The NBA Draft has come and gone. With the first overall pick, the Orlando Magic took Duke’s Paolo Banchero in a bit of a surprise move. The Oklahoma Thunder used their number two pick to take Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga, and the Houston Rockets used their number three pick to take Jabari Smith of Auburn.
A few other deals were made during the night, not exactly draft-related, but important to those of us following ShaqFu Radio. The Los Angeles Lakers signed Shareef O’Neal to a short-term contract to play in the team’s summer league.
Along with O’Neal, the Lakers also scooped up another hopeful with a very well-known name. The son of former Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen – Scottie Junior – will also play in the summer league after signing a so-called two-way contract. on Tuesday night. At least, for the time being.
Shareef O’Neal spent the last college hoops season at LSU, his father’s alma mater. He had started out his college career at UCLA, but transferred to LSU. During his time as a Tiger, he averaged just 2.9 points off the bench in 14 games. During much of the time, he had to work his way through a long-standing foot injury. He also needed open-heart surgery in 2019 during his time at UCLA when he was diagnosed with a right anomalous coronary artery.
As we’ve previously reported here on the ShaqFu Radio blog, Shareef has been visiting several teams around the country, showing off what he can do and seeing if there might be a roster spot for him. O’Neal visited – among other towns – the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Lakers.
Now, there’s no guarantee the younger O’Neal will find a place on the bench for the Lakers (or any other team, for that matter). The NBA summer leagues play in Las Vegas, and plenty of young up-and-coming players will cycle through Sin City in the hopes of finding a full-time gig in the Association.
As for Pippen, his deal is a little stronger. His two-way deal should carry him into the start of the next season in the fall… but there are no guarantees. With Vanderbilt, Pippen scored an average of 20.4 points per game. At just 6-foot-1, he’s much shorter than his father and not as skilled, so he has a lot to prove as well.
No matter what happens, we’ll keep you up-to-date on the happenings in the upcoming summer league games. Should be interesting! And, if nothing else, the legendary basketball backgrounds behind these two players certainly give both Pippen and O’Neal plenty of upside potential.