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Julian Strawther and the Denver Nuggets are now done with 2023 NBA Summer League, and we’ve learned some things. The former Gonzaga junior showed off many of the skills that made him the No. 29 pick in the NBA Draft. However, his shooting was hit or miss throughout his time in Las Vegas, and if he can’t be more consistent from behind the arc, that could limit his playing time.
The Nuggets’ biggest concern about Julian Strawther after 2023 NBA Summer League is shooting
The Nuggets brought three 2023 NBA Draft picks to NBA Summer League this season. Those players are Julian Strawther (No. 29), Jalen Pickett (No. 32), and Hunter Tyson (No. 37). As the lone first-round pick Strawther came in with the most expectations. However, at the end of the tournament, he was arguably the most disappointing.
The good news here is that he wasn’t disappointing in a vacuum. It’s just that Pickett and Hunter both showed off unique skillsets that projected right into the defending NBA champions’ rotation next season. Stawther was drafted for his fit with the team as well, but he didn’t show out quite as much as Pickett and Hunter.
Strawther is a 6-foot-6, 3-and-D wing who shot 40.8% from 3-point range in college last season, averaging 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. On the Nuggets next season, his main value will be as a reliable 3-point shooter.
Unfortunately for Strawther, he wasn’t consistent in that regard during Nuggets Summer League.
The former Zag ended up averaging a solid 18.2 points per game and shot 34.0% from 3-point range while taking the fourth-most threes per game (9.4) in Vegas. While that doesn’t look terrible, Strawther’s Summer League was a tale of two halves.
In his first three games, Strawther shot a brutal 24.1% (7-of-29) from deep. He turned it around in the final two games, making 9-of-18 (50%) long-range shots, so there was cause for celebration in the end.
The issue here is that Strawther is going to play limited minutes in the NBA next season, and he won’t be able to chuck up nearly 10 threes per game. He’s going to need to try and shoot around 40% on half that many attempts or less. That made the Julian Strawther Nuggets Summer League performance a bit concerning for the franchise.
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If Strawther found his stroke from NBA range at the end of Summer League, then he will be fine. If his up-and-down performances are indicative of what he will do as a rookie, then he will end up spending a lot of time on the bench.
The most interesting thing here is that the concern about Strawther’s shooting is actually minimized from a team perspective by his 2023 NBA Draft counterpart, Hunter Tyson.
Tyson wasn’t just the best Nuggets rookie on the floor in Las Vegas, he was one of the best players in the entire tournament. The 6-foot-8 wing out of Clemson made first-team All-Summer League and was in the running for MVP (which went to the Houston Rockets’ Cam Whitmore). Tyson averaged 20.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from 3-point range on 36 attempts.
As NBA champs, the Nuggets were in an enviable position of drafting for specific needs and even doubling down on the type of players they needed. They got their unique, off-ball point guard in Pickett and two sharpshooting wings in Tyson and Strawther.
The latter two will be competing for minutes this NBA season, and the first round of their battle went to Tyson, no question. However, there is still training camp, the preseason, and then every regular season game for Strawther to get his shooting groove back and earn minutes over or even alongside Tyson.
Ideally, Strawther will earn the most minutes of the two as a rookie because his defense is better than Tyson’s. The former Clemson star might be a better long-term replacement for Michael Porter Jr., but for now, Strawther’s skill set fits the team’s needs better. So, even if his shooting stays inconsistent, if he can shut down wings on the other side of the floor, it might be enough to earn him some time, especially in certain matchups where he has a defensive advantage over anther team's key player.
Still, Strawther’s shooting is the biggest concern for the Nuggets coming out of NBA Summer League. But in the big picture, it is not that big a deal for Nikola Jokic and company as they look to defend their crown. The roster is still one of the deepest and most talented in the league, and with Jokic leading the charge, the team will still be great, and players like Strawther and Tyson will get even more open shots.
