Aaron Wiggins and Darryl Morsell are battling it out in the NBA Summer League to try and earn a roster spot for the upcoming season. Wiggins is playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Morsell is playing for the Utah Jazz.
Wiggins, who is heading into his second year in the league, was drafted 55th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021 draft. Last year for the Thunder in the 50 games he played he averaged 8.3 points, 1.4 assist, and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also shot 72.9% from the free throw line and 30.4% from behind the arc.
Morsell, who used his extra year of eligibility at Marquette, averaged a career-high 13.4 points per game while also averaging a career high in steals with 1.2 as well. Morsell was not drafted but ended up signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Jazz after the draft.
In the Utah summer league, Wiggins and the Thunder went 2-1. Wiggins played in two of those games averaging 8 points and 3 rebounds. Wiggins and the Thunder are 3-1 in the Las Vegas summer league. Wiggins has played in three of those games and averaged 11.3 points per game, 3 rebounds per game, and 1.3 assists per game. Wiggins did not play in the Thunder's final game on Sunday night as Oklahoma State suffered a 107-71 loss. The second-year player still drew praise from the Thunder's summer league head coach.
“He’s had a great summer,” Kam Woods said. “He's just so solid. He knows his game. He stays within his game and he always connects us on both ends of the floor.”
Morsell and the Jazz went 0-3 in the Utah summer league, though Morsell did not play in any of those games. In the Las Vegas summer league, the Jazz are 2-2 and like Wiggins, Morsell played in three of the four games. Morsell is averaging 5.7 points per game, 3 rebounds per game, and .3 assist per game. Morsell wrapped up his summer league play with three points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field in over 18 minutes of action.
With the summer league coming to a close, Wiggins has an opportunity to take the next step on a younger Thunder roster alongside Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddy. The Jazz, meanwhile, are on the cusp of a rebuild as Morsell looks to make the Jazz's G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.
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