LAS VEGAS – Peruse the NBA Summer League’s statistical leaders through pool play and you may notice something generally missing: Names from the early portion of the June 20 draft. Partly due to injuries and teams exhibiting caution on how they’re handling top draftees, only two of the first 20 players selected rank in the top 10 of Las Vegas scoring. Similarly, only one top-20 choice appears among the assist leaders.
All three of those names are New Orleans Pelicans.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (third in scoring, second in assists) and Jaxson Hayes (eighth in scoring) helped lead the summer Pelicans to a berth in Saturday’s quarterfinal round vs.