New Faces

It’s Day Three of the 2009 NBA Summer League and there are some fresh faces on the scene as the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Hornets are tipping off.

It’s the first chance for fans to see former UCLA guard Darren Collison, who’s playing for the Hornets, along with Pitt’s DeJuan Blair, who’s playing for the Spurs.

Later today, Hasheem Thabeet, the overall No. 2 pick, makes his summer league debut as Memphis faces Oklahoma City at 5 p.m. He figures to have a media crush following his game with the Thunder.

Minnesota also debuts today. Too bad Ricky Rubio isn’t here. He would have been fun to watch. Instead, you’ll have to settle for Jonny Flynn of Syracuse, who the Wolves took at No. 6 overall.

Beck’s back
Nice to see Romel Beck back in Vegas. The former UNLV swingman is playing for San Antonio as he tries one more time to find a home in the NBA. Beck, who played in the D-League last year with the Dakota Wizards and had previously played in Europe and in South America since leaving UNLV in 2005.

Stat leaders
Going into today’s games, Adam Morrison of the Lakers leads the summer league in scoring with a 23.0 average. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry is next at 22.5 followed by Warrios teammate Anthony Randolph at 22.0.

Houston’s Joey Dorsey leads the league in rebounding with a 13.5 average followed by the Lakers’ Ben McCauley at 11.0. Detroit’s Andre Owens is the top assist man with a 6.5 average. Dallas’ Rodrigue Beaubois, who scored 34 points Saturday against the Rockets, is next with a 5.0 average.

Brass visiting
NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver makes his annual visit to Las Vegas today to check out the summer league. Rumor has it that commissioner David Stern may drop by Tuesday. Stern will be in town to meet with the NBA’s executive committee.