LAS VEGAS — Think of NBA summer league like this: a job fair where nobody wears a tie.
For a few of the 450 or so players on this year’s teams at the three respective summer leagues — Orlando, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas — jobs for next season are guaranteed. They will be in the NBA.
The vast majority, they don’t know where the next paycheck is coming from.
Justin Dentmon might be the quintessential example of what it’s about.
By the time training camps start this fall, Dentmon will be 30. He’s played in eight NBA games for three franchises, never lasting long at any stop. In Las Vegas, he’s part of the D-League Select squad, and he knows the odds against him are stacked higher than a 10-foot rim. Still, his mission is simple: Get noticed by an NBA team. Any NBA team.
“It’s been the right time for some other people,” Dentmon said. “It hasn’t been my time yet. It’s coming. I believe that.”
Players all around him have different backgrounds, but the same hope.
The veteran
Keith Bogans is 35 years old, the oldest player on a roster in Las Vegas. He was a McDonald’s All-American before some guys in summer league were in kindergarten. He’s made his money. And he’s still here, trying to get back.
“My goal is to just be around the game,” Bogans said. “I’m in the best shape of my life.”
He knows he’s a longshot; his last NBA appearance was in January 2014. The Trail Blazers essentially think of him as a coach of sorts helping mentor their young players.
He’s not looking to coach — yet. “I still want to play,” Bogans said.
The youngster
Joe Jackson sounds worried.
He overcame an injury to be the D-League’s most improved player last season. He was a four-year standout at Memphis, went to the NCAA Tournament four times, had a 24-point game in 2014 against Shabazz Napier and eventual national champion Connecticut. But at 6-foot-1 and 171 pounds, some think he’s too small for the NBA.
“You wait and you wait and you know you belong, but there’s so many politics and prejudging,” Jackson said.
So he went to the D-League. The game got slower. He got smarter. He has a degree, but isn’t thinking about any other career. Any real opportunity that comes his way, he’s taking.
“Live and learn,” Jackson said. “When you’re fighting for your shot, you fight a lot of monsters.”
The established
Henry Walker expects he will be in the NBA this season. He has a partially guaranteed contract to return to the Miami Heat, with whom he made 13 starts in 24 appearances last season.
He’s on Miami’s summer roster but isn’t playing because of a sprained ankle.
“It’s already been a long two months off,” Walker said. “Sometimes you want to just go up against guys again.”
Walker has been in the NBA for parts of five seasons already, first with Boston and then New York. He went nearly three years without an NBA opportunity before Miami brought him back, and he’s not looking down on being in summer league whatsoever.
“Nothing comes easy,” Walker said. “I was just looking forward to proving that I belong on a team. That’s all it is, opportunity. That’s all you need is opportunity. As you get older, you start to realize certain things aren’t in your control anyway.”
The recovering
Josh Harrellson came to Las Vegas to get seen. He’s been in 75 NBA games with New York, Miami and Detroit, last appearing on Feb. 1, 2014. Surgery to repair two bulging discs in his back interrupted his NBA career — and after playing in summer league with Phoenix, he’s hoping someone gives him another shot.
“It’s about getting out there, showing people I’m healthy, that I’m back and that I’m just myself,” the 6-10 Harrellson said. “They know what I can do. They know I can play. I needed to show them I can still run.”
When Harrellson was told he needed surgery, there was a real concern that his NBA career was over. But he said after two days, he was able to walk without pain. Eight months later, he was back on the court, wound up playing in China and now just wants that phone to ring.
