There was a familiar sight in Las Vegas at the NBA Summer league where Gators fans were able to see Devin Robinson and Chris Chiozza united again, representing the Washington Wizards as they both looked to earn a professional contract. I already wrote about Chris Chiozza’s Summer League performance earlier this week and if you haven’t had a chance to see that I recommend you take a look after this article. Now, I’ll focus on Robinson’s tournament. Robinson was a part of the Wizards’ organization last year after earning a two-way contract, a new style of contract introduced to the NBA a year ago that allows a team to give a player a contract to move between the NBA and the G-League. He spent most of last year jumping between the Wizards and the Delaware 87ers but only got into one game with the big club, the final game of the regular season when the match’s outcome didn’t affect playoff standings at all. Down in the G-League Robinson put together a solid 44 games averaging 13.0 points, 5.2 rebound, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting a reliable 38.1% from three. Entering his second Summer League the pressure was on for him to perform and show he’s deserving of an NBA contract and he did not disappoint. Here were his stats through the 5 Summer League games:
30.8 Minutes Per Game
19.8 Points Per Game
6.0 Rebounds Per Game
2.0 Assists Per Game
1.4 Steals Per Game
1.0 Blocks Per Game
2.2 Turnovers Per Game
52.0% Field Goal Percentage
30.0% Free Throw Percentage
A player just barely on the outside looking in when it comes to cracking an NBA roster last year you’d hope he was would be able to dominate less experienced competition at the Summer League and that certainly was the case as he used the length and extreme athleticism he was known for in Florida but complimented it with a new arsenal of skill-based finishing moves I hadn’t see from him in the past. One of his new favorite moves taking it to the hoop is a euro-step, using big side-to-side strides get a defender going to wrong way before using his massive wingspan to lay the ball into the waiting hoop. With the power he can generate going from one foot to the other and the length to step around a defender this move looked impossible to stop when he found a lane to the hoop. I also saw him using he speed more often when finishing at the hoop instead of using pure jumping ability, sometimes rocketing to the other side of the rim to finish with a reverse layup quicker than a big man rotating over could move their feet.
But oh man, is that jumping ability still there.
Seeing the absurd dunks he threw down at Florida it’s not surprising at all that he’d but doing it at the next level too but if I could be so bold, I think I might say he might even be more explosive now. Robinson put together quite a highlight reel of dunks while in Vegas capturing a handful of posters that must have left Wizards’ brass salivating at his athleticism. Playing with sky-high levels of confidence, he knew when he got a lane to the hoop he would be able to decide in a split second whether he’d want to get a fancy finish with a scoop layup around the defender or whether he’d just want to jam it over their head. Something that also warmed my heart was seeing him connect on the back end of some alley-oop tosses from Chiozza as the nostalgia from their time at Florida overtook me with Cheese throwing no-look rainbows to back-cutting Robinson for effortless flushes. I think the chemistry between them helped make both Gators look good and hopefully it helps them both earn contracts.
An area Robinson still needs to improve on is his ball handling. Like I mentioned in the past paragraph when get is able to get in the lane his finishing is fantastic. The problem for him is that he isn’t getting into the lane enough, and sometimes he finds himself getting a little bit out of control and he isn’t able to read the defense enough to pass the ball out when help comes. His finishing is impressive, but I occasionally found myself thinking that it’s a good thing he was finishing so well because he had a wide-open teammate if he was able to see them and make the pass. Creating for teammates wasn’t a strength for Robinson at Florida either and it’s not like he needs to be an elite passer, I mean, no team is really looking for a combo forward to be their big assist man, but some improved court vision and passing might help him play a little more efficiently within a team construct.
How Robinson defends could also be a major factor when it comes to him earning an NBA rotation spot. Not a great defender until his final year at Florida under the tutelage of Mike White, Robinson seems to still be getting a little bit better each year as he learns to think the game, provide consistent effort, and channel his physical gifts into lockdown defensive possessions. I don’t think that defense will be problem for him as I think he’s solid enough there, but I think if he is able to become an above average defender like his physical gifts could suggest he could be than he will be a heavily sought after young piece, the kind of wing that is highly coveted in today’s NBA.
The question now is how likely is he to crack a roster with an NBA deal? We’ll look just at his chances with the Wizards, the team he played with last year and this year at the Summer League, though any team that saw his body of work could offer him a deal with their team. The Wizards currently have some pretty good wing depth with Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre, veteran signing Jeff Green, and recently drafted Troy Brown. That may not leave a ton of obvious space for Robinson but the way that teams are constructing their rosters now the more wings the merrier. They could also see Robinson as a player who could log some minutes at the power forward spot where they are a little thinner with Markieff Morris being the only prototypical power forward. If Robinson can hold his own against some stronger power forwards and rebound the position I could see him being a really useful player for the Wizards and someone they could offer a guaranteed contract to. If not, I think there may be some other teams vying for his services.