Seth Curry was the leading scorer at the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 24.3 points per game for the New Orleans Pelicans. He recently signed a two-year deal with the Sacramento Kings. (Photo courtesy USA Today)
The Pelicans entry into the Las Vegas Summer League was the public’s first opportunity to see new head coach Alvin Gentry’s uptempo philosophy in action and the team did nothing to diminish the optimism of Pels fans with a 5-1 record.
The breakout performer was Seth Curry, the younger brother of league MVP and newly crowned NBA champion Stephen Curry.
Seth led all scorers with just over 24 points per game and was second in steals, averaging 3.2 each night.
On the strength of those performances, Curry signed a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings for just under $2 million. It has been reported that the Pelicans balked at guaranteeing the contract, something the moribund Kings were more than willing to do.
To date, Curry’s NBA career has been almost nonexistent. In two seasons he has appeared in just four games with Memphis, Cleveland, and Phoenix. He’s scored a total of three points.
However, he has been one of the top performers in the NBA’s Developmental League for the past two years. Last season Curry averaged 23.8 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.4 steals. In 81 games over two seasons he’s averaged 22 points and five assists while making 46 percent of his shots, including 43 percent on three pointers.
During the summer league Curry showed off a number of skills like the ability to move without the basketball and to score on a variety of floaters. Making his scoring more impressive was the fact that his three point shot wasn’t particularly good. He shot just 8-36 from beyond the arc (22 percent) but still managed to shoot 46 percent from the floor.
It’s hard to understand how or why the Pelicans couldn’t find room for Curry on the roster.
The team’s guard rotation currently consists of Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Toney Douglas, and Tyreke Evans (who also logs minutes at small forward). The Pelicans could still re-sign Norris Cole, who performed well after a late season trade from Miami.
Holiday and Gordon both have injury concerns, Douglas is a journeyman at best and Evans oscillates between offensive force and liability far too frequently.
The Pelicans’ lack of difference makers in the backcourt was painfully exposed during the playoffs. Outside of Gordon, who averaged 19 points per game in the series, none of the team’s guards shot better than 41 percent from the floor or better than 25 percent on three point attempts. The group’s poor play put too much of a burden on Anthony Davis and led to an all too brief foray into the postseason.
Now, Curry couldn’t be expected to perform as well as his big brother. That would be unfair to Seth. However, scoring is a skill that is at a premium in today’s NBA, with shooting in even greater demand. From all appearances Seth Curry and New Orleans should have been a match made in heaven.
Curry could wash out in Sacramento and be another in a long line of players who shine in the summer but dim when the games really count. But I think Pelican fans would have liked to have seen Curry get his next shot in New Orleans rather than take the risk of being burned by both brothers in the same year.
theknotholegang 