Johnny Dee Quiet in the NBA Summer League

Former San Diego Toreros star Johnny Dee had a huge challenge ahead when the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors signed him to their Summer League team, so it was no surprise to see him get limited minutes.  Dee averaged just 5.8 minutes per game, coming off the bench in 4 contests.  He averaged just 0.5 points per game, and he did it all from the free throw line making no shots from the field.

Head Coach Steve Kerr likely took a chance on Dee because of the time he spent watching him thrive with the Toreros.  Kerr’s son Nick was a teammate of Dee, so he was able to watch him closely during his collegiate career.  It’s likely a big reason why the organization took a shot on him, giving him a roster spot that could have gone to a more high-profile player.

And high-profile players were a big reason why Dee struggled.  His minuted were always going to be very limited due to his status on the end of the bench, as key playing time needed to go to players with a higher chance of making the NBA roster.  The Warriors had a very strong Summer League roster full of former college stars.  So that was a factor in Dee not getting many chances.

Unfortunately, this was probably his one NBA shot, at least for now.  He probably doesn’t make an NBA Summer League roster without Kerr’s San Diego connection, and he didn’t do enough to justify them looking at him any further.  It’s no knock on Dee, but he’s just too small and one dimensional to push past all the highly talented prospects coming out of college.

It will be interesting to see if Dee takes his game overseas or not.  He definitely has the talent to play somewhere, so it will depend on how far he wants to push his career.  We wouldn’t mind seeing him reign down a free more long range shots before he hangs it up.