NBA Summer League: Three of the Most Interesting Rosters to Watch

What do Sam Merrill, Jordan Miller, and Kyle Filipowski have in common? They're players in recent years who've stood out at summer league and went on to have subsequent successful NBA seasons.

Every year, there's a handful of rookies that showcase they can compete in the league from the jump or NBA players that, while they only see limited minutes during the regular season, have another opportunity to showcase the progress they've made as players. It should be noted that summer league is far from the best scouting context, but can still be utilized to see how player matches up against their peers athletically, how their feel or decision-making has progressed, or simply how the player performs in a more unstructured basketball environment.

NBA Summer League began this week and, with that, fans and talent evaluators alike will be able to watch the 2026 draft class in their first NBA action. Below we take a look at three teams with the most interesting summer league rosters that I'll be watching closely.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers have one of the most intriguing summer league rosters, with Adou Thiero, Robert McCray V, Chase Ross, Peter Suder (Miami-Ohio), Anton Watson, Arthur Kaluma, William Kyle III, Robbie Avila, Zhaire Smith, Chris Manon, AK Okereke, William Hickey, Luke Goode, Jacari White, Jon Elmore, and Cameron Carr.

To start, the athleticism alone between Cameron Carr, Robert McCray V, William Kyle III, Zhaire Smith, (16th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft), Adou Thiero, Chris Manon, and AK Okereke will be incredible to watch. Secondly, the Lakers are in need of help on the wing, and Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr are both key players who could see minutes this season attempting to fill those shoes.

The talent is there for Cameron Carr: At 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot-wingpsan, the 21 year old is an off-ball shooter with size, vertical pop, wingspan, and athleticism who can attack closeouts, play in transition, finish at the rim, and double as an off-ball cutter and lob threat. He can shoot off the dribble twos, and his upside offensively depends on how his decision-making improves -- eventually with the goal being able to come off pindows or attack closeouts and create for others as well.

Defensively, Carr has upside with his fluidity and wingspan. His off-ball defense is already sound, as he covers ground and is an event creator at the moment as an occasional weakside rim protector. If he can buy in on-ball defensively and into his role with the Lakers as a whole, he has real potential.

Another intriguing storyline is Jon Elmore -- the 30 year old has played multiple seasons overseas in the G League and is now getting an opportunity to prove himself at summer league.

Additionally, Peter Suder was the top prospect on the 32-2 overall Miami-Ohio team this past season. He's a sound decision-maker and an efficient shooter but can improve athletically, so it's worth monitoring how he holds up against summer league competition.

Lastly, the final intriguing storyline is the growing Cornell-Vanderbilt-Lakers pipeline, which has now led to two-way contracts for both Chris Manon and AK Okereke. Manon is a 6-foot-4 guard with size, burst, verticality, and can really cause havoc as a defender -- generating steals and blocks a high rate. He recorded a 5.9 offensive rebound percentage, a 3.8 steal percentage, and 2.3 block percentage in the G League last season.

Okereke is a 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward who's an intriguing passer (career 18.3 assist percentage), can create mismatches, finish at the rim at a high level, and is switchable as a defender. The former Cornell teammates are now both on two-way contracts for the Lakers and have opportunities to really contribute at summer league and this upcoming season.

If you're looking to learn more about AK Okereke's story from walking on at Cornell to making the Lakers, check out my interview with him here: From Walk-On to High Major: The Story of AK Okereke

New York Knicks

The Knicks won the their first championship in 53 years, led by Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony-Towns, OG Anunoby, and the best ten-man rotation in the NBA. Just outside of that rotation was a player who showed tremendous potential this past season -- Mohamed Diawara. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound wing showed flashes of hitting catch-and-shoot threes, switchable defense, and slashing at times. After signing a four-year, 10-million dollar contract as a restricted free agent this offseason, Diawara will have a significant opportunity to showcase his development with a likely featured role on this summer league team. Expect him to be a focal part of the new Knicks rotation as they attempt to defend their title this upcoming season.

Additionally, champions Pacome Dadiet and Dillon Jones, as well as rookie sharpshooter Tyler Nickel, should all be monitored during Summer League. Oziyah Sellers and Erik Reynolds II are also names to watch.

Utah Jazz

Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver announces the second pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson after he was selected by the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There's a strong argument to be made that Darryn Peterson is the most talented player in the 2026 NBA Draft class. The No. 2 overall pick is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. He met both the eye test and the analytics test, meeting the Productive Young Athlete Query as well this past season. 50% of players who have met the Productive Young Athlete Query became multi-time All-Stars or NBA starters, while another 28% became backups -- leading to a 78% hit rate as a whole.

Coming out of high school, Peterson was one of the most disruptive defenders in the country -- both on and off ball -- while simultaneously being a primary ball-handler with craft, fluidity, and athleticism who could create rim pressure and playmake for teammates at a high level.

Then, he gets to Kansas. Between injuries and a season riddled with question marks, he was tasked with being more of an off ball guard -- a role in which he also thrived in. His role was to make very difficult catch-and-shoot, off-screen, and movement threes while also self-creating at times. If he's more of who we saw at Kansas, he's still an interesting NBA player. However, if he can combine the on-ball primary creator reps he showed at Prolific with the gravitational shotmaking role he fulfilled at Kansas, all while being a very high-level defender, you may have one of the best prospects in recent memory.

So, what should you watch for? Well, he's reportedly the healthiest he's been in some time. Seeing him be the primary ball-handler at summer league would be an intriguing start -- to see if he can create rim pressure, playmake for others, and defend at the level he was back at Prolific Prep. If he can, and he looks as fluid as an overall athlete as he did at Prolific, then we may be looking at someone who could be an All-Star-level guard sooner rather than later.

Aside from Peterson, watching Ace Bailey in an unstructured basketball environment combined with the development he made this past season will surely be fun. Additionally, monitoring how Cody Williams and players like Bez Mbeng, Blake Hinson, and Tamar Bates have developed will be interesting.

Add us as a preferred source on Google