Report Card: LSU players in NBA Las Vegas Summer League

The NBA Las Vegas Summer League is in the books, so it’s time to grade the six former LSU players who participated.

The Tigers’ three rookies – Boston Celtics’ second round draft choice Tremont Waters and free agents Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kavell Bigby-Williams of the New Orleans Pelicans – helped their teams to a combined record of 14-4.

Reid's Timberwolves lost in the summer league championship game to the Grizzlies.

Here’s the summer league report card:

A

Josh Gray, G, Nets: Gray, who by his own admission didn’t play particularly well in his two seasons at LSU from 2014 to 2016, didn’t look like the same player he was on two of Johnny Jones’ Tigers teams. Gray never seemed to get in rhythm or find a comfortable niche at LSU.

But after two years in the G-League and one overseas, the 6-1 Gray was a picture of maturity and efficiency in six Summer League starts for the 4-2 Nets. He led all of the former Tigers in Vegas in scoring (12.2 points per game), 3-point percentage (45.5), free throw percentage (91.7) and minutes played (23.8). He shot 49.1 percent from the field and averaged just 1.6 turnovers. He played excellent in crunch time.

The New Orleans Pelicans noticed Gray, a Lake Charles native, and signed him to a two-way contract.

B+

Naz Reid, F-C, Timberwolves: The 6-10 Reid had the most to prove. Declaring for the draft after one season at LSU in 2018-19, his draft stock plummeted from a late first-round projection to going undrafted when he showed up at the NBA Combine with more body fat (14 percent) than any other participant. In Las Vegas, he started slowly and played a combined 25 minutes in the first two games.

But then he seemed to settle, scoring in double figures for four straight games, including a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds vs. the Heat) and 20 points in a semi-final playoff win over the Nets.

Reid, who averaged 11.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.4 minutes for the 6-1 Timberwolves, shot 46.2 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the 3-point line, and hit 88.2 percent of his free throws.

His reward was signing a a four-year deal with the Timberwolves worth a max of $6.1 million, with the first year guaranteed.

B

Tremont Waters, G, Celtics: Just as he did in his two seasons at LSU ending with his All-SEC first-team and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors last season, the 5-11 Waters played aggressively and unafraid.

Starting all five games for the 4-1 Celtics, he didn’t shoot well (37.9 field goal percentage, 38.1 3-point percentage, 63.6 free throw percentage).

But he made enough clutch plays to average 11.2 points, with a 4.2 assists to 2.9 turnovers ratio. He was also a disruptive defensive force with 1.8 steals per game.

The Celtics were a better team with him on the floor. He constantly set the table for Tennessee rookie forward Grant Williams, who averaged 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Purdue rookie guard Carsen Edwards, who averaged 19.4 points on 48 percent shooting from the field and nearly 47 percent from the 3-point line.

Waters’ play earned him a two-way contract with the Celtics, meaning he’ll split time during the 2019-20 season with the Celtics’ G-League team in Maine and have a max of 45 days with the Celtics.

B-

Kavell Bigby-Williams, C, Pelicans: The 6-11 Bigby-Williams, an undrafted free agent, played the same role for the Pels’ summer team as he did last season with the Tigers.

He hovered around the rim, cleaning up missed shots on the offensive end and discouraging open looks defensively.

He didn’t start in any games for the 4-2 Pelicans, but averaged a productive 7.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in 15.5 minutes per game.

His length and the way he guarded the basket should be enough to get Bigby-Williams into an NBA training camp.

I

Keith Hornsby, G, Trail Blazers and Dopp Reath, F, Nets: Incomplete grades for these two Tigers because they hardly got any playing time.

Hornsby, who averaged just more than 13 points after starting 52-of-53 games at LSU from 2014-16, deserved more playing time than he received for the 2-3 Trail Blazers. Last season in the G-League playing for the Texas Legends, he led the league in three-point field goal percentage at 48.5%, while averaging 12.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1 steal per game.

But he was basically ignored by the Trail Blazers’ summer coaching staff, scoring just two points in 8.5 minutes in the two games he played.

Reath, a 6-11 center/forward who played on LSU coach Will Wade’s first team in 2017-18, also played just two games for the 4-2 Nets’ summer league team. He scored one basket.