggets check in at +1000. The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, heavily favored to meet in the 2021-22 NBA Finals, are not among the picks to win Summer League. Both teams are listed at +7000.

The Pistons will feature No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, who hopes to boost a franchise stuck in mediocrity. He’ll join Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart on one of the most loaded Summer League rosters. Luka Garza and Sekou Doumbouya. Detroit will be hoping this core group of youngsters can mesh well together and build up chemistry before the regular season. The Pistons will also monitor how Cunningham and Hayes fit together on the floor, a concern for some when the team took the Oklahoma State star No. 1.

The Trail Blazers are in the running largely because the team features veterans Kenneth Faried and Michael Beasley. Emmanuel Mudiay is also on this roster. The big names for Portland as far as development is concerned are Nassir Little and Greg Brown.

The Knicks have a core group of players worth monitoring, similar to Detroit. This group includes Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride, Immanuel Quickley and Rokas Jokubaitis. Toppin and Quickley impressed last season, while Grimes is a potential rotation player from the jump depending on how Summer League pans out for him.

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