Moments before the Summer Sixers and Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off their second of three contests in Salt Lake City Summer League on Monday night, word broke that No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe would sit out due to a thumb ailment which is considered minor.
Edgecombe is day-to-day; the injury is nothing major. The Sixers are set to conclude their Salt Lake City slate with the second leg of a back-to-back on Tuesday, and Edgecombe was never expected to play on Monday and Tuesday anyways.
The Summer Sixers were also without two-way stretch four Alex Reese, reportedly dealing with ankle soreness. But they made an addition, as two-way guard Hunter Sallis, the organization’s first undrafted free agency signing, made his professional debut coming off the bench. Sallis missed Saturday’s opener with an ankle sprain.
In lieu of any exciting Edgecombe moments, here are notes on Monday’s starting lineup for Summer Sixers after the team’s 89-78 loss against Oklahoma City:
Judah Mintz
With Edgecombe sidelined, Mintz slid into Summer Sixers head coach T.J. DiLeo’s starting five, giving the squad a more traditional point guard in its backcourt. Mintz, a standout from last year’s Summer League who later posted strong numbers as a rookie for the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League, kicked off his team’s scoring with an excellent crossover into a step-back triple over Ajay Mitchell, an NBA-caliber point guard entering his season season for the Thunder:
Mintz has an NBA-caliber skill, which is rare for a player yet to receive much buzz when it comes to NBA opportunities. He has mastered the art of foul-drawing, with a real knack for getting into the paint, creating contact and playing through it. It stood out at Syracuse University, again in Summer League and continued in the G League.
If Mintz wants to carve out an NBA career, he will need to make some strides elsewhere. A more reliable jumper would do him a lot of good — Mintz is at his best with the ball, but is not dynamic enough to get by without any off-ball skills. His game, for now, is easier to translate to the G League than the NBA. If he continues to excel at that level and the Sixers have a two-way opening, he could be among the names in consideration.
MORE: Kyle Lowry returning to Sixers
Jalen Hood-Schifino
Hood-Schifino struggled mightily on Saturday as the team’s starting point guard, but with Mintz running the show the third-year shooting guard was able to slide to his natural position. He immediately looked far more comfortable out there, and quickly posted nine points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field in the opening frame.
When Hood-Schifino is at his best, he is gliding across the court, playing at his own pace, changing speeds and flowing into composed jumpers. He has a shot that is aesthetically pleasing, but he is going to have to make enough shots — particularly tougher ones — to stand out in a meaningful way and prove he has an NBA skill. He certainly is not a primary ball-handler at that level, nor has he shown signs of being a remotely impactful defensive player.
Hood-Schifino remains eligible for a two-way contract, but the Sixers prioritizing Sallis after the draft does not do him many favors. The players are fairly similar from positional and size perspectives; it would not make much sense to have both on two-way deals.
Justin Edwards
Edwards has absolutely nothing to prove, a notably good or bad performance in Salt Lake City or Las Vegas will not change his standing within the organization after inking a new three-year contract. Edwards has a very real chance to be in Sixers head coach Nick Nurse’s rotation from the outset, and he earned that right with a stellar rookie season.
While a more assertive and dominant showing from Edwards in either of his first two appearances at Summer League would have been nice to see, this setting is not exactly designed for a player with his psyche. Edwards thrives on instinctual plays and filling in gaps; neither of those are all that doable in the Summer League environment.
Edwards did take on a primary defensive assignment for the Sixers, handling 2024 Thunder lottery pick Nikola Topić at the point of attack. Edwards probably does not have quite enough athletic juice to handle point guards on a consistent basis in the NBA, but he already has significant defensive versatility — and plenty of experience guarding some of the best players in the world.
MORE: Edwards guarded the NBA’s best as a rookie. He was ‘not backing down at all’
Johni Broome
Broome experienced some uncharacteristic struggles in his Summer League debut, but much of that felt irrelevant when he knocked down a pair of triples. And about 17 minutes into Monday’s game, the No. 35 overall pick had matched that:
While Broome’s shooting percentages in college were just about always uninspiring, his volume was decent. That often proves to be a stronger indicator of how a player’s shot will translate from college to the NBA, and the Sixers certainly hope that is the case for Broome, whose lack of a clear position could be a strength or a weakness, depending on the evaluator.
Some believe Broome does not have enough skill, particularly as a shooter, to play power forward in the NBA. Many skeptics also do not think he will hold up defensively at that level as a center. But some are adamant that Broome will find a way to succeed at both positions.
If he does, he will fit an archetype that the Sixers find themselves routinely searching for: a player who can coexist alongside Joel Embiid at the four and back him up at the five.
Adem Bona
Bona was outright dominant on Saturday, but failed to bring that same life to Monday’s game. The only thing that translated was Bona’s extreme foul rates, which plagued him in his first Summer League as a rookie. Cutting down on fouling was always going to a point of emphasis for Bona in the early stages of his career, and perhaps he was overly ambitious playing in Summer League games where a player only fouls out if they commit 10 personals.
For what it’s worth, Bona made significant strides in terms of defensive discipline in the final several weeks of his rookie season.
“I think it’s paying attention to details,” Bona said in March. “Staying away from the low fouls, and [trying] to reach for the ball. I watch a lot of film, [Sixers assistant coach Fabulous Flournoy] shows me my little mistakes and things I’ve been doing in the game that get me in trouble. So I just try to stay away from those things.”
On an idealized version of the Sixers, Bona will not play enough minutes for fouling out to be much of a concern. But fouls will never help a team, and the harsh reality is that with Embiid’s health consistently shaky, Bona could be in line for some heavy-minute games as a member of the Sixers. He will need to continue working on avoiding whistles.
MORE: Bona impresses coaches & teammates alike as a rookie
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
