The Sacramento Kings kicked off the NBA Summer League Thursday debuting draft picks Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford. Both had standout performances with a few hiccups, but overall performed well.
Let’s take a look at each.
Maxime Raynaud
Raynaud got things started with a breakout first quarter, scoring 11 early points. He displayed versatility and his offensive upside. He looked comfortable setting screens and rolling to the basket. And even though he sometimes got pushed off his spot when trying to box out or post up, he displayed a soft touch with the ability to score off either the right or left hand.
He cooled off a little as the game progressed, but still displayed an ability to handle the ball in transition, going coast to coast off a steal on one play, and knocking down some threes despite his somewhat awkward shooting form. He also displayed flashes of playmaking – putting the ball on the deck and finding cutters while beyond the arc, demonstrating court vision relatively unique for a big.
On defense, Raynaud had a few good moments stopping the ball, but struggled slightly in space and lacked the lateral movement to recover in transition at times. Former King Skal Labissière was cooking in the second half and gave Raynaud fits when put into one on one situations. Labissière obviously has more experience.
Despite this, what he showed overall in his first professional game is very promising. He finished with 16 points (6-11 from the field), 6 rebounds, 2 assists and was a +2.
Nique Clifford
Clifford had a rough start to the game, at least in the scoring department, but showed good effort and mechanics on defense. Once he found his rhythm in the second half after knocking down a three, he settled in and got more comfortable offensively. He demonstrated a nice floater and ability to drive to the basket and finish off spins. He also was key in a close game down the stretch, throwing down a high-flying dunk, displaying his athleticism.
His ball handling ability was on display and during Kings general manager Scott Perry’s interview with the broadcast team, he brought up how eventually Clifford could serve at times as back-up ball handler.
His second half performance balanced out his slow start and overall, he showed good two-way potential.
He finished with 17 points (5-12), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and was a +2. He had 10 free throw attempts, highlighting his aggressiveness (though he only made 6 of them).
The Kings will be back in action Saturday against the Chicago Bulls at 5 p.m.
Thanks for the writeup and highlights! How was Dev running point?
Awful
I was disappointed in both IJ and DC’s games. But the rookies both played well.
IJ needs a PG to get him easy shots. Summer League team doesn’t have a PG that can do that.
IJ went 2/3 from the Field, hit 7/9 Free Throws, had 6Reb (3 offensive), 3Ast, 2Stls, & 1Blk. I thought he was a highlight for the Kings.
IMO, he read the offensive-flow well and made a couple of good entry passes (a lost skill) to Raynaud, a dribble-drive kickout pass to Raynaud for 3, and an oop to Kinsey in transition.
IJ played solid defense, stayed in front of his man, boxed out and rebounded well. He does get a little aggressive going after shots, but he still only had 4PFs which isn’t bad for SL (you get 10PFs) and I like that part of his game…weakside rim protection is what I want from him.
I could definitely understand the feeling if you we’re hoping to see more corner 3pt attempts or something. Just wondering what is that you saw from IJ that was disappointing?
IJ’s game will never be pleasing to the eye, but the Kings could use a few more players who are as willing to do the dirty work as he is.
It looked like he was forcing way too much. He also didn’t seem to be enjoying what he was doing.
If I’m in his shoes, I’m probably trying to do too much with my first opportunity. May as well keep getting him those reps. There won’t be a definitive answer about his potential at PG during summer league, but with training camp and regular practices, I’m hoping that he can do a serviceable job at minimum.
Watching Carter play was a reminder of why many of us wanted guys like Tristan Da Silva, Daron Holmes or aware… he didn’t look comfortable running the point his shot looked horrible, he looked out of control and sloppy when he drove to the basket. Watching DeSilva play was really nice and thinking boy he would be a great compliment to Keegan Murray on the Frontline .
Also seeing DC having pain in his shoulder was worrisome.
Max was more mobile that I expected and while his shot is awkward, his release is very high and it is pretty quick. He shouldn’t have much trouble getting it off. If he can hit it at a decent rate it’ll be a weapon. On defense I was a bit disappointed. He doesn’t challenge a lot of shots for a 7 footer and he made some slow rotations and got out of position too often. I’m not going to overreact to one summer league game but that was my takeaway.
Nique seemed to be a little too aggressive and out of control going to the basket at times, hunting for a foul call maybe. He reminded me a bit of Brian Grant in that he’d go into traffic against bigger guys and try to impose his will, only to get blocked. He’s got lots of athleticism and will be a good all around player I think. I don’t expect him to challenge for a starting spot anytime soon though. Good bench guy that can play 3 or 4 positions, defend and be physical.
Carter is not good at: ball handling, play making, or shooting. Also lacks size and athleticism. And it seems like his shoulder still bothers him. At least to the point where he’s visibly favoring it several times a game. Heck of a pick you got there, Monte.
The rooks looked good. I think Nique has nice feel for the game, ala Haliburton as a rookie. Max is good offensively, but he is just so dang slow on defense. I almost felt bad watching him try to move laterally on that side of the ball. Looks like he’s stuck in mud out there.
Carter had a rough game shooting but to say he is un-athletic is just plain wrong. Ridiculous that people go against someone just because the wanted a different pick. Give the dude a chance, first time playing point guard is his life. He will be fine.
Carter lacks a quick first step when trying to get by the defender. He has to rely on craftiness. He can jump, moves well defensively, bit with the ball in his hands, he just isn’t the type of guy to get in to the paint well enough.
He has definitely played point guard in his life before this, I don’t know where that idea is coming from.
Carter’s shoulder was taped and he was rubbing it early in the game. Great — first action and his shoulder is already likely an issue. It was not a good draft last year after the top 10 picks but still, I would have picked someone with size not a 6’2” “combo” guard with an awful jump shot and weak handle. I don’t care if his vertical is 42” — that is a minor attribute compared to so many other things you look for. Kind of like drafting Marvin Bagley because his second jump quickness was off the charts ignoring that he couldn’t dribble, had no jump shot, and had awkward feet on defense. Dumb, dumb, and dumber GMs.
Agreed. Maybe he thrives somewhere else. Just not Sac. Better choices could have been made.
so, AnybodybutBagley then? Got it.
Another Summer League RANGZ and regular season KANGZ? Perhaps stealth TANKZ this year would be good
Nique and Max should get regular rotation minutes because the team needs to develop them and see if they have a future in the league. If that means 30 wins and a better pick, then great. Running out DDR for 35 minutes, and Eubanks for any minutes is dumb.
Max deserves mins. Put him in the weight room just enough for him to provide weakside help,but not lose his quickness. He’s more of a 4 than he is 5 in my opinion. Move Keegan back to the 3. And please move on from DDR.
Agree as much mins as possible for the younglings. DDR, oof seems there is no market for him. TKH viewers souls are slowly sucked out when he does his ISO over and over and over..
with each and every dribble
I was impressed with Raynaud’s play in the first half. Clifford had a rough start but it looked like he put the team on his back in the last two minutes of the game to get the win. That’s good to see.
Liked the rookies and hopeful they will be able to contribute this season . Thought Carter was bad but hope they keep him at point . Need to see if he has any potential . It’s Summer League after all .
My impression: I think Sabonis is going to be a good mentor for Maxime. Maxime needs to bulk up and work on his post game. Shows three point shooting/secondary playmaking skillset, which lines up perfectly with Sabonis’ game as a backup.
Maybe they can skip that one training session where Domas shows him how to lead with his face. Only true cyborgs can do that.
Sabonis has to show Raynaud how to gain 30 pounds of muscle then how to put your shoulder into someone to knock them back so you can make your little inside shot.
And teach him how to get stomped and do nothing about it.
I came away hopeful. Both these guys may be able to get minutes. MR was good early and then faded. Was not afraid of the moment. Slow on D but in the right situation could be an asset. He could be a tough matchup for any opponent. Penda was picked ahead of him and MR looked the better player.
NC started way slow but really picked it up late and looked like he softly took over. He is smooth and silky. No real position yet and no one standout skill.
Looked better than J.Richardson of whom he was picked over.
Badge Legend