As the NBA offseason continues to heat up, Summer League play will offically begin on Monday for a handful of teams–while all 30 teams will eventually head to Las Vegas on July 6 for 12 straight days of competition.

Sin City will have plenty of Chapel Hill flavor out there this year, with eight former Tar Heels already on Summer League rosters and another hoping to find a deal over this upcoming week.

Six of the eight players already signed to deals were a part of UNC’s 2017 national championship squad, led by former first-round pick Justin Jackson–who will continue to hone his craft with the Sacramento Kings.

The other first-round selection from the title-winning team, forward Tony Bradley, will look to continue carving out a role with the Utah Jazz–while undrafted big men Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks have a shot to prove themselves to the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, respectively.

While Meeks and Hicks each spent the majority of last season in the NBA G-League after graduating, a pair of their former Tar Heel teammates from the 2017 team were in Chapel Hill trying to improve their own draft stock.

Neither Theo Pinson or Joel Berry were selected in the draft, however, but each man found a team willing to take a shot on them this summer. Pinson received a two-way deal from the Brooklyn Nets, while Berry found a spot with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The other two former Tar Heels on Summer League rosters are players who helped lay the foundation for the squad that brought home UNC’s third national title under head coach Roy Williams.

Guard J.P. Tokoto was a second-round selection by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015, but spent last year averaging 15.4 points per game as a professional in Australia. That earned him a place on the Golden State Warriors’ Summer League team, even though he remains a longshot to make the team’s final roster.

The Charlotte Hornets decided to bring in forward Brice Johnson for a look this summer, hoping the former 2016 first-round pick of the Los Angeles Clippers can finally get his NBA career up to speed after a disappointing first two years.

Johnson’s best friend and former UNC teammate, point guard Marcus Paige, was recently released by the Hornets–but he is actively seeking a deal from a new team before Summer League play gets underway.

All of these players will have the opportunity in the near future to show NBA teams how far they’ve come on the court, with the ultimate goal of gaining playing time at the top level in the upcoming season.

 

 

Photo via Ethan Miller (Getty Images)

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