A common refrain you'll hear at summer league is "it's just summer league," the idea that somehow the action on the court is invalidated by the very nature of the competition: witless rookies, semi-interested second- or third-year players and the remaining churn of nameless wonders who jack shots up with no regard for human life in an effort to get noticed by an international club willing to cut a check.
While some of those archetypes might actually exist, summer league is much more than that. It's a training ground, an experimental laboratory for rookies to find their way, an avenue for older players to try out new roles, and a means for hopefuls to snag a training camp invite.
But the experimentation doesn't stop with the players: On the sidelines, new coaches like David Blatt of the Cavaliers, Steve Kerr of the Warriors and Derek Fisher of the Knicks are trying to get their feet wet in a head role. And while summer league doesn't afford them the circumstances to figure out the obstacles of coaching LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Carmelo Anthony, respectively, it's a great opportunity to figure out their philosophical approach to coaching the game. Even though it's not personnel-driven -- most of the guys they'll coach won't even be on the roster on opening night -- there are still lessons to be learned at summer league.
Here's a look at key lessons each of the three new head coaches, as well as one new assistant, learned during summer league.
David Blatt | Cleveland Cavaliers
Key lesson: The rules
It might sound silly, but something as simple as "can we do that?" regarding a rule might not be clear, even for people who have followed the game closely. Example: Can you make a substitution during a 20-second timeout? The answer is yes, if you called the timeout, or if the team that called the timeout made a substitution as well.
Little nuances like that are the small bumps in the road an experienced coach who is new to the NBA, like Cavaliers coach David Blatt, might come across.
"I'm coming from a different set of rules ... and the best thing I can do is immerse myself in that and take my hits," Blatt said. "Nothing earth-shattering, just knowing the rules and what goes and doesn't go. [Being at summer league] has helped me a lot."
Of course, summer league doesn't operate with the exact rulebook the NBA does, but there's more similarity there than one would find with FIBA-regulated basketball, and the more situations a coach like Blatt can encounter (in a low-stakes environment), the better.
Steve Kerr | Golden State Warriors
Key lesson: Game management
It's common practice to "armchair head coach" a team: sit on your couch and second-guess every decision the coach is making. It's a bad habit that affects us all, from the casual fan to NBA general managers and owners. The fact is, there's a cadence that goes into game management, into the rhythm of substitution patterns, timeouts and general strategy.
For a first-time coach like Kerr, the experience is invaluable: "Game management is something you have to feel, and it was great to experience the decision-making process during summer league," he said.
Again, Kerr is no newcomer to the non-playing side of the game, having served as the Phoenix Suns' general manager from 2007 to 2010. Although he's closely observed head coaches for decades in different capacities, there's no substitute for doing it on the sidelines, and summer league provides the opportunity to get the reps in.
Derek Fisher | New York Knicks
Key lesson: The system
Summer league gives new coaches their first chance to implement the style of play or even an offensive system they plan on implementing in the regular season. Again, most of the guys they'll coach won't be executing these plays in October, but it helps for the coach to figure out how he wants to communicate his vision.
For Fisher, summer league is his first crack at implementing the triangle offense, and indeed the Knicks managed to run a good deal of triangle in half-court sets.
In the above screenshot, you can see Jeremy Tyler (ball), Cleanthony Early (post) and Shane Larkin (corner) form a sideline triangle, with Jordan Henriquez flashing to the high post to provide a counter to post-feed denial. With Tim Hardaway Jr. on the opposite wing, four out of five players on the floor are actually on the regular-season roster, and so summer league isn't just an opportunity for them to learn how to play within the triangle context, but it's a chance for Fisher to learn how to teach it to them.
Noel Gillespie (assistant coach) | Denver Nuggets
Key lesson: The audition
For young assistant coaches in the NBA, careers are often a life of anonymity, sitting in the row behind the bench and providing data, such as what play the opponent likes to run after timeouts in a given situation. For them, summer league is often their first opportunity to show their team (and other teams) that they are ready to take on a bigger role.
Noel Gillespie, an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets, shared head-coaching duties with Patrick Mutombo (also a Nuggets assistant), and relished the opportunity. "Coach [Brian] Shaw gave us a lot of freedom, allowing us to run an 'abridged' version of the team," Gillespie said. "For two weeks [leading up to summer league], we created the practice plans, ran the drills, put in our offensive and defensive philosophies, put in the after-timeout plays; basically, all the duties of a real head coach."
Having the power of the head coach (even if it's just for two weeks) allows assistants to get creative with their designs; for Gillespie, this meant experimenting with Nuggets forward Quincy Miller at the 4 position: "Instead of coming off of pindowns, we had him setting the screen; instead of leading the man at the elbow, he's catching at the elbow and operating."
However, with that power comes the headache of juggling minutes, and at the end of the day, the roster consists of competitive, professional players who all want to play. Ultimately, it's up to the coach to find a way to get them in and keep them motivated when their number isn't called.
Other lessons, takeaways
Something many coaches will point to is the opportunity to build cohesion with their staffs. We all know role definition is imperative on the floor, but there's an understated importance in the same type of role definition on the staff. Too many chefs in the kitchen can spoil the broth, so it's important for there to be clarity on everyone's domain and for the message delivered to the players to be singular and not contradictory.
During the season, coaches on a staff will spend more time together than they do with their respective family members. Given the volume of practices, flights, bus rides, meetings and film sessions, the hours add up and it's crucial that everyone on the staff understand where they stand in order to create a positive and productive work environment.
Additionally, Blatt pointed out that he'd lean on his staff for their knowledge of the NBA game to ease his transition to what can be considered a different kind of basketball. Meanwhile, Kerr has assembled a diverse staff of experience and youth, and saw a benefit of the summer league experience as an opportunity for the staff to grow together. Fisher has two members of his staff, Kurt Rambis and Rasheed Hazzard, who have significant experience with the triangle and can act as knowledge on-demand.
As teams disperse for the summer break before they report back for informal workouts around Labor Day, no doubt all summer league participants go home with a list of lessons learned and things to get better at. Whether it's getting to know a different set of rules, a new cast of characters or the thrill (and agony) of leadership, one thing's for certain: It's never "just summer league."