G League Ignite: First Impressions
The second iteration of the Ignite are a completely different squad. Let’s talk about three prospects who made a lasting impression.
Last night, I made the short trip to Wayne State Fieldhouse (home of the G League’s Motor City Cruise) to get an up-close, in-person look at the NBA’s latest developmental experiment: The G League Ignite.
For those unfamiliar, the G League is the NBA’s minor league system. The NBA has invested millions of dollars into the Ignite, a special team for NBA prospects looking for an alternative pathway to the NBA. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are given to top-billed youngsters to spend their first year out of high school in an NBA-sanctioned system, and the results have shown for themselves — Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga (the headliners of last year’s inaugural Ignite squad) were both selected in the top ten of the 2021 NBA Draft.
The second iteration of the Ignite are a completely different squad. Let’s talk about three prospects who made a lasting impression.
Jaden Hardy
The Detroit native was brought in to be the face of this year’s Ignite team, but he struggled in front of his home crowd. I was only wowed by a few of Hardy’s tough buckets, and he finished with 19 points on 9-21 shooting in 33 minutes — with no free throw attempts.
I’m a bit concerned about Hardy. He made zero attempt to get downhill in the half court, consistently settling for step-back mid-range jumpers. That’s fine if you’re Anfernee Simons and can make them at a 50% clip, but it’s not the best look with NBA scouts and executives courtside. Zero free throw attempts in 33 minutes for a modern NBA guard is concerning.
The on-ball flashes were there — he can definitely start getting busy in isolation — but it’s the 95% of the game where he didn’t have the ball that is worrisome. Lots of standing, casually running actions instead of being aggressive with his movements, and a consistent struggle to create something out of nothing. The NBA is saturated with guards more explosive and less selfish than Jaden Hardy.
Dyson Daniels
I didn’t know too much about Dyson Daniels before I sat down at my seat. Now, I think I want to know everything.
Daniels resembles a computer-generated player on NBA 2K. He’s listed at 6-6 on the Ignite roster — I’d bet my next few paychecks he’s closer to 6-8. He looked fake. I’m not sure why I couldn’t comprehend his body.
The Ignite have Daniels initiating some of their offense, even in lineups with the other guard prospects. He had a few passing flashes, including a baseline bounce-skip to the corner in the first half. I could never tell what position Daniels was playing on either side of the ball — but I think that’s a good thing! He ran their offense from different spots on the floor, came off screens and set them, and didn’t stand around. Defensively, Daniels covered a lot of things up for his teammates — even stepping over in help-side to emphatically swat the ground-bound Luka Garza. He’s going to earn a vacuum cleaner-adjacent nickname pretty soon into his NBA career, I think.
I can’t get over how fake he looked on the court.
Scoot Henderson
Scoot turned 18 just thirteen days ago. He’s a year younger than the rest of the 2022 Draft-eligible prospects, and all signs point to him playing a second season with the Ignite next year.
There’s a reason this kid is already in the NBA pipeline at such a young age.
He’s gonna be so damn good.
The Ignite started all five of their draft-eligible prospects with Pistons GM Troy Weaver sitting courtside. But Scoot Henderson checked into the game midway through the first quarter, and it was time to lean forward into my seat.
Before the scoring and athleticism, the first thing that stood out about Scoot was his body. Listed at 6’2, 195 lbs, let me tell you — he is all muscle. Players on the Motor City Cruise just bounced off him when trying to put their shoulder down. When Scoot has the ball, defenders bounce off him. Let me remind you: this kid just turned 18.
In the second half, he stole Jaden Hardy’s bag of step-back jumpers, but also offered line-drive rim attacks and a much better pace in his actions. He’s a nightmare in transition and floats at the rim. I can’t help but see a more in-control, suped-up Ja Morant in his game.
There’s a world in which Scoot Henderson isn’t a top-3 pick in 2023. Right now, we are not in that world. He scored an effortless 19 points and was guarded by the Cruise’s wings for the entirety of his minutes.
You’re going to see teams blatantly tank for a top pick in 2023. Henderson is worth it.
Links
James Harden rung the bell in Philadelphia last night wearing a ridiculous vest/dress/pajama concoction of clothing. He also set February 25th as a return date from his hamstring “injury.”
Also — more Daryl Morey loving James Harden content. I just can’t get enough.
Yesterday’s piece on recently traded players who should make you happy.
Giannis dropped 50 again. Could you imagine dropping James Naismith into courtside seats to a 2022 Milwaukee Bucks game?